Related papers: The Lifetime of Axion Stars
Axion particles can form macroscopic condensates, whose size can be galactic in scale for models with very small axion masses $m\sim10^{-22}$ eV, and which are sometimes referred to under the name of Fuzzy Dark Matter. Many analyses of…
Axion stars are hypothetical objects formed of axions, obtained as localized and coherently oscillating solutions to their classical equation of motion. Depending on the value of the field amplitude at the core $|\theta_0| \equiv…
We show that axion stars formed from axions with nearly Planck-scale decay constants $f$ are unstable to decay, and are unlikely to have phenomenological consequences. More generally, we show how results at smaller $f$ cannot be naively…
Following Ruffini and Bonazzola, we use a quantized boson field to describe condensates of axions forming compact objects. Without substantial modifications, the method can only be applied to axions with decay constant, $f_a$, satisfying…
We compute the quantum tunneling rate of dilute axion stars close to the maximum mass [P.H. Chavanis, Phys. Rev. D {\bf 84}, 043531 (2011)] using the theory of instantons. We confirm that the lifetime of metastable states is extremely long,…
Long-lived pseudo-solitonic objects, known as oscillons/oscillatons, which we collectively call real scalar stars, are ubiquitous in early Universe cosmology of scalar field theories. Typical examples are axions stars and moduli stars.…
We construct spherically-symmetric static solutions of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon-Euler system involving a complex scalar field governed by a periodic potential which emerges in models of axion-like particles, and fermionic matter modeled by…
If the dark matter particles are axions, gravity can cause them to coalesce into axion stars, which are stable gravitationally bound systems of axions. In the previously known solutions for axion stars, gravity and the attractive force…
Axion stars, gravitationally bound states of low-energy axion particles, have a maximum mass allowed by gravitational stability. Weakly bound states obtaining this maximum mass have sufficiently large radii such that they are dilute, and as…
If axions exist, they are copiously produced in hot and dense plasmas, carrying away energy directly from the interior of stars. Various astronomical observables constrain the operation of such anomalous stellar energy-loss channels and…
Cosmological structure formation simulations of ultralight axion-like dark matter have shown that an axion star forms at the center of every dark matter halo in the Universe. These axion stars would then form in large numbers during the…
We point out that a soliton such as an oscillon or boson star inevitably decays into gravitons through gravitational interactions. These decay processes exist even if there are no apparent self-interactions of the constituent field, scalar…
We study novel solitonic solutions to Einstein-Klein-Gordon theory in the presence of a periodic scalar potential arising in models of axion-like particles. The potential depends on two parameters: the mass of the scalar field $m_a$ and the…
Axion emission by hot and dense plasmas is a new energy-loss channel for stars. Observational consequences include a modification of the solar sound-speed profile, an increase of the solar neutrino flux, a reduction of the helium-burning…
The particle that makes up the dark matter of the universe could be an axion or axion-like particle. A collection of axions can condense into a bound Bose-Einstein condensate called an axion star. It is possible that a significant fraction…
If the dark matter is composed of axions, then axion stars are expected to be abundant in the Universe. We demonstrate in fully non-linear (3+1) numerical relativity the instability of compact axion stars due to the electromagnetic…
Oscillons are localized states of scalar fields sustained by self interactions. They decay by emitting classical radiation, but their lifetimes are surprisingly large. We revisit the reasons behind their longevity, aiming at how the shape…
We study the nature of phase transitions between dilute and dense axion stars interpreted as self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensates. We develop a Newtonian model based on the Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson equations for a complex scalar field…
Axion-like dark matter whose symmetry breaking occurs after the end of inflation predicts enhanced primordial density fluctuations at small scales. This leads to dense axion minihalos (or miniclusters) forming early in the history of the…
We show that a stable vortex soliton, carrying a constant magnetic flux, exists in the homogeneous medium of axions with a constant time-derivative. Axions can be bound in the vortex, having energy less than the axion mass. If the observed…