arXiv subjects

Jesús Zavala

Publications and source records attributed to Jesús Zavala.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Astrophysical Tests of Dark Matter Self-Interactions

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) arises generically in scenarios for physics beyond the Standard Model that have dark sectors with light mediators or strong dynamics. The self-interactions allow energy and momentum transport through halos, altering their structure and dynamics relative to those produced by collisionless dark matter. SIDM models provide a promising way to explain the diversity of galactic rotation curves, and they form a predictive and versatile framework for interpreting astrophysical phenomena related to dark matter. This review provides a comprehensive explanation of the physical effects of dark matter self-interactions in objects ranging from galactic satellites (dark and luminous) to clusters of galaxies and the large-scale structure. The second major part describes the methods used to constrain SIDM models including current constraints, with the aim of advancing tests with upcoming galaxy surveys. This part also provides a detailed review of the unresolved small-scale structure formation issues and concrete ways to test simple SIDM models. The review is rounded off by a discussion of the theoretical motivation for self-interactions, degeneracies with baryonic and gravitational effects, extensions to the single-component elastic-interactions SIDM framework, and future observational and theoretical prospects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Endothermic self-interacting dark matter in Milky Way-like dark matter haloes

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) offers the potential to mitigate some of the discrepancies between simulated cold dark matter (CDM) and observed galactic properties. We introduce a physically motivated SIDM model to understand the effects of self interactions on the properties of Milky Way and dwarf galaxy sized haloes. This model consists of dark matter with a nearly degenerate excited state, which allows for both elastic and inelastic scattering. In particular, the model includes a significant probability for particles to up-scatter from the ground state to the excited state. We simulate a suite of zoom-in Milky Way-sized N-body haloes with six models with different scattering cross sections to study the effects of up-scattering in SIDM models. We find that the up-scattering reaction greatly increases the central densities of the main halo through the loss of kinetic energy. However, the physical model still results in significant coring due to the presence of elastic scattering and down-scattering. These effects are not as apparent in the subhalo population compared to the main halo, but the number of subhaloes is reduced compared to CDM.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Separating Dark Acoustic Oscillations from Astrophysics at Cosmic Dawn

The formation redshift and abundance of the first stars and galaxies is highly sensitive to the build up of low mass dark matter halos as well as astrophysical feedback effects which modulate star formation in these low mass halos. The 21-cm signal at cosmic dawn will depend strongly on the formation of these first luminous sources and thus can be used to constrain unknown astrophysical and dark matter properties in the early universe. In this paper, we explore how well we could measure properties of dark matter using the 21-cm power spectrum at $z>10$, given unconstrained astrophysical parameters. We create a generalizable form of the dark matter halo mass function for models with damped and/or oscillatory linear power spectra, finding a single "smooth-k" window function which describes a broad range of models including CDM. We use this to make forecasts for structure formation using the Effective Theory of Structure Formation (ETHOS) framework to explore a broad parameter space of dark matter models. We make predictions for the 21-cm power spectrum observed by HERA varying both cosmological ETHOS parameters as well as astrophysical parameters. Using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo forecast we find that the ETHOS dark matter parameters are degenerate with astrophysical parameters linked to star formation in low mass dark matter halos but not with X-ray heating produced by the first generation of stars. After marginalizing over uncertainties in astrophysical parameters we demonstrate that with just 540 days of HERA observations it should be possible to distinguish between CDM and a broad range of dark matter models with suppression at wavenumbers $k\lesssim 200\,h$Mpc$^{-1}$ assuming a moderate noise level. These results demonstrate the potential of 21-cm observations to constrain the matter power spectrum on scales smaller than current probes.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Gravothermal collapse of Self-Interacting Dark Matter halos as the Origin of Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Milky Way satellites

Milky Way (MW) satellites exhibit a diverse range of internal kinematics, reflecting in turn a diverse set of subhalo density profiles. These profiles include large cores and dense cusps, which any successful dark matter model must explain simultaneously. A plausible driver of such diversity is self-interactions between dark matter particles (SIDM) if the cross section passes the threshold for the gravothermal collapse phase at the characteristic velocities of the MW satellites. In this case, some of the satellites are expected to be hosted by subhalos that are still in the classical SIDM core phase, while those in the collapse phase would have cuspy inner profiles, with a SIDM-driven intermediate mass black hole (IMBH) in the centre as a consequence of the runaway collapse. We develop an analytical framework that takes into account the cosmological assembly of halos and is calibrated to previous simulations; we then predict the timescales and mass scales ($M_{\rm BH}$) for the formation of IMBHs in velocity-dependent SIDM (vdSIDM) models as a function of the present-day halo mass, $M_0$. Finally, we estimate the region in the parameter space of the effective cross section and $M_0$ for a subclass of vdSIDM models that result in a diverse MW satellite population, as well as their corresponding fraction of SIDM-collapsed halos and those halos' inferred IMBH masses. We predict the latter to be in the range $0.1-1000~ {\rm M_\odot}$ with a $M_{\rm BH}-M_0$ relation that has a similar slope, but lower normalization, than the extrapolated empirical relation of super-massive black holes found in massive galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

THESAN-HR: Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization in warm dark matter, fuzzy dark matter and interacting dark matter

Using high-resolution cosmological radiation-hydrodynamic (RHD) simulations (THESAN-HR), we explore the impact of alternative dark matter (altDM) models on galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization. The simulations adopt the IllustrisTNG galaxy formation model. We focus on altDM models that exhibit small-scale suppression of the matter power spectrum, namely warm dark matter (WDM), fuzzy dark matter (FDM), and interacting dark matter (IDM) with strong dark acoustic oscillations (sDAO). In altDM scenarios, both the halo mass functions and the UV luminosity functions at $z\gtrsim 6$ are suppressed at the low-mass/faint end, leading to delayed global star formation and reionization histories. However, strong non-linear effects enable altDM models to "catch up" with cold dark matter (CDM) in terms of star formation and reionization. The specific star formation rates are enhanced in halos below the half-power mass in altDM models. This enhancement coincides with increased gas abundance, reduced gas depletion times, more compact galaxy sizes, and steeper metallicity gradients at the outskirts of the galaxies. These changes in galaxy properties can help disentangle altDM signatures from a range of astrophysical uncertainties. Meanwhile, it is the first time that altDM models have been studied in RHD simulations of galaxy formation. We uncover significant systematic uncertainties in reionization assumptions on the faint-end luminosity function. This underscores the necessity of accurately modeling the small-scale morphology of reionization in making predictions for the low-mass galaxy population. Upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) imaging surveys of deep, lensed fields hold potential for uncovering the faint, low-mass galaxy population, which could provide constraints on altDM models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Matching the mass function of Milky Way satellites in competing dark matter models

Any successful model of dark matter must explain the diversity of observed Milky Way (MW) satellite density profiles, from very dense ultrafaints to large, low density satellites such as Crater~II that appear to be larger their anticipated host dark matter haloes. We consider cold dark matter (CDM), warm dark matter (WDM, 3.3keV thermal relic power spectrum), and a self-interacting dark matter model (SIDM) that induces gravothermal collapse in low mass subhaloes. Predictions for these density profiles are complicated by the limitations of simulation resolution in the stripping of subhaloes by the MW system, therefore we make predictions for satellite properties in these three models using $N$-body simulations combined with a semi-analytic halo stripping algorithm. We find that most CDM and WDM subhaloes of mass $>10^{8}$$M_{\odot}$ are large enough after stripping to fit most satellites; however, the required amount of stripping often requires a stronger tidal field than is available on the subhalo's orbit. The lower concentrations of WDM subhaloes enable this model to explain the required satellite masses with less stripping than is necessary for CDM, and is thus consistent with orbits of larger pericentres. SIDM cores offer the best fits to massive, low density satellites at the expense of predicting many $>10^{9}$$M_{\odot}$ subhaloes to host low density satellites with no observed analogue. We conclude that an SIDM model must have a very high velocity-dependent cross-section in order to match all satellites, and that WDM offers a marginally better fit than CDM to the MW satellite mass function.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Kinematic signatures of impulsive supernova feedback in dwarf galaxies

Impulsive supernova feedback and non-standard dark matter models, such as self-interacting dark matter (SIDM), are the two main contenders for the role of the dominant core formation mechanism at the dwarf galaxy scale. Here we show that the impulsive supernova cycles that follow episodes of bursty star formation leave distinct features in the distribution function of stars: groups of stars with similar ages and metallicities develop overdense shells in phase space. If cores are formed through supernova feedback, we predict the presence of such features in star-forming dwarf galaxies with cored host halos. Their systematic absence would favor alternative dark matter models, such as SIDM, as the dominant core formation mechanism.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

X-ray morphology of cluster-mass haloes in self-interacting dark matter

We perform cosmological zoom-in simulations of $19$ relaxed cluster-mass haloes with the inclusion of adiabatic gas in the cold dark matter (CDM) and self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) models. These clusters are selected as dynamically relaxed clusters from a parent simulation with $M_{\rm 200} \simeq 1\operatorname{-}3\times 10^{15}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}$. Both the dark matter and the intracluster gas distributions in SIDM appear more spherical than their CDM counterparts. Mock X-ray images are generated based on the simulations and are compared to the real X-ray images of $84$ relaxed clusters selected from the Chandra and ROSAT archives. We perform ellipse fitting for the isophotes of mock and real X-ray images and obtain the ellipticities at cluster-centric radii of $r\simeq 0.1\operatorname{-}0.2\,R_{\rm 200}$. The X-ray isophotes in SIDM models with increasing cross-sections are rounder than their CDM counterparts, which manifests as a systematic shift in the distribution function of ellipticities. Unexpectedly, the X-ray morphology of the observed non-cool-core clusters agrees better with SIDM models with cross-section $(σ/m)= 0.5\operatorname{-}1~{\rm cm}^2/{\rm g}$ than CDM and SIDM with $(σ/m)=0.1\,{\rm cm}^2/{\rm g}$. Our statistical analysis indicates that the latter two models are disfavored at the $68\%$ confidence level (as conservative estimates). This conclusion is not altered by shifting the radial range of measurements or applying temperature selection criterion. However, the primary uncertainty originates from the lack of baryonic physics in the adiabatic model, such as cooling, star formation and feedback effects, which still have the potential to reconcile CDM simulations with observations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Constraining SIDM with halo shapes: revisited predictions from realistic simulations of early-type galaxies

We study the effect of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) and baryons on the shape of early-type galaxies (ETGs) and their dark matter haloes, comparing them to the predictions of the cold dark matter (CDM) scenario. We use five hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations of haloes hosting ETGs ($M_{\rm vir}\sim 10^{13}M_{\odot}$ and $M_{*}\sim10^{11}M_{\odot}$), simulated in CDM and a SIDM model with constant cross-section of $σ_T/m_χ= 1\ \mathrm{cm}^2 \mathrm{g}^{-1}$. We measure the three-dimensional and projected shapes of the dark matter haloes and their baryonic content using the inertia tensor and compare our measurements to the results of three $HST$ samples of gravitational lenses and $Chandra$ and $XMM-Newton$ X-ray observations. We find that the inclusion of baryons greatly reduces the differences between CDM and a SIDM, together with the ability to draw constraints based on shapes. Lensing measurements reject the predictions of CDM dark-matter-only simulations and prefer one of the hydro scenarios. When we consider the total sample of lenses, observational data prefer the CDM hydro scenario. The shapes of the X-ray emitting gas are compatible with observational results in both hydro runs, with CDM predicting higher elongations only in the very centre. Contrary to previous claims at the scale of elliptical galaxies, we conclude that both CDM and our SIDM model can still explain observed shapes once we include baryons in the simulations. Our results demonstrate that this is essential to derive realistic constraints and that new simulations are needed to confirm and extend our findings.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

The feasibility of constraining DM interactions with high-redshift observations by JWST

Observations of the high redshift universe provide a promising avenue for constraining the nature of the dark matter (DM). This will be even more true with the advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We run cosmological simulations of galaxy formation as part of the Effective Theory of Structure Formation (ETHOS) project to compare high redshift galaxies in Cold (CDM) and alternative DM models which have varying relativistic coupling and self-interaction strengths. The interacting DM scenarios produce a cutoff in the linear power spectrum on small-scales, followed by a series of "dark acoustic oscillations". We find that DM interactions suppress the abundance of galaxies below $M_\star \sim 10^8\,M_\odot$ for the models considered. The cutoff in the power spectrum delays structure formation relative to CDM. Objects in ETHOS that end up at the same final masses as their CDM counterparts are characterised by a more vigorous phase of early star formation. While galaxies with $M_\star \lesssim 10^6\,M_\odot$ make up more than 60 per cent of star formation in CDM at $z\approx 10$, they contribute only about half the star formation density in ETHOS. These differences diminish with decreasing redshift. We find that the effects of DM self-interactions are negligible compared to effects of relativistic coupling (i.e. the effective initial conditions for galaxy formation) in all properties of the galaxy population we examine. Finally, we show that the clustering strength of galaxies at high redshifts depends sensitively on DM physics, although these differences are manifest on scales that may be too small to be measurable by JWST.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Degeneracies Between Self-interacting Dark Matter and Supernova Feedback as cusp-core transformation mechanisms

We present a suite of 16 high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of an isolated dwarf galaxy (gaseous and stellar disk plus a stellar bulge) within an initially cuspy dark matter (DM) halo, including self-interactions between the DM particles (SIDM); as well as stochastic star formation and subsequent supernova feedback (SNF), implemented using the stellar feedback model SMUGGLE. The simulations start from identical initial conditions and we regulate the strength of SIDM and SNF by systematically varying the SIDM momentum transfer cross section and the gas density threshold for star formation. The DM halo forms a constant density core of similar size and shape for several combinations of those two parameters. Haloes with cores that are formed due to SIDM (adiabatic cusp-core transformation) have velocity dispersion profiles which are closer to isothermal than those of haloes with cores that are formed due to SNF in simulations with bursty star formation (impulsive cusp-core transformation). Impulsive SNF can generate positive stellar age gradients and increase random motion in the gas at the centre of the galaxy. Simulated galaxies in haloes with cores that were formed adiabatically are spatially more extended, with stellar metallicity gradients that are shallower (at late times) than those of galaxies in other simulations. Such observable properties of the gas and the stars, which indicate either an adiabatic or an impulsive evolution of the gravitational potential, may be used to determine whether observed cores in DM haloes are formed through self-interactions between the DM particles or in response to impulsive SNF.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Real and counterfeit cores: how feedback expands halos and disrupts tracers of inner gravitational potential in dwarf galaxies

The tension between the diverging density profiles in Lambda Cold Dark Matter ($Λ$CDM) simulations and the constant-density inner regions of observed galaxies is a long-standing challenge known as the `core-cusp' problem. We demonstrate that the \texttt{SMUGGLE} galaxy formation model implemented in the \textsc{Arepo} moving mesh code forms constant-density cores in idealized dwarf galaxies of $M_\star \approx 8 \times 10^7$ M$_{\odot}$ with initially cuspy dark matter halos of $M_{200} \approx 10^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$. Identical initial conditions run with the Springel and Hernquist (2003; SH03) feedback model preserve cuspiness. Literature on the subject has pointed to the low density threshold for star formation, $ρ_\text{th}$, in SH03-like models as an obstacle to baryon-induced core formation. Using a \texttt{SMUGGLE} run with equal $ρ_\text{th}$ to SH03, we demonstrate that core formation can proceed at low density thresholds, indicating that $ρ_\text{th}$ is insufficient on its own to determine whether a galaxy develops a core. We suggest that the ability to resolve a multiphase interstellar medium at sufficiently high densities is a more reliable indicator of core formation than any individual model parameter. In \texttt{SMUGGLE}, core formation is accompanied by large degrees of non-circular motion, with gas rotational velocity profiles that consistently fall below the circular velocity $v_\text{circ} = \sqrt{GM/R}$ out to $\sim 2$ kpc. This may artificially mimic larger core sizes when derived from observable quantities compared to the size measured from the dark matter distribution ($\sim 0.5$ kpc), highlighting the need for careful modeling in the inner regions of dwarfs to infer the true distribution of dark matter.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Conservation of radial actions in time-dependent spherical potentials

In slowly evolving spherical potentials, $Φ(r,t)$, radial actions are typically assumed to remain constant. Here, we construct dynamical invariants that allow us to derive the evolution of radial actions in spherical central potentials with an arbitrary time dependence. We show that to linear order, radial actions oscillate around a constant value with an amplitude $ΔJ_r \propto \dotΦ/Φ\,P(E,L)$. Using this result, we develop a diffusion theory that describes the evolution of the radial action distribution of ensembles of tracer particles orbiting in generic time-dependent spherical potentials. Tests against restricted $N$-body simulations in a varying Kepler potential indicate that our linear theory is accurate in regions of phase-space in which the diffusion coefficient $\tilde{D}(J_r) < 0.01\,J_r^2$. For illustration, we apply our theory to two astrophysical processes. We show that the median mass accretion rate of a Milky Way (MW) dark matter (DM) halo leads to slow global time-variation of the gravitational potential, in which the evolution of radial actions is linear (i.e. either adiabatic or diffusive) for $\sim 84$ per cent of the DM halo at redshift $z=0$. This fraction grows considerably with lookback time, suggesting that diffusion may be relevant to the modelling of several Gyr-old tidal streams in action-angle space. As a second application, we show that dynamical tracers in a self-interacting DM (SIDM) dwarf halo (with $σ/m_χ= 1\,{\rm cm^2g^{-1}}$) have invariant radial actions during the formation of a cored density profile.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

SN-driven mechanism of cusp-core transformation: an appraisal

We present and test an effective model for N -body simulations that aims at mimicking the impact of supernova (SN) feedback on the dark matter (DM) distribution of isolated halos hosting dwarf galaxies. Although the model is physically decoupled from the cosmological history of both the DM halo and the dwarf galaxy, it allows us to study the impact of different macroscopic parameters such as galaxy concentration, feedback energy and energy injection time in the process of SN-driven core formation in a physically clear way. Using our effective model in a suite of N-body simulations of an isolated halo with different SN feedback parameters, we find that whether or not a DM core forms is determined by the total amount of SN feedback energy that is transferred to the DM particles. At a fixed injected energy, the amount of transferred energy is bigger - and the size of the DM core is larger - the faster the energy injection occurs and the more compact the dwarf galaxy is. Analyzing the orbital evolution of kinematic tracers, we demonstrate that a core forms through SN feedback only if the energy injection is impulsive relative to the dynamical timescale of particles in the inner halo. However, there is no fundamental link between the total amount of injected energy and the injection rate. Consequently, the presence of signatures of impulsive changes of the gravitational potential is not a sufficient condition for dwarf-size halos to have cored density profiles.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The Onset of Gravothermal Core Collapse in Velocity Dependent Self-Interacting Dark Matter Subhaloes

It has been proposed that gravothermal collapse due to dark matter self-interactions (i.e. self-interacting dark matter, SIDM) can explain the observed diversity of the Milky Way (MW) satellites' central dynamical masses. We investigate the process behind this hypothesis using an $N$-body simulation of a MW-analogue halo with velocity dependent self-interacting dark matter (vdSIDM) in which the low velocity self-scattering cross-section, $σ_{T}/m_{x}$, reaches 100 cm$^{2}$g$^{-1}$; we dub this model the vd100 model. We compare the results of this simulation to simulations of the same halo that employ different dark models, including cold dark matter (CDM) and other, less extreme SIDM models. The masses of the vd100 haloes are very similar to their CDM counterparts, but the values of their maximum circular velocities, $V_{max}$, are significantly higher. We determine that these high $V_{max}$ subhaloes were objects in the mass range [$5\times10^{6}$, $1\times10^{8}$] $M_\odot$ at $z=1$ that undergo gravothermal core collapse. These collapsed haloes have density profiles that are described by single power laws down to the resolution limit of the simulation, and the inner slope of this density profile is approximately $-3$. Resolving the ever decreasing collapsed region is challenging, and tailored simulations will be required to model the runaway instability accurately at scales $<1$ kpc.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The halo mass function and inner structure of ETHOS haloes at high redshift

We study the halo mass function and inner halo structure at high redshifts ($z\geq5$) for a suite of simulations within the structure formation ETHOS framework. Scenarios such as cold dark matter (CDM), thermal warm dark matter (WDM), and dark acoustic oscillations (DAO) of various strengths are contained in ETHOS with just two parameters $h_{\rm peak}$ and $k_{\rm peak}$, the amplitude and scale of the first DAO peak. The Extended Press-Schechter (EPS) formalism with a smooth-$k$ filter is able to predict the cut-off in the halo mass function created by the suppression of small scale power in ETHOS models (controlled by $k_{\rm peak}$), as well as the slope at small masses that is dependent on $h_{\rm peak}$. Interestingly, we find that DAOs introduce a localized feature in the mass distribution of haloes, resulting in a mass function that is distinct in shape compared to either CDM or WDM. We find that the halo density profiles of ${\it all}$ ETHOS models are well described by the NFW profile, with a concentration that is lower than in the CDM case in a way that is regulated by $k_{\rm peak}$. We show that the concentration-mass relation for DAO models can be well approximated by the mass assembly model based on the extended Press-Schechter theory, which has been proposed for CDM and WDM elsewhere. Our results can be used to perform inexpensive calculations of the halo mass function and concentration-mass relation within the ETHOS parametrization without the need of $N-$body simulations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

ETHOS -- An Effective Theory of Structure Formation: Impact of Dark Acoustic Oscillations on Cosmic Dawn

Upcoming data of the 21-cm hydrogen line during cosmic dawn ($z\sim 10-30$) will revolutionize our understanding of the astrophysics of the first galaxies. Here we present a case study on how to exploit those same measurements to learn about the nature of dark matter (DM) at small scales. Focusing on the Effective Theory of Structure Formation (ETHOS) paradigm, we run a suite of simulations covering a broad range of DM microphysics, connecting the output of $N$-body simulations to dedicated 21-cm simulations to predict the evolution of the 21-cm signal across the entire cosmic dawn. We find that observatories targeting both the global signal and the 21-cm power spectrum are sensitive to all ETHOS models we study, and can distinguish them from CDM if the suppression wavenumber is smaller than $k\approx 300\, h/$Mpc, even when accounting for feedback with a phenomenological model. This is an order of magnitude smaller comoving scales than currently constrained by other data sets, including the Lyman-$α$ forest. Moreover, if a prospective 21-cm detection confirmed a deficiency of power at small scales, we show that ETHOS models with strong dark acoustic oscillations can be discriminated from the pure suppression of warm dark matter, showing the power of 21-cm data to understand the behavior of DM at the smallest physical scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The impact of inelastic self-interacting dark matter on the dark matter structure of a Milky Way halo

We study the effects of inelastic dark matter self-interactions on the internal structure of a simulated Milky Way (MW)-size halo. Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) is an alternative to collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) which offers a unique solution to the problems encountered with CDM on sub-galactic scales. Although previous SIDM simulations have mainly considered elastic collisions, theoretical considerations motivate the existence of multi-state dark matter where transitions from the excited to the ground state are exothermic. In this work, we consider a self-interacting, two-state dark matter model with inelastic collisions, implemented in the Arepo code. We find that energy injection from inelastic self-interactions reduces the central density of the MW halo in a shorter timescale relative to the elastic scale, resulting in a larger core size. Inelastic collisions also isotropize the orbits, resulting in an overall lower velocity anisotropy for the inelastic MW halo. In the inner halo, the inelastic SIDM case (minor-to-major axis ratio $s \equiv c/a \approx 0.65$) is more spherical than the CDM ($s \approx 0.4$), but less spherical than the elastic SIDM case ($s \approx 0.75$). The speed distribution $f(v)$ of dark matter particles at the location of the Sun in the inelastic SIDM model shows a significant departure from the CDM model, with $f(v)$ falling more steeply at high speeds. In addition, the velocity kicks imparted during inelastic collisions produce unbound high-speed particles with velocities up to 500 km s$^{-1}$ throughout the halo. This implies that inelastic SIDM can potentially leave distinct signatures in direct detection experiments, relative to elastic SIDM and CDM.

astro-ph.GA↗