Boosting Supermassive Black Hole Growth in the Early Universe by Fuzzy Dark Matter Solitons
Observations of massive supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the early Universe challenge existing black hole formation models. We propose that soliton cores in fuzzy dark matter (FDM) offer a potential solution to this timing problem. Our FDM cosmological zoom-in simulations confirm that, for a particle mass m_{FDM}∼10^{-22} eV, solitons are well developed at redshift z∼7 with masses of ∼10^{9}M_{⊙}, comparable to the observed SMBHs. We then demonstrate using hydrodynamic simulations that, compared to cold dark matter, these high-z massive FDM solitons with mass M_{s} can provide additional gravitational potential to accrete gas and boost the Bondi accretion rate of a growing black hole seed with mass M_{BH} by up to 2-4 orders of magnitude, in the regime of efficient cooling and negligible radiation pressure. This accretion boosting mechanism is effective for 10^{-22}≲m_{FDM}≲10^{-20} eV and potentially beyond as long as M_{s}>M_{BH}.
Authors
- Hsinhao Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7368-1324)
- M. Gaspari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2754-9258)
- Hsiang-Yi Karen Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3269-4660)
- Hsi-Yu Schive (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1249-279X)
- H.-H. Sandy 懷萱 Chiu 邱 (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7401-382X)
Institutions
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT)
- National Taiwan University (TW)
- National Tsing Hua University (TW)
- University of Michigan (US)
- National Center for Theoretical Sciences (TW)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-02-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.134.051402
- Citations
- 12
- Primary Topic
- Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 13.86
Funders
- Ministry of Education
- National Taiwan University
- H2020 European Research Council