Supermassive Black Holes from Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos

Supermassive Black Holes from Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos
Yiming Zhong, Boston University
Yiming Zhong
Date and time: Tue, Feb 27, 2018 - 2:30pm
Location: LGRT419B
Category: ACFI Seminar
Abstract:

Dark sector models with massless or ultra-light mediators naturally introduce elastic and inelastic self-interactions of dark matter. The heat exchange induced by the elastic scattering allows the gravothermal expansion and collapse of a dark matter halo. The collapsed halo ends into a singular state and may form a massive black hole. A mild inelastic scattering can significantly accelerate the collapse. Together they provide a new explanation for the formation of supermassive black holes at high redshifts.