Hints of self-interacting dark matter from strong gravitational lensing
Abstract
An analysis of 29 quadruply imaged quasars hints at dark matter halo densities consistent with gravothermal core collapse, a key prediction of self-interacting dark matter. We interpret this evidence through elastic Yukawa scattering, combining lensing with upper limits on the cross-section strength from galaxy clusters and Milky Way satellite evaporation. Favored models have dark matter masses of $20−80\,{\rm GeV}$, MeV-scale mediators, and Yukawa-potential strengths near 10−3, yielding cross-sections of 102--104 cm2 g−1 at 10 km s−1. Cosmological, direct and indirect detection bounds on MeV-scale mediators motivate a neutrinophilic scalar dilepton that decays invisibly without Higgs mixing. These results demonstrate how inferences on core collapse constrain dark sector physics.
Related
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- Semi-Analytic Predictions for Strong-Lensing Perturbers in Cold and Self-Interacting Dark Matter
- JWST lensed quasar dark matter survey V: Hints of self-interacting dark matter from 29 quadruply imaged quasars
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- Strong gravitational lensing with Euclid
BibTeX
@misc{gilman2026hints,
title = {{Hints of self-interacting dark matter from strong gravitational lensing}},
author = {Daniel Gilman and Kalliopi Petraki and Thomas Pignard and James Gurian and Alex Kusenko and Anna Nierenberg},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.40766},
eprint = {2610.40766},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40766},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Hints of self-interacting dark matter from strong gravitational lensing
AU - Daniel Gilman
AU - Kalliopi Petraki
AU - Thomas Pignard
AU - James Gurian
AU - Alex Kusenko
AU - Anna Nierenberg
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.40766
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40766
AB - An analysis of 29 quadruply imaged quasars hints at dark matter halo densities consistent with gravothermal core collapse, a key prediction of self-interacting dark matter. We interpret this evidence through elastic Yukawa scattering, combining lensing with upper limits on the cross-section strength from galaxy clusters and Milky Way satellite evaporation. Favored models have dark matter masses of $20−80\,{\rm GeV}$, MeV-scale mediators, and Yukawa-potential strengths near 10^−3, yielding cross-sections of 10^2--10^4 cm^2 g^−1 at 10 km s^−1. Cosmological, direct and indirect detection bounds on MeV-scale mediators motivate a neutrinophilic scalar dilepton that decays invisibly without Higgs mixing. These results demonstrate how inferences on core collapse constrain dark sector physics.
ER -