Bosonic Dark Matter Cores Can Screen Scalar-Tensor Gravity
Abstract
We examine the observational viability of scalarized fermion-boson stars (FBSs) in massless Damour-Esposito-Farèse gravity, using the MPA1 nuclear equation of state and a self-interacting complex scalar field playing the role of an ultralight bosonic dark matter model. Constraining stellar models within a multi-messenger-motivated mass-radius window, we obtain three main results: First, bosonic dark matter acts as a catalyst for spontaneous scalarization. Second, energetically favored configurations are scalarized FBSs featuring bosonic dark matter cores that reconcile strongly coupled regimes with radius bounds. Third, dark matter cores tend to suppress scalar charges, which mimics the effect of a massive gravitational scalar field and could contribute to evade observational constraints. Additionally, the exclusive prediction of scalarized FBSs at high masses suggests a way to test this theoretical scenario.
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BibTeX
@misc{mourelle2026bosonic,
title = {{Bosonic Dark Matter Cores Can Screen Scalar-Tensor Gravity}},
author = {Jorge Castelo Mourelle and Saeed Fakhry and Néstor Ortiz},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.38746},
eprint = {2610.38746},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38746},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Bosonic Dark Matter Cores Can Screen Scalar-Tensor Gravity
AU - Jorge Castelo Mourelle
AU - Saeed Fakhry
AU - Néstor Ortiz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.38746
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38746
AB - We examine the observational viability of scalarized fermion-boson stars (FBSs) in massless Damour-Esposito-Farèse gravity, using the MPA1 nuclear equation of state and a self-interacting complex scalar field playing the role of an ultralight bosonic dark matter model. Constraining stellar models within a multi-messenger-motivated mass-radius window, we obtain three main results: First, bosonic dark matter acts as a catalyst for spontaneous scalarization. Second, energetically favored configurations are scalarized FBSs featuring bosonic dark matter cores that reconcile strongly coupled regimes with radius bounds. Third, dark matter cores tend to suppress scalar charges, which mimics the effect of a massive gravitational scalar field and could contribute to evade observational constraints. Additionally, the exclusive prediction of scalarized FBSs at high masses suggests a way to test this theoretical scenario.
ER -