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Dwarf Galaxies Imply Dark Matter Is Heavier than 2.2×10−21  eV

Tim Zimmermann1,*, James Alvey2,3,4,†, David J. E. Marsh5,‡, Malcolm Fairbairn5,§, and Justin I. Read6,∥

  • 1Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1029 Blindern, Oslo, Norway
  • 2Kavli Institute for Cosmology Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, United Kingdom
  • 3Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, United Kingdom
  • 4GRAPPA Institute, Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • 5Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
  • 6Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: timzi@astro.uio.no
  • †Contact author: jbga2@cam.ac.uk
  • ‡Contact author: david.j.marsh@kcl.ac.uk
  • §Contact author: malcolm.fairbairn@kcl.ac.uk
  • ∥Contact author: j.read@surrey.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 151001 – Published 14 April, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.151001

Abstract

It is widely established that a lower bound on the dark matter particle mass, m, can be obtained by demanding that the de Broglie wavelength in a given galaxy must be smaller than the virial radius of the galaxy, leading to m≳10−22  eV when applied to typical dwarf galaxies. This lower limit has never been derived precisely or rigorously. We use stellar kinematical data for the Milky Way satellite galaxy Leo II to self-consistently reconstruct a statistical ensemble of dark matter wave functions and corresponding density profiles. By comparison to a data-driven, model-independent reconstruction, and using a variant of the maximum mean discrepancy as a statistical measure, we determine that a self-consistent description of dark matter in the local Universe requires m>2.2×10−21  eV  (CL>95%). This lower limit is free of any assumptions pertaining to cosmology, microphysics (including spin), or dynamics of dark matter, and only assumes that it is predominantly composed of a single bosonic particle species.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 151001– Published 14 April, 2025
  • Received 6 September 2024
  • Accepted 27 February 2025
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