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SIDM and CDM interpretations of the million-solar-mass lensing perturber JVAS B1938+666-V

Xingyu Zhang* and Hai-Bo Yu†

  • Center for Experimental Cosmology and Instrumentation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA

  • *Contact author: xingyuz@ucr.edu
  • †Contact author: haiboyu@ucr.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 083015 – Published 6 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/npqp-jgrp

Abstract

A 106M⊙ object has recently been inferred from gravitational imaging of the strong-lensing system JVAS B1938+666, exhibiting an unusually dense inner region embedded within an extended envelope, far exceeding expectations for cold dark matter (CDM) halos. Using gravothermal fluid simulations, we show that such a structure arises naturally in self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) halos evolving into a deep core-collapse phase, where an ultradense core forms within an extended profile. The resulting density structure closely matches the inferred properties of the lensing object. We also demonstrate that a similar profile could be reproduced in CDM in the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole, but this requires an early forming progenitor that subsequently loses five orders of magnitude in mass through tidal stripping by the lens galaxy. Whether such a scenario can be realized in realistic cosmological environments remains an open question.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 083015– Published 6 October, 2026
  • Received 15 June 2026
  • Accepted 14 September 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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