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Relativistic scalar dark matter drag forces on a black hole binary

Shuo Xin1,2 and Elias R. Most3,4

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 103032 – Published 19 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wgjx-qpdw

Abstract

Dark matter around black holes can induce drag forces through dynamical friction and accretion, potentially affecting the orbital evolution and gravitational wave emission of binary systems. We here present a series of two-dimensional general relativistic simulations of a black hole binary in a wind tunnel for an asymptotically homogeneous scalar field background. We extract the drag forces, torque, mass and charge accretion acting on the binary, and analyze their dependence on the binary separation, velocity and the scalar field parameters. We find that the binary’s drag is not a simple superposition of two isolated black holes; the presence of a companion modifies the gravitational wake and yields significant nonlinearities. This additional force and torque can (in principle) modify the inspiral and induce a dephasing of the gravitational wave signal.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 103032– Published 19 May, 2026
  • Received 27 August 2025
  • Accepted 7 April 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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