Looking for ultralight dark matter near supermassive black holes

Understand

Measurements of the dynamical environment of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are becoming abundant and precise.

• We use such measurements to look for ultralight dark matter (ULDM), which is predicted to form dense cores ("solitons") in the centre of galactic halos.
• We search for the gravitational imprint of an ULDM soliton on stellar orbits near Sgr A* and by combining stellar velocity measurements with Event Horizon Telescope imaging of M87*.
• Finding no positive evidence, we set limits on the soliton mass for different values of the ULDM particle mass $m$.