CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 2,097Dark Matter and Cosmic PhenomenaGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaCosmology and Gravitation Theories

Observational Evidence for Self-Interacting Cold Dark Matter

Open access
Spergel, David N., Steinhardt, Paul J.·2000·Physical Review Letters
DOI 10.1103/physrevlett.84.3760
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Cosmological models with cold dark matter composed of weakly interacting particles predict overly dense cores in the centers of galaxies and clusters and an overly large number of halos within the Local Group compared to actual observations. We propose that the conflict can be resolved if the cold dark matter particles are self-interacting with a large scattering cross section but negligible annihilation or dissipation. In this scenario, astronomical observations may enable us to study dark matter properties that are inaccessible in the laboratory.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1103/physrevlett.84.3760

Cites

3 of 3 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Persistent discrepancies on small scales, such as the core-cusp and too-big-to-fail problems, suggest that dark matter may possess a nonzero self-interaction cross section.

    “However, persistent discrepancies on small scales, such as the core-cusp and too-big-to-fail problems, suggest that dark matter (DM) may possess a nonzero self-interaction cross section (SICS) (D.N. Spergel & P. J. Steinhardt 2000; S. Tulin & H. Yu 2018).”

    From A New Robust Constraint on the Self-interaction Cross Section of Dark Matter with Double Radio Relic Clusters (2026) · cites this paper as D.N. Spergel & P. J. Steinhardt 2000

    On p. 1, the paper identifies shallow observed galaxy cores and an excess of predicted Local Group halos as small-scale discrepancies; on p. 2, it proposes dark-matter self-interactions as a resolution. This supports the core–cusp example and the general inference, but the paper does not identify the specific too-big-to-fail problem. Its discussion of excess halos should not be treated as that distinct problem. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 27

  1. [3]B. Moore, Nature, 370, 629 (1994).
  2. [4]R.A. Flores & J.A. Primack, ApJ, 427, L1 (1994).
  3. [6]J. Dalcanton & R. Bernstein, in Galaxy Dynamics: from the Early Universe to the Present , eds.: F. Combes, G. A. Mamon, and V. Charmandaris, ASP Conference Series, 23 (1999).
  4. [7]J.F. Navarro, C.S. Frenk, & S.D.M. White, ApJ, 462, 563 (1996).
  5. [8]B. Moore, F. Governato, T. Quinn, J. Stadel, & G. Lake, ApJ Letters, 499, L5 (1998).
  6. [9]V.P. Debattista, & J.A. Sellwood, . ApJ (Letters), 493 , L5 (1998).
  7. [10]M. Mateo, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys., 36, 435 (1998).
  8. [11]A.A. Klypin, A.V. Kravtsov, O. Valenzuela, & F. Prada, ApJ, 522, 82 (1999).
  9. [12]B. Moore, S. Ghigna, F. Governato, G. Lake, G., T. Quinn, J. Stadel, & P. Tozzi, ApJ Letters, 524, L19 (1999).
  10. [13]W.H. Press, & P. Schechter, ApJ , 187, 425 (1974).
  11. [14]G. Kauffmann, S.D.M. White, & B. Guiderdoni, Mon. Not. Royal Astron. Soc. 264, 201 (1993).
  12. [15]A. Dekel & J. Silk, ApJ 303, 39 (1986).
  13. [16]M.M. MacLow & A. Ferrara, ApJ 513, 142 (1999).
  14. [17]J. Dalcanton, D.N. Spergel, & F.J. Summers, ApJ , 482, 659 (1997).
  15. [18]J. Dalcanton, D.N. Spergel, J.E. Gunn, J.E., M. Schmidt, & D.P. Schnedider, . Astron. J. 114, 635 (1997).
  16. [19]J.V. Kepner, A. Babul, & D.N. Spergel, . ApJ 487, 61 (1997).
  17. [21]M. Zwann, F. Briggs, D. Sprayberry, E. Sorar, ApJ 490, 173 (1997).
  18. [22]G. Toth & J.P. Ostriker, ApJ , 389, 5 (1992).
  19. [23]M. Weinberg, Mon. Not. Royal Astron. Soc. 299, 499 (1998).
  20. [24]R. Schaeffer, and J. Silk, ApJ 332, 1 (1988).
  21. [25]R.A.C. Croft, D.H. Weinberg, M. Pettini, L. Hernquist, & N. Katz, ApJ 520, 1 (1999).
  22. [27]C.W. Stubbs, Phys. Rev. Letters , 70 , 119 (1993).
  23. [30]E.D. Carlson, M.E. Machacek, & L.J. Hall, ApJ 398, 43 (1992).
  24. [31]M.E. Machacek, ApJ , 431, 41 (1994).
  25. [32]A.A. de Laix, R.J. Scherrer, and R.K. Schaeffer, ApJ 452, 495 (1995).
  26. [33]E.W. Kolb, D.J.H. Chung,. & A. Riotto, hep-ph/9810361 (1998) · arXiv
  27. [40]G. Quinlan, New Astronomy, 1, 255 (1996).

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Spergel, D. N., & Steinhardt, P. J.
Affiliations
Princeton University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Published
2000-04-24
Volume
84
Issue
17
Pages
3760-3763
ISSN
  • 0031-9007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1079-7114
DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.84.3760
OpenAlex
W2083034637
Cited by
2,097
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 117 · 2025: 139 · 2024: 109 · 2023: 109 · 2022: 112 · 2021: 137 · 2020: 120 · 2019: 153 · 2018: 135 · 2017: 98 · 2016: 87 · 2015: 72 · 2014: 68 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 48
FWCI
52.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
link.aps.org/licenses/aps-default-license (vor)
Locations
  • Physical Review Letters (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Division of Mathematical Sciences
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
Keywords
self-interacting dark matter, cold dark matter, dark matter scattering cross section, galaxy cores, halo density profiles, dark matter annihilation

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review