Periodic Gravitational Lensing with Oscillating Boson Stars

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Authors: Xing-Yu Yang, Tan Chen, Rong-Gen Cai
Cited by: 1
References: 39

Abstract

We show that oscillating (real-scalar) boson stars generically host an oscillating radial caustic. Sources near this caustic cross it every half period, thereby producing periodic caustic-crossing lensing. The resulting observables are phase locked to the lens oscillation: image-pair creation or annihilation, changing image morphology, achromatic photometric spikes, and astrometric motion. This signal provides a distinctive target for time-domain astronomy, and its detection would reveal an intrinsically time-dependent compact dark-sector object. Event-number estimates indicate a measurable discovery space with current astrometric and high-cadence photometric surveys, while null searches would constrain the abundance of such objects as dark matter. The predictions rely only on the dynamics of real-scalar condensates and extend naturally to self-interacting real scalars, including axionlike particles, and to ultralight vector bosons.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Publication details

Journal / source
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Volume
137
Issue
3
Pages
031403–031403
Publication date
18 June 2026
Language
EN