Coincidence versus fundamental principle behind simultaneous Milky Way trends

Determine whether the contemporaneous occurrence of rapid Sgr A* mass growth, strong Galactic bar slowdown, and significant Solar-neighborhood migration is coincidental or reflects a deeper fundamental principle, such as a common origin in self-interacting dark matter halo core collapse.

Background

The paper argues for a possible unifying mechanism—SIDM halo core collapse—to explain three seemingly independent, rapidly evolving Galactic phenomena observed over recent decades. While proposing this link, the authors stop short of asserting causality and explicitly leave open whether the timing alignment reflects mere coincidence or a deeper principle.

Resolving this question would clarify whether a single physical process underpins the observed trends or whether multiple unrelated effects coincidentally overlap in time.