Related papers: Neutron Stars as Dark Matter Probes
We investigate the effects of dark matter annihilation on objects with masses close to the sub-stellar limit, finding that the minimum mass for stable hydrogen burning is larger than the $\sim0.075 M_\odot $ value predicted in the Standard…
Annihilations of weakly interacting dark matter particles provide an important signature for the possibility of indirect detection of dark matter in galaxy halos. These self-annihilations can be greatly enhanced in the vicinity of a massive…
We studied the rate at which stars capture dark matter (DM) particles, considering different assumptions regarding the DM characteristics and in particular investigating how the stellar physics influences the capture rate. Two scenarios…
The crust of a neutron star is essentially determined by the low-density region ($\rho<\rho_0\approx0.15-0.16\unit{fm}^{-3}$) of the equation of state. At the bottom of the inner crust, where the density is $\rho\lesssim0.1\rho_0$, the…
The neutron-drip transition in the dense matter constituting the interior of neutron stars generally refers to the appearance of unbound neutrons as the matter density reaches some threshold density $\rho_\textrm{drip}$. This transition has…
Although dark matter makes up 80% of the gravitational mass of our Galaxy, its composition is not known. One hypothesis is that dark matter consists of massive particles called WIMPs. WIMPs are expected to accumulate and coannihilate in the…
Dark matter particles captured in neutron stars deposit their energy as heat. This DM heating effect can be observed only if it dominates over other internal heating effects in NSs. In this work, as an example of such an internal heating…
We discuss the possibility for a cooled down and otherwise stable solitary neutron star to make a spontaneous transition to its potential black hole ground state. This fundamental process would mimic a precursorless explosion in which the…
Depending on mass and rotational frequency, gravity compresses the matter in the core regions of neutron stars to densities that are several times higher than the density of ordinary atomic nuclei. At such huge densities atoms themselves…
We study thermal states of transiently accreting neutron stars (with mean accretion rates $\dot{M} \sim 10^{-14}-10^{-9}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$) determined by the deep crustal heating of accreted matter sinking into stellar interiors. We…
Motivated by the recent detection of the gravitational wave signal emitted by a binary neutron star merger, we analyse the possible impact of dark matter on such signals. We show that dark matter cores in merging neutron stars may yield an…
We study the impact of asymmetric bosonic dark matter on neutron star properties, including possible changes of tidal deformability, maximum mass, radius, and matter distribution inside the star. The conditions at which dark matter…
The first stars to form in the history of the universe may have been powered by dark matter annihilation rather than by fusion. This new phase of stellar evolution may have lasted millions to billions of years. These dark stars can grow to…
Dark matter heating in planets has been proposed as a potential probe for dark matter detection. Assuming near-equilibrium conditions, we find that the energy input from dark matter raises planetary temperatures and accelerates rotation.…
We study the hydrostatic equilibrium configuration of an admixture of degenerate dark matter and normal nuclear matter by using a general relativistic two-fluid formalism. We consider non- self-annihilating dark matter particles of mass ~ 1…
Compact stellar objects are promising cosmic laboratories to test the nature of dark matter (DM). DM captured by the strong gravitational field of these stellar remnants transfers kinetic energy to the star during the collision. This can…
White dwarfs and neutron stars are stellar objects with masses comparable to that of our sun. However, as the endpoint stages of stellar evolution, these objects do not sustain any thermonuclear burning and therefore can no longer support…
Asymmetric dark matter can be efficiently captured by neutron stars via elastic scattering with nucleons and dark matter self scattering. The accumulated dark matter thermalizes and concentrates in the stellar interior, forming a dark…
Recently, Cheng et al. identified a number of massive white dwarfs (WD) that appear to have an additional heat source providing a luminosity near $\approx 10^{-3}L_\odot$ for multiple Gyr. In this paper we explore heating from electron…
We propose a new strategy to search for a particular type of dark matter via nuclear capture. If the dark matter particle carries baryon number, as motivated by a class of theoretical explanations of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the…