Related papers: Dark Matter as a Trigger for Periodic Comet Impact…
We revisit the question of whether the observed periodicity of comet impacts on Earth is consistent with Solar oscillation about the Galactic midplane and spiral arm crossings, here in the context of dissipative dark matter models. Consider…
We calculate the expected flux profile of comets into the planetary system from the Oort cloud arising from Galactic tides and encounters with molecular clouds. We find that both periodic and sporadic bombardment episodes, with amplitudes…
Giant impacts by comets and asteroids have probably had an important influence on terrestrial biological evolution. We know of around 180 high velocity impact craters on the Earth with ages up to 2400Myr and diameters up to 300km. Some…
Numerous studies over the past 30 years have suggested there is a causal connection between the motion of the Sun through the Galaxy and terrestrial mass extinctions or climate change. Proposed mechanisms include comet impacts (via…
If a component of the dark matter has dissipative interactions, it could collapse to form a thin dark disk in our Galaxy that is coplanar with the baryonic disk. It has been suggested that dark disks could explain a variety of observed…
The long-term dynamics of Oort cloud comets are studied under the influence of both the radial and the vertical components of the Galactic tidal field. Sporadic dynamical perturbation processes are ignored, such as passing stars, since we…
In this work we explore a new dynamical path for the delivery of low-inclination comets. In a configuration formed by an interior giant planet and an exterior massive debris disk, where the mass is accounted for by the 50 largest objects in…
The cratering record on the Earth and Moon shows that our planet has been exposed to high velocity impacts for much or all of its existence. Some of these craters were produced by the impact of long period comets (LPCs). These probably…
Predicting the local flux of dark matter particles is vital for dark matter direct detection experiments. To date, such predictions have been based on simulations that model the dark matter alone. Here we include the influence of the…
Massive satellite accretions onto early galactic disks can lead to the deposition of dark matter in disk-like configurations that co-rotate with the galaxy. This phenomenon has potentially dramatic consequences for dark matter detection…
The solar system's Oort cloud can be perturbed by the Galactic tide and by individual passing stars. These perturbations can inject Oort cloud objects into the inner parts of the solar system, where they may be observed as the long-period…
The hypothesis of a companion object (Nemesis) orbiting the Sun was motivated by the claim of a terrestrial extinction periodicity, thought to be mediated by comet showers. The orbit of a distant companion to the Sun is expected to be…
Dynamical friction implies a consistency check on any system where dark matter particles are hypothesised to explain orbital dynamics requiring more mass under Newtonian gravity than is directly detectable. Introducing the assumption of a…
Dark disk model could be a remedy for dark matter (DM) explanation of positron anomaly (PA) in cosmic rays (CR). The main difficulty in PA explanation relates to cosmic gamma-radiation which is inevitably produced in DM annihilation or…
In hierarchical structure formation models of disk galaxies, a dark matter disk forms as massive satellites are preferentially dragged into the disk-plane where they dissolve. Here, we quantify the importance of this dark disk for direct…
A novel particle has been and still is an intriguing option to explain the strong evidence for dark matter in our universe. To quantitatively predict the dark matter energy density, two main ingredients are needed: interaction rates and an…
Making robust predictions for the phase space distribution of dark matter at the solar neighbourhood is vital for dark matter direct detection experiments. To date, almost all such predictions have been based on simulations that model the…
Globally disruptive events include asteroid/comet impacts, large igneous provinces and glaciations, all of which have been considered as contributors to mass extinctions. Understanding the overall relationship between the timings of the…
Comets in the Oort cloud evolve under the influence of internal and external perturbations, such as giant planets, stellar passages, and the galactic tidal field. We aim to study the dynamical evolution of the comets in the Oort cloud,…
Dark matter (DM) may have its origin in a pre-Big Bang epoch, the cosmic inflation. Here, we consider for the first time a broad class of scenarios where a massive free scalar field unavoidably reaches an equilibrium between its classical…