Related papers: White Dwarfs as Dark Matter Detectors
We examine catalogs of white dwarfs (WDs) and find that there are sufficient number of massive WDs, M_WD > 1.35Mo, that might potentially explode as type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the frame of the core degenerate scenario. In the core…
Detonations in helium-rich envelopes surrounding white dwarfs have garnered attention as triggers of faint thermonuclear ".Ia" supernovae and double detonation Type Ia supernovae. However, recent studies have found that the minimum size of…
We study warm Higgs portal dark matter (DM) in the framework of freeze-in at stronger coupling. This scenario assumes that the Standard Model thermal bath temperature has always been relatively low, which suppresses dark matter production.…
Indirect dark matter (DM) detection typically involves the observation of standard model (SM) particles emerging from DM annihilation/decay inside regions of high dark matter concentration. We consider an annihilation scenario in which this…
Cosmological simulations of the $\Lambda$CDM model suggest that the dark matter halos of dwarf galaxies are denser in their center than what observational data of such galaxies imply. In this letter, we propose a novel solution to this…
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…
The first solids that form as a white dwarf (WD) starts to crystallize are expected to be greatly enriched in actinides. Previously [PRL 126, 1311010] we found that these solids might support a nuclear fission chain reaction that could…
We present a numerical investigation of the tidal disruption of white dwarfs by moderately massive black holes, with particular reference to the centers of dwarf galaxies and globular clusters. Special attention is given to the fate of…
Early excess emission observed in Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) within $\sim1$ day of explosion provides a critical window into their progenitor systems. In the present study, we investigate formation of the circumstellar matter (CSM) in…
We present the first suite of cosmological hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations of isolated dwarf galaxies for a dark sector that consists of Cold Dark Matter and a strongly-dissipative sub-component. The simulations are implemented in GIZMO…
In order for a white dwarf (WD) to achieve the Chandrasekhar mass, M_C, and explode as a Type Ia supernova (SNIa), it must interact with another star, either accreting matter from or merging with it. The failure to identify the types of…
Several recently discovered peculiar type Ia supernovae seem to demand an altogether new formation theory that might help explain the puzzling dissimilarities between them and the standard type Ia supernovae. The most striking aspect of the…
Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models struggle to match the observations at galactic scales. The tension can be reduced either by dramatic baryonic feedback effects or by modifying the particle physics of CDM. Here, we consider an ultra-light…
The observed anti-correlation between the central dark matter (DM) densities of the bright Milky Way (MW) dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) and their orbital pericenter distances poses a potential signature of self-interacting dark matter…
Observations on galactic scales seem to be in contradiction with recent high resolution N-body simulations. This so-called cold dark matter (CDM) crisis has been addressed in several ways, ranging from a change in fundamental physics by…
The Cold Dark Matter paradigm successfully explains many phenomena on scales larger than galaxies, but seems to predict galaxy halos which are more centrally concentrated and have a lumpier substructure than observed. Endowing cosmic dark…
We propose a new method to constrain the warm dark matter (WDM) particle mass, $m_\chi$, based on the counts of multiply imaged, distant supernovae (SN) produced by strong lensing by intervening cosmological matter fluctuations. The counts…
Brown dwarfs, being transitional objects between giant planets and low-mass stars, possess dense, cool interiors that provide optimal conditions to explore non-standard physics. Capture and accumulation of dark-matter particles can alter…
The detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf (WD) has emerged as one of the most promising Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) progenitor scenarios. Recent studies have suggested that the rapid transfer of a very small amount of helium from…
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are standardizable cosmological candles which led to the discovery of the accelerating universe. However, the physics of how white dwarfs (WDs) explode and lead to SNe Ia is still poorly understood. The…