Related papers: Dark matter and bubble nucleation in old neutron s…
Recent observational results for the masses and radii of some neutron stars are in contrast with typical observations and theoretical predictions for "normal" neutron stars. We propose that their unusual properties can be interpreted as the…
Neutron stars can be destroyed by black holes at their center accreting material and eventually swallowing the entire star. Here we note that the accretion model adopted in the literature, based on Bondi accretion or variations thereof, is…
How large can the dark matter self-annihilation rate in the late universe be? This rate depends on (rho_DM/m_chi)^2 <sigma_A v>, where rho_DM/m_chi is the number density of dark matter, and the annihilation cross section is averaged over…
A phase of strong interacting matter with deconfined quarks is expected in the core of massive neutron stars. We investigate the quark deconfinement phase transition in cold (T = 0) and hot beta-stable hadronic matter. Assuming a first…
The hypothesis that neutrons might decay into dark matter is explored using neutron stars as a testing ground. It is found that in order to obtain stars with masses at the upper end of those observed, the dark matter must experience a…
Kinetic heating of old cold neutron stars, via the scattering of dark matter with matter in the star, provides a promising way to probe the nature of dark matter interactions. We consider a dark matter candidate that is a Standard Model…
Dark matter particles will be captured in neutron stars if they undergo scattering interactions with nucleons or leptons. These collisions transfer the dark matter kinetic energy to the star, resulting in appreciable heating that is…
The question of whether quark matter exists in neutron stars is a long standing one. Generally one finds that a first order phase transition from baryons to quarks softens the equation of state so much that the star would collapse into a…
Neutron stars offer powerful astrophysical laboratories to probe the properties of dark matter. Gradual accumulation of heavy, non-annihilating dark matter in neutron stars can lead to the formation of comparable-mass black holes, and…
The linear sigma model with quarks at very low temperatures provides an effective description for the thermodynamics of the strong interaction in cold and dense matter, being especially useful at densities found in compact stars and…
Dark matter can capture in neutron stars and heat them to observable luminosities. We study relativistic scattering of dark matter on highly degenerate electrons. We develop a Lorentz invariant formalism to calculate the capture probability…
Dark matter may accumulate in neutron stars given its gravitational interaction and abundance. We investigate the influence of strongly-interacting dark matter, described by a QCD-like one-flavor $G_2$ gauge theory, on neutron stars. This…
Recent developments in the theory of pure neutron matter and experiments concerning the symmetry energy of nuclear matter, coupled with recent measurements of high-mass neutron stars, now allow for relatively tight constraints on 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…
In the present work we study the scalar singlet as well as the Two-Higgs Doublet model inert dark matter particles impact on compact objects, and we provide the first constraints of the parameter space using neutron stars. The models…
A comprehensive microscopic study of the properties of bulk matter at densities just below nuclear saturation $\rho_s = 2.5 \sim 10^{14}$ g cm$^{-3}$, zero and finite temperature and high neutron fraction, is outlined, and preliminary…
The amount of decaying dark matter, accumulated in the central regions in neutron stars together with the energy deposition rate from decays, may set a limit on the neutron star survival rate against transitions to more compact objects…
We show that self-annihilating neutralino WIMP dark matter accreted onto neutron stars may provide a mechanism to seed compact objects with long-lived lumps of strange quark matter, or strangelets, for WIMP masses above a few GeV. This…
We present a mechanism that may seed compact stellar objects with stable lumps of quark matter, or {\it strangelets}, through the self-annihilation of gravitationally accreted WIMPs. We show that dark matter particles with masses above a…
At the extreme densities reached in the core of neutron stars, it is possible that quark deconfined matter is produced. The formation of this new phase of strongly interacting matter is likely to occur via a first-order phase transition for…