Related papers: Dark Matter (H)eats Young Planets
We suggest that accretion of planet-bound dark matter by the Jovian planets, and by hot-Jupiter exoplanets, could be a significant source of their internal heat. The anomalously low internal heat of Uranus would then be explained if the…
We examine whether the accretion of dark matter onto neutron stars could ever have any visible external effects. Captured dark matter which subsequently annihilates will heat the neutron stars, although it seems the effect will be too small…
In the current paradigm of cosmic structure formation, dark matter plays a key role on the formation and evolution of galaxies through its gravitational influence. On microscopic scales, dark matter particles are expected to annihilate…
We present a new search for dark matter using planetary atmospheres. We point out that annihilating dark matter in planets can produce ionizing radiation, which can lead to excess production of ionospheric $H_3^+$. We apply this search…
Dark matter can be captured by celestial objects and accumulate at their centers, forming a core of dark matter that can collapse to a small black hole, provided that the annihilation rate is small or zero. If the nascent black hole is big…
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.…
In many models, dark matter particles can elastically scatter with nuclei in planets, causing those particles to become gravitationally bound. While the energy expected to be released through the subsequent annihilations of dark matter…
We present, for the first time, a complete treatment of strongly-interacting dark matter capture in planets, taking Earth as an example. We focus on light dark matter and the heating of Earth by dark matter annihilation, addressing a number…
Interactions with particle dark matter could brighten old, isolated neutron stars to thermal luminosities detectable at current and next-generation telescopes. We present a novel mechanism for such signals. Non-annihilating (e.g.,…
The astronomical dark matter is an essential component of the Universe and yet its nature is still unresolved. It could be made of neutral and massive elementary particles which are their own antimatter partners. These dark matter species…
The search for dark matter is one of the crucial open problems in both particle physics and cosmology. If dark matter scatters with Standard Model particles, it could accumulate inside the Earth and begin to annihilate, producing heat…
Helioseismology can be used to place new constraints on the properties of dark matter, allowing solar observations to complement more conventional dark matter searches currently in operation. During the course of its lifetime, the Sun…
The capture of dark matter, and its subsequent annihilation, can heat old, isolated neutron stars. In order for kinetic heating to be achieved, the captured dark matter must undergo sufficient scattering to deposit its kinetic energy in the…
If dark matter is efficiently captured by a planet, energy released in its annihilation can exceed that planet's total heat output. Building on prior work, we treat Earth's composition and dark matter capture in detail and present improved…
A mechanism is identified whereby dark matter (DM) in protostellar halos dramatically alters the current theoretical framework for the formation of the first stars. Heat from neutralino DM annihilation is shown to overwhelm any cooling…
White dwarfs and neutron stars are far-reaching and multi-faceted laboratories in the hunt for dark matter. We review detection prospects of wave-like, particulate, macroscopic and black hole dark matter that make use of several exceptional…
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…
I review constraints on solar system-bound dark matter, and discuss the possibility that dark matter could be gravitationally bound to the earth and other planets. I briefly survey various empirical constraints on such planet-bound dark…
We investigate the influence of dark matter on hybrid stars. Using a two-fluid approach, where normal and dark matter components interact only gravitationally, we explore how dark matter can trigger the appearance of quark matter in neutron…
Dark Matter in Earth intersecting orbits can scatter off the electrons and lose energy, and finally be gravitationally bound to Earth. Eventually they lose enough energy and accumulate at the core. It is assumed that DM annihilates/decays…