Related papers: Dark Matter (S)pins the Planet
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
Dark kinetic heating of neutron stars has been previously studied as a promising dark matter detection avenue. Kinetic heating occurs when dark matter is sped up to relativistic speeds in the gravitational well of high-escape velocity…
The evidence for the dark matter of the hot big bang cosmology is about as good as it gets in natural science. The exploration of its nature is now led by direct and indirect detection experiments, to be complemented by advances in the full…
The presence of dark matter has been ascertained through a wealth of astrophysical and cosmological phenomena and its nature is a central puzzle in modern science. Elementary particles stand as the most compelling explanation. They have…
It is shown that the vacuum condensate induced by many phenomena behaves as a perfect fluid which, under particular conditions, has zero or negative pressure. In particular, the condensates of thermal states, of fields in curved space and…
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 observed unusual behaviors of the orbits of Trans-Neptunian objects as well as the gravitational anomalies detected by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment can be explained by assuming the existence of a ninth planet in the…
Gravitational potential fluctuations driven by bursty star formation can kinematically 'heat up' dark matter at the centres of dwarf galaxies. A key prediction of such models is that, at a fixed dark matter halo mass, dwarfs with a higher…
Neutron stars capture dark matter efficiently. The kinetic energy transferred during capture heats old neutron stars in the local galactic halo to temperatures detectable by upcoming infrared telescopes. We derive the sensitivity of this…
Over the past decade, a consensus picture has emerged in which roughly a quarter of the universe consists of dark matter. The observational evidence for the existence of dark matter is reviewed: rotation curves of galaxies, weak lensing…
Direct detection of dark matter continues to elude scientists' many attempts to see it interact, and still to this day the only way we know it is there is through observed gravitational effects. The many search experiments are at the point…
Neutron stars provide a cosmic laboratory to study the nature of dark matter particles and their interactions. Dark matter can be captured by neutron stars via scattering, where kinetic energy is transferred to the star. This can have a…
Neutron stars can provide new insight into dark matter properties, as these dense objects capture dark matter particles very efficiently. It has recently been shown that the energy transfer in the dark matter capture process can lead to…
I review some key aspects of capture and possible observable effects of particle dark matter in stars. Focusing on the transport of heat from captured asymmetric dark matter, I outline existing computational methods, and the challenges that…
Owing to the renewed interest in dark matter after the upgrade of the large hadron collider and its dedication to dark matter research it is timely to reassess the whole problem. Considering dark matter is one way to reconcile the…