Speaker
Description
Author: Nicole Bell
Presenter: Nicole Bell
Abstract: The capture of dark matter in stars provides a cosmic laboratory in which to study the nature of dark matter particles and their interactions under extreme conditions. We discuss the capture of dark matter in neutron stars and white dwarfs, and the heating caused by the subsequent thermalization and annihilation of that dark matter. We find that most of the dark matter’s kinetic energy is rapidly deposited in the star. Moreover, capture-annihilation equilibrium, and hence maximal annihilation heating, can typically be achieved without complete thermalization of the captured dark matter. Comparing projected sensitivities with limits from direct detection experiments, we find that neutron stars and white dwarfs provide a possible means to probe dark matter interactions that would be difficult or impossible to observe in experiments on Earth.
