Publications (7)
Dynamical friction on binary stars in dark matter dominated environments
Nicolas Esser
We study binary stars moving through a uniform dark matter background and experiencing dynamical friction. The centre-of-mass motion of the pairs is taken into account. We derive f…
Gravitational waves from primordial black holes passing by neutron stars: observational prospects for the Galactic center
Nicolas Esser, Juan GarcÃa-Bellido, Peter Tinyakov
We investigate the gravitational wave (GW) signals emitted by planetary-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) passing nearby or traversing neutron stars (NSs). While previous studies…
The impact of primordial black holes on the stellar mass function of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies
Nicolas Esser, Sven De Rijcke, Peter Tinyakov
If primordial black holes constitute the dark matter, stars forming in dark-matter dominated environments with low velocity dispersions, such as ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, may cap…
Constraints on primordial black holes from observation of stars in dwarf galaxies
Nicolas Esser, Peter Tinyakov
We propose a way to constrain the primordial black hole (PBH) abundance in the range of PBH masses around g based on their capture by Sun-like stars in dwarf galaxies,…
Constraints on asteroid-mass primordial black holes in dwarf galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope photometry
Nicolas Esser, Carrie Filion, Sven De Rijcke +4
Primordial black holes (PBHs) in the asteroid-mass range remain a viable and until now unconstrained dark matter (DM) candidate. If such PBHs exist, they could be captured by stars…
Collisional Dynamics of Stars and Dark Matter in Ultra-Faint Galaxies
Raphaël Errani, Raphaël Errani, Nicolas Esser +3
We use controlled N-body simulations to study the collisional exchange of energy between stars and dark matter in ultra-faint galaxies. We find that dynamical friction between star…