Supernova Constraints on Dark Flavored Sectors

Abstract

Proto-neutron stars forming a few seconds after core-collapse supernovae are hot and dense environments where hyperons can be efficiently produced by weak processes. By making use of various state-of-the-art supernova simulations combined with the proper extensions of the equations of state including $\Lambda$ hyperons, we calculate the cooling of the star induced by the emission of dark particles $X^0$ through the decay $\Lambda \to n{X}^0$. Comparing this novel energy-loss process to the neutrino cooling of SN 1987A allows us to set a stringent upper limit on the branching fraction, BR$(\Lambda \to n{X}^0)\le 8\times 10^{-9}$, that we apply to massless dark photons and axions with flavor-violating couplings to quarks. We find that the new supernova bound can be orders of magnitude stronger than other limits in dark-sector models.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures. Based on the work arXiv:2012.11632. Contribution to the TAUP 2021 conference proceedings

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