Simulation of energy transport by dark matter scattering in stars

Abstract

Asymmetric dark matter (ADM) that is captured in stars can act as an efficient conductor of heat. Small ADM-induced changes in a star's temperature gradient are known to alter neutrino fluxes and asteroseismological signatures, erase convective cores and modify a star's main sequence lifetime. The Sun's proximity to us makes it an ideal laboratory for studying these effects. However, the two formalisms commonly used to parametrize such heat transport were developed over 30 years ago, and calibrated with a single set of simulations. What's more, both are based on assumptions that break down at the Knudsen transition, where heat transport is maximized. We construct a Monte Carlo simulation to exactly solve the Boltzmann collision equation, determining the steady-state distribution and luminosity carried in stars by ADM with cross sections that depend on velocity and momentum. We find that, although the established (Gould and Raffelt) formalism based on local thermal equilibrium does well for constant cross sections, the isothermal (Spergel and Press) method actually performs better across all models with a simple, universal rescaling function. Based on simulation results, we provide recommendations on the parametrization of DM heat transport in stellar evolution models.

38 pages, 14 figures. Updated to match published version

References in corpus (18)

• Dark Matter Search Results from the Complete Exposure of the PICO-60 C${}_3$F${}_8$ Bubble Chamber
• The elemental composition of the Sun II. The iron group elements Sc to Ni
• The elemental composition of the Sun I. The intermediate mass elements Na to Ca
• The elemental composition of the Sun III. The heavy elements Cu to Th
• Line formation in solar granulation VII. CO lines and the solar C and O isotopic abundances
• A possible indication of momentum-dependent asymmetric dark matter in the Sun
• Light WIMPs in the Sun: Constraints from Helioseismology
• On the solar nickel and oxygen abundances
• Evaporation of dark matter from celestial bodies
• Comment on "Multiscatter stellar capture of dark matter"
• Solar constraints on asymmetric dark matter
• Effect of electromagnetic dipole dark matter on energy transport in the solar interior
• Dark matter capture and annihilation in stars: Impact on the red giant branch tip
• The Effects of Asymmetric Dark Matter on Stellar Evolution I: Spin-Dependent Scattering
• Asymmetric Dark Matter Imprint on Low-mass Main-sequence Stars in the Milky Way Nuclear Star Cluster
• Dark matter imprint on ${}^8$B neutrino spectrum
• On asymmetric dark matter constraints from the asteroseismology of a subgiant star
• Capt'n General: A generalized stellar dark matter capture and heat transport code

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Celestial Objects as Strongly-Interacting Non-Annihilating Dark Matter Detectors
• Evaporation Barrier for Dark Matter in Celestial Bodies
• An Analytic Approach to Light Dark Matter Propagation
• Optimal Celestial Bodies for Dark Matter Detection
• Probing Dark Sectors with Neutron Stars
• Extending the Dark Matter Reach of Water Cherenkov Detectors using Jupiter