Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: We impose new severe constraints on the self-interactions of fermionic asymmetric dark matter based on observations of nearby old neutron stars. Weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) self-interactions mediated by Yukawa-type interactions can lower significantly the number of WIMPs necessary for gravitational collapse of the WIMP population accumulated in a neutron star. Even nearby neutron stars located at regions of low dark matter density can accrete a sufficient number of WIMPs that can potentially collapse, form a mini black hole, and destroy the host star. Based on this, we derive constraints on the WIMP self-interactions which in some cases are by several orders of magnitude stricter than the ones from the bullet cluster.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Author: Chris Kouvaris
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1565680558