Self-Interacting Dark Sectors in Supernovae Can Behave as a Relativistic Fluid
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: We revisit supernova (SN) bounds on a hidden sector consisting of millicharged particles χ and a massless dark photon. Unless the self-coupling is fine-tuned to be small, rather than exiting the SN core as a gas, the particles form a relativistic fluid and subsequent dark QED fireball, streaming out against the drag due to the interaction with matter. Novel bounds due to excessive energy deposition in the mantle of low-energy supernovae can be obtained. The cooling bounds from SN 1987A are unexpectedly not affected in the free-streaming regime. The inclusion of χχ[over ¯]→standard model substantially modifies the constraints in the trapping regime, which can only be treated hydrodynamically. Our results can be adapted to generic sub-GeV self-interacting dark sectors.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institutions: University of Padua, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
OpenAlex ID: W4405533384