Singularities in the gravitational capture of dark matter through long-range interactions

DOI10.1088/1475-7516/2022/01/016zbMATH Open1486.83072arXiv2110.02234OpenAlexW3204128232MaRDI QIDQ5863293FDOQ5863293

Authors: Cristian Gaidau, Jessie Shelton 

Publication date: 11 March 2022

Published in: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We re-examine the gravitational capture of dark matter (DM) through long-range interactions. We demonstrate that neglecting the thermal motion of target particles, which is often a good approximation for short-range capture, results in parametrically inaccurate results for long-range capture. When the particle mediating the scattering process has a mass that is small in comparison to the momentum transfer in scattering events, correctly incorporating the thermal motion of target particles results in a quadratic, rather than logarithmic, sensitivity to the mediator mass, which substantially enhances the capture rate. We quantitatively assess the impact of this finite temperature effect on the captured DM population in the Sun as a function of mediator mass. We find that capture of DM through light dark photons, as in e.g. mirror DM, can be powerfully enhanced, with self-capture attaining a geometric limit over much of parameter space. For visibly-decaying dark photons, thermal corrections are not large in the Sun, but may be important in understanding long-range DM capture in more massive bodies such as Population III stars. We additionally provide the first calculation of the long-range DM self-evaporation rate.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.02234

zbMATH Keywords

dark matter theorysolar physicsfirst stars

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Classical and relativistic thermodynamics (80A10) (2)-body potential quantum scattering theory (81U05) Approximation procedures, weak fields in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C25) Dark matter and dark energy (83C56)

Cites Work

• New stellar constraints on dark photons
• Cosmological signals of a mirror twin Higgs
• Stellar cooling bounds on new light particles: plasma mixing effects
• Revisiting supernova 1987A constraints on dark photons

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