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arXiv · 1108.5206

Dark Matter Seeding in Neutron Stars

M. A. Perez-Garcia·J. Silk·J. R. Stone
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Abstract

We present a mechanism that may seed compact stellar objects with stable lumps of quark matter, or {\it strangelets}, through the self-annihilation of gravitationally accreted WIMPs. We show that dark matter particles with masses above a few GeV may provide enough energy in the nuclear medium for quark deconfinement and subsequent strangelet formation. If this happens this effect may then trigger a partial or full conversion of the star into a strange star. We set a new limit on the WIMP mass in the few-GeV range that seems to be consistent with recent indications in dark matter direct detection experiments.

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M. A. Perez-Garcia, J. Silk, J. R. Stone. 2011-08-25. Dark Matter Seeding in Neutron Stars. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3700606

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