6533b830fe1ef96bd129710f
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Dark matter, destroyer of worlds: neutrino, thermal, and existential signatures from black holes in the Sun and Earth
Toby OpferkuchJoachim KoppJavier F. AcevedoJoseph BramanteAlan H. Goodmansubject
Astrophysics and AstronomyAstrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaDark matterFOS: Physical sciencesFlux01 natural sciencesHigh Energy Physics - ExperimentHigh Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)Planet0103 physical sciencesThermalParticle Physics - PhenomenologyHigh Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)astro-ph.HEPhysicshep-ex010308 nuclear & particles physicsAstronomyhep-phAstronomy and AstrophysicsObservableBlack holeHigh Energy Physics - Phenomenology13. Climate actionNeutrinoAstrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaParticle Physics - ExperimentHawking radiationdescription
Dark matter can be captured by celestial objects and accumulate at their centers, forming a core of dark matter that can collapse to a small black hole, provided that the annihilation rate is small or zero. If the nascent black hole is big enough, it will grow to consume the star or planet. We calculate the rate of dark matter accumulation in the Sun and Earth, and use their continued existence to place novel constraints on high mass asymmetric dark matter interactions. We also identify and detail less destructive signatures: a newly-formed black hole can be small enough to evaporate via Hawking radiation, resulting in an anomalous heat flow emanating from Earth, or in a flux of high-energy neutrinos from the Sun observable at IceCube. The latter signature is entirely new, and we find that it may cover large regions of parameter space that are not probed by any other method.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-12-16 | Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics |