Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2022
Volume 67, Number 6
Saturday–Tuesday, April 9–12, 2022; New York
Session W14: Dark Matter Tests With Compact ObjectsRecordings Available Undergrad Friendly
|
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: DAP Chair: Chiara Capelli, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Room: Soho |
Monday, April 11, 2022 5:45PM - 5:57PM |
W14.00001: Searching for Axion-Like Particles from Core-Collapse Supernovae with Fermi LAT's Low Energy Technique Milena Crnogorcevic, Regina M Caputo, Manuel Meyer, Nicola Omodei, Michael Gustafsson Axion-like particles (ALPs) are a well-motivated candidate for constituting a significant fraction of dark matter. They are produced in high-energy environments, such as core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), and could undergo conversion into gamma-rays in the presence of an external magnetic field, with a characteristic spectrum peaking in the 30--100-MeV energy range. CCSNe are often invoked as progenitors of ordinary long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), allowing us to conduct a search for potential ALP spectral signatures using GRB observations with Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). We conduct a data-driven sensitivity analysis to find the distance limit for a hypothetical ALP detection with the LAT's low-energy (LLE) technique which, in contrast to the standard LAT analysis, allows for a a larger effective area for energies down to 30~MeV. We select a candidate sample of twenty-four GRBs and carry out a model comparison analysis in which we consider different GRB spectral models with and without an ALP signal component. Here, we summarize the statistical methods used in our analysis and the underlying physical assumptions, the feasibility of the upper limits on ALP coupling from our model comparison results, and an outlook on future MeV instruments in the context of ALP searches. |
Monday, April 11, 2022 5:57PM - 6:09PM |
W14.00002: Multicomponent multiscatter capture of dark matter Caleb M Levy, Cosmin Ilie In recent years, the usefulness of astrophysical objects as dark matter (DM) probes has become more evident, especially in view of null results from experimental efforts. The potentially observable signatures of DM gravitationally trapped inside a compact astrophysical object have been used to forecast stringent constraints on the nucleon–dark matter interaction cross section. Currently, the probes of interest are, at high redshifts, Population III (Pop III) stars that form in isolation or in small numbers, in very dense DM minihalos, and, in our own Milky Way, neutron stars, white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, exoplanets, etc. None of these objects are truly single-component and, as such, capture rates calculated with the common assumption made in the literature of single-component capture, i.e., capture of DM by multiple scatterings with one single type of nucleus inside the object, are not accurate. In this paper, we present an extension of this formalism to multicomponent objects and apply it to Pop III stars, thereby investigating the role of He in the capture rates of Pop III stars. As expected, we find that the inclusion of the heavier He nuclei leads to an enhancement of the overall capture rates, improving the potential of Pop III stars as dark matter probes. |
Monday, April 11, 2022 6:09PM - 6:21PM |
W14.00003: Analytic Approximations for the Velocity Suppression of Dark Matter Capture Jillian Paulin, Cosmin Ilie Dark matter (DM) characteristics can be explored via indirect detection through the observations of astrophysical objects which have captured DM. In this paper we analyze the role of stellar velocity on multiscatter DM capture rates. The addition of the stellar velocity with respect to its surrounding DM halo induces a suppression of this capture rate. We develop and validate an analytical representation of this suppression factor. It can be used to easily and directly re-scale previously-obtained bounds on the DM-nucleon cross section provided only with a stellar velocity. We demonstrate this using Population III (Pop III) stars, which are interesting candidates to study DM, as they would form and exist in high DM density environments and at high redshifts. We find that previous constraints for the DM-nucleon cross section using Pop III stars are essentially unchanged when accounting for the possibility of stellar velocities. |
Monday, April 11, 2022 6:21PM - 6:33PM |
W14.00004: Supermassive Dark Stars Detectable by Roman Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope with Lensing Saiyang Zhang, Katherine Freese, Cosmin Ilie Dark stars are luminous stellar objects powered by dark matter annihilation and can grow supermassive to ~10^6M⊙ via accretion. In this study, we investigate various methods for the detection of supermassive dark stars(SMDS) by the James Webb Space Telescope(JWST) and Roman Space Telescope(RST) . JWST has higher light sensitivity and a more extensive wavelength range, while the RST will provide a much wider effective field of view that increases the probability of detection. Similar to JWST, RST will also detect J- and H- band dropouts if SMDS ever exists at the redshift of ~10 and 12. To differentiate SMDS from objects like Pop.III galaxies at similar redshift, we compare their color indexes using the spectral energy distribution simulations. We find that to make them differentiable, at least a signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of 50 will be needed, which can be achieved by long exposure(~10^6s) or some lensing magnification(~100) . The lensing effect will also allow us to detect SMDS of smaller mass(~10^5M⊙) by simulation. If SMDS is detected, this will provide evidence for WIMP dark matter. Such massive stars can also be the progenitor of supermassive black holes observed at early times. |
Monday, April 11, 2022 6:33PM - 6:45PM |
W14.00005: Exotic Compact Objects: The Dark White Dwarf Michael Ryan, David Radice Dissipative dark matter models provide a solution to several puzzles in cosmology, like the cusp/core discrepancy and the missing satellites problem, while opening up the possibility for exotic compact object formation. These objects, ranging from dark black holes down to dark white dwarfs, have the potential for unique characteristics that set them apart from their baryonic counterparts. Furthermore, gravitational wave observations of their mergers may provide the only direct window on a potentially entirely hidden sector. We present here an introduction to dark white dwarfs, with a focus on how dark microphysics drive macroscopic characteristics distinct from ordinary, astrophysical compact objects. Further, we demonstrate that dark white dwarf mergers are detectable by current or planned gravitational observatories across a vast region of the parameter space considered here, providing a compelling reason to search for these objects. |
Monday, April 11, 2022 6:45PM - 6:57PM |
W14.00006: Probing below the neutrino floor with the first generation of stars Cosmin Ilie, Caleb M Levy, Jacob Pilawa, Saiyang Zhang A new window into the cosmic dawn will soon be opened by the James Webb Space Telescope. We show that the mere observation of the first stars (Pop~III stars) in the universe can be used to place tight constraints on the strength of the interaction between dark matter and regular, baryonic matter. We apply this technique to a candidate Pop~III stellar complex discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope at redshift ~7 and find some of the deepest bounds to-date for both spin-dependent and spin-independent DM-nucleon interactions, over a large swath of DM particle masses. Additionally, we show that the most massive Pop~III stars could be used to bypass the main limitations of direct detection experiments: the neutrino background to which they will be soon sensitive. |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700