Dark matter, destroyer of worlds: neutrino, thermal, and existential signatures from black holes in the Sun and Earth
- 1. The McDonald Institute and Department of Physics, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (Canada)
- 2. Theoretical Physics Department, CERN, 1211 Geneva (Switzerland)
Description
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. (paper)
Availability note (English)
Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2021/04/026Additional details
Identifiers
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Journal Volume
- 2021
- Journal Issue
- 04
- Journal Page Range
- [44 p.]
- ISSN
- 1475-7516
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United Kingdom
- Country of Input or Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- INIS RN
- 53099837
- Subject category
- S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
- Descriptors DEI
- BLACK HOLES; HEAT FLUX; ICECUBE NEUTRINO DETECTOR; NEUTRINOS; NONLUMINOUS MATTER; SUN
- Descriptors DEC
- ELEMENTARY PARTICLES; FERMIONS; LEPTONS; MAIN SEQUENCE STARS; MASSLESS PARTICLES; MATTER; MEASURING INSTRUMENTS; NEUTRINO DETECTORS; RADIATION DETECTORS; STARS