Dark Matter, Neutron Stars, and Strange Quark Matter

M. Angeles Perez-Garcia, Joseph Silk, and Jirina R. Stone
Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 141101 – Published 1 October 2010

Abstract

We show that self-annihilating weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter accreted onto neutron stars may provide a mechanism to seed compact objects with long-lived lumps of strange quark matter, or strangelets, for WIMP masses above a few GeV. This effect may trigger a conversion of most of the star into a strange star. We use an energy estimate for the long-lived strangelet based on the Fermi-gas model combined with the MIT bag model to set a new limit on the possible values of the WIMP mass that can be especially relevant for subdominant species of massive neutralinos.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 5 July 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.141101

© 2010 The American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

M. Angeles Perez-Garcia1,*, Joseph Silk2,†, and Jirina R. Stone2,3,*

  • 1Departamento de Física Fundamental and IUFFyM, Universidad de Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced s/n 37008, Salamanca, Spain
  • 2Oxford Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road OX1 3RH, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Tennessee 37996, USA

  • *mperezga@usal.es
  • j.silk1@physics.ox.ac.uk
  • j.stone1@physics.ox.ac.uk

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 105, Iss. 14 — 1 October 2010

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×