A recent study published on the ARXIV preprint server delves into the potential phenomenon of capturing dark matter with neutron stars. While the true nature of dark matter remains a mystery, some theoretical models propose that dark matter particles can interact, cluster together, and transform into other particles. Objects with immense gravitational forces, like black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs, may have the ability to attract and accumulate dark matter.
The focus of the study was on investigating the interaction between dark matter and neutron stars, which are incredibly dense remnants of stars with some of the strongest gravitational fields in the universe. Due to their immense gravitational pull, neutron stars have the capability to capture dark matter particles. Unlike black holes, neutron stars allow radiation from decaying dark matter particles to escape, making them valuable candidates for studying dark matter.
Calculations revealed that within a wide range of possible interactions between baryons and dark matter, neutron stars are indeed capable of capturing dark matter particles. Scientists also analyzed how the decay of these particles could impact the temperature of neutron stars by releasing thermal energy during their thermalization process. The time it takes for thermal equilibrium to be reached between dark matter and a neutron star depends on the intensity of interactions in a given model, but generally occurs quite rapidly in cosmic terms, ranging from one year for vector models to ten thousand years for scalar models.
If the study’s assumptions prove to be accurate, the presence of captured dark matter could influence the observed characteristics of neutron stars, potentially leading to additional heating. This could enable the detection of dark matter traces by measuring the temperatures and spectra of neutron stars.