Dark matter capture in celestial objects: treatment across kinematic and interaction regimes

Journal Article · 21 December 2023 · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2023/12/040 · OSTI ID:2326990

Leane, Rebecca K. ^[1]; Smirnov, Juri ^[2]

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1. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States). Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology; SLAC
2. University of Liverpool (United Kingdom)

Signatures of dark matter in celestial objects have become of increasing interest due to their powerful detection prospects. To test any of these signatures, the fundamental quantity needed is the rate in which dark matter is captured by celestial objects. Depending on whether dark matter is light, heavy, or comparable in mass to the celestial-body scattering targets, there are different considerations when calculating the capture rate. Furthermore, if dark matter has strong or weak interactions, the physical behaviour important for capture varies. Using both analytic approximations and simulations, here we demonstrate how to treat dark matter capture in a range of celestial objects for arbitrary dark matter mass and interaction strength. We release our calculation framework as a public package available in both Python and Mathematica versions, called Asteria.

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 2326990
• Report Number(s): SLAC-PUB--17729
• Journal Information: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 2023; ISSN 1475-7516
• Publisher: Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English