We study the capture of dark matter particles by neutron stars in close binary systems. By performing a direct numerical simulation, we find that there is a sizable amplification of the rate of dark matter capture by each of the companions. In case of the binary pulsar PSR J1906+0746 with the orbital period of 4 hours the amplification factor is 3.5. This amplification can be attributed to the energy loss by dark matter particles resulting from their gravitational scattering off moving companions.
We calculate the number of dark matter particles that a neutron star accumulates over its lifetime as it rotates around the center of a galaxy, when the dark matter particle is a self-interacting boson but does not self-annihilate. We take into account dark matter interactions with baryonic matter and the time evolution of the dark matter sphere as it collapses within the neutron star. We show that dark matter self-interactions play an important role in the rapid accumulation of dark matter in the core of the neutron star. We consider the possibility of determining an exclusion region of the parameter space for dark matter mass and dark matter interaction cross sections based on the observation of old neutron stars with strong dark matter self-interactions. We show that for a dark matter density of $~10^3$ GeV/cm$^3$ and dark matter mass $m_chi$ less than approximately 10 GeV, there is a potential exclusion region for dark matter interactions with nucleons that is three orders of magnitude more stringent than without self-interactions. The potential exclusion region for dark matter self-interaction cross sections is many orders of magnitude stronger than the current Bullet Cluster limit. For example, for high dark matter density regions, we find that for $m_chisim 10$ GeV when the dark matter interaction cross section with the nucleons ranges from $sigma_{chi n}sim 10^{-52}$ cm$^2$ to $10^{-57}$ cm$^2$, the dark matter self-interaction cross section limit is $sigma_{chichi}< 10^{-33}$ cm$^2$, which is about ten orders of magnitude stronger than the Bullet Cluster limit.
Dark matter can capture in neutron stars and heat them to observable luminosities. We study relativistic scattering of dark matter on highly degenerate electrons. We develop a Lorentz invariant formalism to calculate the capture probability of dark matter that accounts for the relativistic motion of the target particles and Pauli exclusion principle. We find that the actual capture probability can be five orders of magnitude larger than the one estimated using a nonrelativistic approach. For dark matter masses $10~{rm eV}textup{--}10~{rm PeV}$, neutron star heating complements and can be more sensitive than terrestrial direct detection searches. The projected sensitivity regions exhibit characteristic features that demonstrate a rich interplay between kinematics and Pauli blocking of the DM--electron system. Our results show that old neutron stars could be the most promising target for discovering leptophilic dark matter.
We study the capture of galactic dark matter particles (DMP) in two-body and few-body systems with a symplectic map description. This approach allows modeling the scattering of $10^{16}$ DMPs after following the time evolution of the captured particle on about $10^9$ orbital periods of the binary system. We obtain the DMP density distribution inside such systems and determine the enhancement factor of their density in a center vicinity compared to its galactic value as a function of the mass ratio of the bodies and the ratio of the body velocity to the velocity of the galactic DMP wind. We find that the enhancement factor can be on the order of tens of thousands.
In this short paper, we argue the issue on dark matter capture in neutron stars. After summarizing the whole scenario and the introduction of previous studies along this line, we propose some potentially important effects due to the appearance of exotic phases such as neutron superfluidity, meson condensation and quark superconductivity. Those effects might be sizable and alter the previous results.
Neutron stars harbour matter under extreme conditions, providing a unique testing ground for fundamental interactions. We recently developed an improved treatment of dark matter (DM) capture in neutron stars that properly incorporates many of the important physical effects, and outlined useful analytic approximations that are valid when the scattering amplitude is independent of the centre of mass energy. We now extend that analysis to all interaction types. We also discuss the effect of going beyond the zero-temperature approximation, which provides a boost to the capture rate of low mass dark matter, and give approximations for the dark matter up-scattering rate and evaporation mass. We apply these results to scattering of dark matter from leptonic targets, for which a correct relativistic description is essential. We find that the potential neutron star sensitivity to DM-lepton scattering cross sections greatly exceeds electron-recoil experiments, particularly in the sub-GeV regime, with a sensitivity to sub-MeV DM well beyond the reach of future terrestrial experiments.