Delayed pulsar kicks from the emission of sterile neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper explores how sterile neutrinos with specific masses and mixing angles could explain delayed pulsar kicks and potentially contribute to dark matter, aligning astrophysical observations with cosmological constraints.

Contribution

It identifies parameter ranges for sterile neutrinos that can produce delayed pulsar kicks consistent with current cosmological and X-ray bounds.

Findings

Sterile neutrinos can cause pulsar kicks with delays depending on their properties.

Parameter ranges for sterile neutrinos are consistent with cosmological and X-ray constraints.

Sterile neutrinos could account for some or all of dark matter.

Abstract

The observed velocities of pulsars suggest the possibility that sterile neutrinos with mass of several keV are emitted from a cooling neutron star. The same sterile neutrinos could constitute all or part of cosmological dark matter. The neutrino-driven kicks can exhibit delays depending on the mass and the mixing angle, which can be compared with the pulsar data. We discuss the allowed ranges of sterile neutrino parameters, consistent with the latest cosmological and X-ray bounds, which can explain the pulsar kicks for different delay times.