Asymmetric dark matter and the Sun

TL;DR

This paper explores how asymmetric dark matter particles, particularly dark baryons of 5 GeV, can influence the Sun's structure and potentially resolve the solar composition problem, with testable predictions for neutrino fluxes.

Contribution

It demonstrates that asymmetric dark matter with specific properties can affect solar structure and offers a solution to the solar composition problem, linking particle physics and solar observations.

Findings

Asymmetric dark matter can alter solar interior structure.

Dark baryons of 5 GeV are viable candidates with the right relic abundance.

Predicted neutrino flux changes are detectable by Borexino and SNO+.

Abstract

Cold dark matter particles with an intrinsic matter-antimatter asymmetry do not annihilate after gravitational capture by the Sun and can affect its interior structure. The rate of capture is exponentially enhanced when such particles have self-interactions of the right order to explain structure formation on galactic scales. A `dark baryon' of mass 5 GeV is a natural candidate and has the required relic abundance if its asymmetry is similar to that of ordinary baryons. We show that such particles can solve the `solar composition problem'. The predicted small decrease in the low energy neutrino fluxes may be measurable by the Borexino and SNO+ experiments.