Fermionic Light Dark Matter particles and the New Physics of Neutron Stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews how fermionic light Dark Matter could influence neutron star properties, especially regarding energy transport and stellar structure, under various phenomenological models.

Contribution

It introduces the impact of a fermionic light Dark Matter component on neutron star physics, focusing on thermal and structural effects within different models.

Findings

Dark Matter affects neutron star thermal conductivity

Dark Matter influences neutron star emissivities

Impacts depend on specific Dark Matter models

Abstract

Dark Matter constitutes most of the matter in the presently accepted cosmological model for our Universe. The extreme conditions of ordinary baryonic matter, namely high density and compactness, in Neutron Stars make these objects suitable to gravitationally accrete such a massive component provided interaction strength between both, luminous and dark sectors, at current experimental level of sensitivity. We consider several different DM phenomenological models from the myriad of those presently allowed. In this contribution we review astrophysical aspects of interest in the interplay of ordinary matter and a fermionic light Dark Matter component. We focus in the interior nuclear medium in the core and external layers, i.e. the crust, discussing the impact of a novel dark sector in relevant stellar quantities for (heat) energy transport such as thermal conductivity or emissivities.