Supernova Constraints on Dark Flavored Sectors

TL;DR

This paper uses supernova simulations to constrain dark sector particles like dark photons and axions by analyzing their impact on star cooling, providing stronger bounds than previous methods.

Contribution

It introduces a novel supernova-based method to set stringent constraints on dark sector particles with flavor-violating couplings, improving upon existing limits.

Findings

Supernova cooling constrains dark photons and axions more tightly than previous bounds.

Hyperon decay processes are key to understanding dark boson emission in supernovae.

The method enhances the sensitivity of astrophysical observations to dark-sector physics.

Abstract

Proto-neutron stars forming a few seconds after core-collapse supernovae are hot and dense environments where hyperons can be efficiently produced by weak processes. By making use of various state-of-the-art supernova simulations combined with the proper extensions of the equations of state including $\Lambda$ hyperons, we calculate the cooling of the star induced by the emission of dark bosons $X^0$ through the decay $\Lambda\to n X^0$. Comparing this novel energy-loss process to the neutrino cooling of SN 1987A allows us to set stringent constraints on massless dark photons and axions with flavor-violating couplings to quarks. We find that this new supernova bound can be orders of magnitude stronger than other limits in dark-sector models.