Dark gauge boson emission from supernova pions

TL;DR

This paper investigates how supernova pions can produce dark gauge bosons, affecting supernova observations and constraining dark sector models, especially for masses above two electrons.

Contribution

It introduces a new mechanism for dark gauge boson production via supernova pions and analyzes its implications for supernova constraints on dark sector models.

Findings

Dark gauge bosons can be produced efficiently in supernovae via pion interactions.

The resulting emission imposes strong constraints on dark photon and B-L models.

Spectral features of emitted bosons are distinctive and impactful.

Abstract

The hot, neutron-rich, and dense circumstance in core-collapse supernovae provides a source of negatively charged pions that may make up a significant portion of the matter. These abundant thermal pions can play a role to populate light and hidden hypothetical particles. We discuss the dark gauge boson production via reactions involving supernova pions, the rate of which is determined by the isovector nucleon coupling. We take into account the two toy models, the dark photon and the gauged $B-L$ models, that carry the typical distinct isovector nucleon coupling structure in the medium. Pion-induced dark gauge bosons leave an imprint on several observational consequences associated with supernova. Their sizable emissivity and characteristic hard spectral distribution result in the stringent constraints on the dark gauge boson models, in particular at masses above the two electron mass.