Neutrino signals from Neutron Star implosions to Black Holes

TL;DR

This paper models neutrino emissions from neutron stars collapsing into black holes due to dark matter accumulation, predicting faint neutrino signals and high-frequency gravitational waves, offering insights into dark matter effects in astrophysics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel scenario of neutron star implosion driven by dark matter, calculating associated neutrino and gravitational wave signals, expanding understanding of dark matter's astrophysical impact.

Findings

Neutrino luminosity is lower and spectra are colder than in typical supernovae.

Gravitational wave signals are detectable at ultra-high frequencies above 0.1 GHz.

Dark matter-induced neutron star collapse produces distinct astrophysical signatures.

Abstract

We calculate the neutrino luminosity in an astrophysical scenario where dark matter is captured by a neutron star which eventually implodes to form a low mass black hole. The Trojan horse scenario involves the collapse of a neutron star (NS) due to the accumulation of a critical amount of dark matter (DM) during its lifetime. As a result, a central disk forms out of the ejected material with a finite radial extension, density, temperature, and lepton fraction, producing fainter neutrino luminosities and colder associated spectra than found in a regular core-collapse supernova. The emitted gravitational wave (GW) signal from the imploding NS should be detectable at ultra-high $\gtrsim 0.1$ GHz frequencies.