Supernovae and superbursts by dark matter clumps

TL;DR

This paper proposes that small dark matter clumps could trigger supernovae and superbursts by scattering on nuclei in stellar cores, providing new constraints on dark matter properties across a wide mass range.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that dark matter clumps can induce stellar explosions and constrains their properties using astrophysical phenomena, expanding previous search methods.

Findings

Dark matter clumps can trigger supernovae and superbursts.

Constraints on dark cluster masses from Planck scale to asteroid scale.

Limits on long-range dark nuggets over forty orders of magnitude.

Abstract

Cosmologies in which dark matter clumps strongly on small scales are unfavorable to terrestrial detectors that are as yet unexposed to the clumps. I show that sub-hectometer clumps could trigger thermonuclear runaways by scattering on nuclei in white dwarf cores (carbon and oxygen) and neutron star oceans (carbon), setting off Type Ia-like supernovae and x-ray superbursts respectively. I consider two scenarios: ``dark clusters" that are essentially microhalos, and ``long-range dark nuggets", essentially macroscopic composites, with long-range Yukawa baryonic interactions that source the energy for igniting explosions. I constrain dark clusters weighing between the Planck mass and asteroid masses, and long-range dark nuggets over a wider mass range spanning forty orders of magnitude. These limits greatly complement searches I had co-proposed in 2109.04582 for scattering interactions of dark clumps in neutron stars, cosmic rays, and pre-historic minerals.