Rotating Proto-Neutron Stars Admixed with Mirror Dark Matter: A two fluid approach

TL;DR

This paper models rotating neutron stars with mirror dark matter using a two-fluid approach, revealing how dark matter influences their structure, stability, and thermal evolution, with implications for detecting dark matter effects in astrophysical observations.

Contribution

It introduces a two-fluid formalism for rotating neutron stars with mirror dark matter, analyzing its effects on stability, structure, and thermal properties across evolutionary stages.

Findings

Rotation increases star size and decreases central density.

Dark matter raises compactness and gravitational redshift.

Dark matter makes stars more prone to collapse and instabilities.

Abstract

This work investigates the impact of mirror dark matter (DM) on the global properties of rotating neutron stars (NSs) across evolutionary stages, from hot, lepton-rich protoneutron stars (PNSs) to cold, catalyzed NSs along the Kelvin-Helmholtz timescale. The baryonic matter (BM) is modeled using a relativistic mean-field (RMF) approach with density-dependent couplings, while the dark sector mirrors the visible sector with analogous thermodynamic conditions. Using a two-fluid formalism with purely gravitational DM-BM interaction, we find that rotation enlarges the star, whereas DM admixture increases compactness and enhances gravitational stability. However, increased compactness due to DM lowers the threshold for rotational instabilities, making DM-admixed stars more susceptible. Rotation decreases {central temperature behavior} by redistributing thermal energy over a larger volume and reducing central density, while DM raises temperatures by deepening the gravitational potential and increasing thermal energy. Stars become more prone to collapse and rotational instabilities as frequency ($\nu$) rises and the polar-to-equatorial radius ratio ($r_p/r_e$) decreases, especially near the Keplerian limit ($\nu_K$). DM-admixed stars also show higher surface gravitational redshifts due to their compactness. Our results qualitatively agree with universal relations primarily derived for rotating cold stars. These findings highlight competing effects of rotation and DM on NS thermal evolution, structure, and observables, potentially offering indirect probes of DM within NSs.