Constraining dark photon properties with Asteroseismology

Abstract

Dark photons are particles invoked in some extensions of the Standard Model which could account for at least part of the dark matter content of the Universe. It has been proposed that the production of dark photons in stellar interiors could happen at a rate that depends on both, the dark photon mass and its coupling to Standard Model particles (the kinetic mixing parameter χ). In this work we aim at exploring the impact of dark photon productions in the stellar core of solar mass RGB stars during late evolutionary phases. We demonstrate that near the so-called RGB bump, dark photons production may be an energy sink for the star sufficiently significative to modify the extension of the star convective zones. We show that Asteroseismology is able to detect such variations in the structure, allowing us to predict an upper limit of 900 eV and 5 × 10 −15 for the mass and kinetic mixing of the dark photons, respectively. We also demonstrate that additional constraints can be derived from the fact that dark photons increase the luminosity of the RGB tip over the current observational uncertainties. This work thus paves the way for an empirical approach to deepen the study of such dark-matter particles.

Dark photon limits: a handbook

“…For example, upgraded LSW experiments [195][196][197], experiments using atomic transitions [125,198,199], or Aharanov-Bohm experiments [200,201] may improve the purely-laboratory bounds on DPs. Whereas searches using X-ray [202] and radio [203,204] telescopes, fast radio burst timing [205], or asteroseismology [206], may improve upon existing astrophysical bounds.…”

Looking into dark matter with asteroseismology

“…In particular we point out that changes in the large separation throughout the red giant branch could be produced by additional energy losses, related to a kind of dark matter candidate: dark photons. Besides the large separation, dark photon could also influence the luminosity of the RGB tip and bump phases, as we have proved in previous studies (Ayala et al, 2015;Ayala et al, 2020).…”

“…However, with the advent and refinement of space missions and the improvements in photometry, the search of dark matter inside stars has extended to main sequence (Casanellas and Lopes, 2013), red giants (Ayala et al, 2020), and white dwarfs (Isern and García-Berro, 2008;Córsico et al, 2012). The forthcoming missions as HAYDN (Miglio et al, 2021), which aims to provide a large survey of the pulsating stars from both Open and Globular Clusters, or PLATO (Rauer, 2021), devoted to obtain ultra precise light curves of variable stars and planetary transits, will hopefully make possible to analyze more in detail the presence of dark matter in stars.…”

“…Thus, the observables related to stars and stellar populations can be significantly modified when dark matter is introduced in the stellar models (Scott et al, 2008;Taoso et al, 2008;Casanellas and Lopes, 2011;Ayala et al, 2014). In particular, the observables related to the stellar structure, like the size of the convective and/or radiative regions, could change as a consequence of the energy carried away for the dark matter particles (Martins et al, 2017;Ayala et al, 2020).…”

“…In this review we justify the use and explore the future prospects of Asteroseismology, as a tool to constrain the dark matter. The ongoing and future space missions, and surveys of pulsating stars, open a promising opportunity for Asteroseismology, in order to impose more accurate constraints on several dark matter models, improving the previous asteroseismic bounds derived from main sequence (Cadamuro and Redondo, 2010;Lopes and Silk, 2012;Turck-Chièze and Lopes, 2012;Redondo and Raffelt, 2013;Vinyoles et al, 2015) and evolved stars (Lopes et al, 2019;Ayala et al, 2020), as well as in WDs (Córsico et al, 2019(Córsico et al, , 2001. In addition, some theoretical predictions about the pulsations of exotic stellar objects, composed of dark matter, could be tested by means of future observations (Panotopoulos and Lopes, 2019;Lopes and Panotopoulos, 2020).…”