2010/05/31 by Sofia Sivertsson, Paolo Gondolo · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computational Physics and Python Applications #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.SR #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/729/1/51
published as Astrophys.J.729:51,2011 · 13 pages, 6 figures
arxiv created 2010/05/31 · openalex publication_date 2011/02/08 · arxiv updated 2011/03/18 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The first stars to form in the universe may have been dark stars, powered by dark matter annihilation instead of nuclear fusion. The initial amount of dark matter gathered by the star gravitationally can sustain it only for a limited period of time. It has been suggested that capture of additional dark matter from the environment can prolong the dark star phase even to the present day. Here we show that this capture process is ineffective to prolong the life of the first generation of dark stars. We construct a Monte Carlo simulation that follows each weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) in the dark matter halo as its orbit responds to the formation and evolution of the dark star, as it scatters off the star's nuclei, and as it annihilates inside the star. A rapid depletion of the WIMPs on orbits that cross the star causes the demise of the first generation of dark stars. We suggest that a second generation of dark stars may in principle survive much longer through capture. We comment on the effect of relaxing our assumptions.