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Exoplanets as Sub-GeV Dark Matter Detectors

Rebecca K. Leane and Juri Smirnov
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 161101 – Published 22 April 2021
Physics logo See synopsis: Detecting Dark Matter in Exoplanets
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Abstract

We present exoplanets as new targets to discover dark matter (DM). Throughout the Milky Way, DM can scatter, become captured, deposit annihilation energy, and increase the heat flow within exoplanets. We estimate upcoming infrared telescope sensitivity to this scenario, finding actionable discovery or exclusion searches. We find that DM with masses above about an MeV can be probed with exoplanets, with DM-proton and DM-electron scattering cross sections down to about 1037cm2, stronger than existing limits by up to six orders of magnitude. Supporting evidence of a DM origin can be identified through DM-induced exoplanet heating correlated with galactic position, and hence DM density. This provides new motivation to measure the temperature of the billions of brown dwarfs, rogue planets, and gas giants peppered throughout our Galaxy.

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  • Received 8 October 2020
  • Revised 28 November 2020
  • Accepted 15 March 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.161101

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & Fields

synopsis

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Detecting Dark Matter in Exoplanets

Published 22 April 2021

Measuring the temperatures of massive exoplanets could reveal the effect of dark matter, potentially allowing researchers to confirm the galactic distribution of this mysterious substance.

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Authors & Affiliations

Rebecca K. Leane1,2,* and Juri Smirnov3,4,†

  • 1Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 2SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94039, USA
  • 3Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP), The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
  • 4Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

  • *rleane@slac.stanford.edu
  • smirnov.9@osu.edu

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Issue

Vol. 126, Iss. 16 — 23 April 2021

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