Speaker
Description
Neutron stars provide unique laboratories for probing the physics of dark matter. I begin by reviewing the scenario proposed by Goldman and Nussinov, in which dark matter accumulates inside neutron stars and can trigger their collapse into solar-mass black holes. In this picture, dark matter cores form seed black holes that consume their host stars, producing solar-mass black holes beyond the expectations of standard stellar evolution. Such events may generate distinctive gravitational-wave signals, offering a probe of dark matter and a possible alternative to primordial black holes.
I then focus on asymmetric fermionic dark matter. After outlining model-building challenges, I show how self-interactions can reduce the Chandrasekhar mass required for collapse. I briefly discuss the phase structure of interacting fermionic dark matter at finite density and its implications for the equation of state. Finally, I consider scenarios with extra spatial dimensions, which enhance this instability and strengthen constraints on dark matter properties, particularly their mass.
