During the motion of a binary pulsar around the Galactic center, the pulsar and its companion experience a wind of dark-matter particles that can affect the orbital motion through dynamical friction. We show that this effect produces a characteristic seasonal modulation of the orbit and causes a secular change of the orbital period whose magnitude can be well within the astonishing precision of various binary-pulsar observations. Our analysis is valid for binary systems with orbital period longer than a day. By comparing this effect with pulsar-timing measurements, it is possible to derive model-independent upper bounds on the dark-matter density at different distances D from the Galactic center. For example, the precision timing of J1713+0747 imposes ρDM≲105 GeV/cm3 at D≈7 kpc. The detection of a binary pulsar at D≲10 pc could provide stringent constraints on dark-matter halo profiles and on growth models of the central black hole. The Square Kilometer Array can improve current bounds by 2 orders of magnitude, potentially constraining the local density of dark matter to unprecedented levels.
Binary pulsars as dark-matter probes / Pani, Paolo. - In: PHYSICAL REVIEW D, PARTICLES, FIELDS, GRAVITATION, AND COSMOLOGY. - ISSN 1550-7998. - STAMPA. - D92:12(2015), p. 123530. [10.1103/PhysRevD.92.123530]
Binary pulsars as dark-matter probes
PANI, PAOLO
2015
Abstract
During the motion of a binary pulsar around the Galactic center, the pulsar and its companion experience a wind of dark-matter particles that can affect the orbital motion through dynamical friction. We show that this effect produces a characteristic seasonal modulation of the orbit and causes a secular change of the orbital period whose magnitude can be well within the astonishing precision of various binary-pulsar observations. Our analysis is valid for binary systems with orbital period longer than a day. By comparing this effect with pulsar-timing measurements, it is possible to derive model-independent upper bounds on the dark-matter density at different distances D from the Galactic center. For example, the precision timing of J1713+0747 imposes ρDM≲105 GeV/cm3 at D≈7 kpc. The detection of a binary pulsar at D≲10 pc could provide stringent constraints on dark-matter halo profiles and on growth models of the central black hole. The Square Kilometer Array can improve current bounds by 2 orders of magnitude, potentially constraining the local density of dark matter to unprecedented levels.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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