DGR1037
Q-balls, the Neutron Star Destroyers
I have shown that dark matter, in the form of supersymmetric Q-balls, may
rapidly destroy neutron stars. This both constrains the properties of
Q-ball dark matter and provides the possibility that such Q-balls may be
inducing anomalous gamma-ray bursts from the dying neutron stars. The
absorption of even one Q-ball is enough to destroy a neutron star. A
single Q-ball inside a neutron star grows by imbibing neutrons.
Eventually it reaches a certain critical size at which point it fragments
into two equally-sized daughter Q-balls. These daughter states can
likewise grow and subsequently fragment. This leads to the exponential
growth of the number of Q-balls. The new constraints on Q-ball dark
matter are found to be in a regime in which supersymmetry is otherwise
devoid of a dark matter candidate.
