Bayesian exploration of weakly interacting models of dark matter admixed neutron stars based on multi-density constraints
Abstract
We present a unified Bayesian analysis of Higgs-portal, neutron-decay, and axion-like-particle (ALP)-mediated dark matter in neutron stars within the single-fluid approximation. Using a common relativistic mean-field description of hadronic matter, we combine finite-nucleus and heavy-ion collision data, chiral effective field theory, NICER measurements of four pulsars, and GW170817. The individual dark-sector parameters remain weakly determined, while model-dependent shifts in nuclear skewness reveal the sensitivity of the inferred hadronic equation of state to the assumed dark-matter mechanism. The three scenarios yield substantially overlapping mass-radius and tidal-deformability predictions, with median maximum masses near 2.1 M⊙. For 1.4 M⊙ stars, the Higgs-portal model predicts higher f-mode frequencies and shorter damping times than the neutron-decay and ALP models, although their credible regions overlap. Comparison with three consistently reanalysed two-fluid models gives the largest Bayesian evidence to neutron decay: under the adopted priors, its Bayes factors relative to the Higgs-portal and two-fluid alternatives are approximately $24−37$, but only $2.2$ relative to ALP. This ranking concerns complete dark-matter models and does not establish a general preference for either fluid description or evidence for a dark component itself. Improved nuclear constraints and future gravitational-wave asteroseismology could provide complementary information to disentangle the hadronic and dark-sector contributions.
Related
- Bayesian Constraints on Bosonic Dark Matter in Neutron Stars within a Covariant Density-Functional Equation-of-State Ensemble
- Structure and astrophysical properties of dark energy admixed neutron stars
- A self-consistent single-fluid framework for neutron stars admixed with mirror dark matter
- Radii and Scaling Relations of Dark-Matter-Admixed Neutron Stars
- Two-Fluid Radial Stability of Dark-Matter-Admixed Compact Objects: Dark Compact Planets, Dark White Dwarfs, Dark Neutron Stars, and Dark Oysters
BibTeX
@misc{arvikar2026bayesian,
title = {{Bayesian exploration of weakly interacting models of dark matter admixed neutron stars based on multi-density constraints}},
author = {Payaswinee Arvikar and Prashant Thakur and Sarmistha Banik},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.15713},
eprint = {2610.15713},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.15713},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Bayesian exploration of weakly interacting models of dark matter admixed neutron stars based on multi-density constraints
AU - Payaswinee Arvikar
AU - Prashant Thakur
AU - Sarmistha Banik
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.15713
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.15713
AB - We present a unified Bayesian analysis of Higgs-portal, neutron-decay, and axion-like-particle (ALP)-mediated dark matter in neutron stars within the single-fluid approximation. Using a common relativistic mean-field description of hadronic matter, we combine finite-nucleus and heavy-ion collision data, chiral effective field theory, NICER measurements of four pulsars, and GW170817. The individual dark-sector parameters remain weakly determined, while model-dependent shifts in nuclear skewness reveal the sensitivity of the inferred hadronic equation of state to the assumed dark-matter mechanism. The three scenarios yield substantially overlapping mass-radius and tidal-deformability predictions, with median maximum masses near 2.1 M_⊙. For 1.4 M_⊙ stars, the Higgs-portal model predicts higher f-mode frequencies and shorter damping times than the neutron-decay and ALP models, although their credible regions overlap. Comparison with three consistently reanalysed two-fluid models gives the largest Bayesian evidence to neutron decay: under the adopted priors, its Bayes factors relative to the Higgs-portal and two-fluid alternatives are approximately $24−37$, but only $2.2$ relative to ALP. This ranking concerns complete dark-matter models and does not establish a general preference for either fluid description or evidence for a dark component itself. Improved nuclear constraints and future gravitational-wave asteroseismology could provide complementary information to disentangle the hadronic and dark-sector contributions.
ER -