Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2020
Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Abstract
Quark nuggets are theoretical objects composed of approximately equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks. They are also called strangelets, nuclearites, AQNs, slets, Macros, and MQNs. Quark nuggets are a candidate for dark matter, which has been a mystery for decades despite constituting ~ 85% of the universe’s mass. Most previous models of quark nuggets have assumed no intrinsic magnetic field; however, Tatsumi found that quark nuggets may exist in magnetars as a ferromagnetic liquid with a magnetic field BS = 1012±1 T. We apply that result to quark nuggets, a dark-matter candidate consistent with the Standard Model, and report results of analytic calculations and simulations that show they spin up and emit electromagnetic radiation at ~ 104 to ~ 109 Hz after passage through planetary environments. The results depend strongly on the value of Bo, which is a parameter to guide and interpret observations. A proposed sensor system with three satellites at 51,000 km altitude illustrates the feasibility of using radio-frequency emissions to detect 0.003 to 1,600 MQNs, depending on Bo, during a 5 year mission.
Publication Title
Scientific Reports
Recommended Citation
VanDevender, J.,
Buchenauer, C.,
Cai, C.,
VanDevender, A.,
&
Ulmen, B.
(2020).
Radio frequency emissions from dark-matter-candidate magnetized quark nuggets interacting with matter.
Scientific Reports,
10(1).
http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70718-3
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/14298
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© 2020, The Author(s). Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70718-3