Paper detail

Direct detection signatures of a primordial Solar dark matter halo

A small admixture of dark matter gravitationally bound to the proto-Solar gas cloud could be adiabatically contracted into Earth-crossing orbits with a local density comparable to (or even exceeding) the Galactic halo density. We show that a significant fraction (~25%) of the resulting 'Solar halo' would remain today, surviving perturbations from Jupiter and close encounters with Earth, and would be potentially observable in direct detection experiments. The population would have distinct signatures, including a nonstandard annual modulation and extremely low velocity dispersion compared with the Galactic halo, making it an especially interesting target for coherent or resonant detection of ultralight particles such as axions or dark photons.