Solar constraints for particle physics

by Aldo Serenelli (IEEC UAB)

Friday 22 May 2015, 12:00 → 13:00 Europe/Madrid

IFAE Seminar room (IFAE)

Standard solar models (SSMs) have been used for more than 30 years for to set limits on properties of non-standard particles. Their constraining power, however, depends on how accurately they represent the Sun and this has been challenged over the last decade by spectroscopic measurements of the solar surface composition: the solar abundance problem. In this talk, I will first present the current status of SSMs and argue that problems raised by the solar abundance problem can be circumvented for most applications related to particle physics. I will then present two examples, axions and hidden photons, to show how combining solar data (neutrinos & helioseismology) leads to more stringent limits on particle properties. Finally, I will also review some aspects of recent work on asymmetric dark matter and its impact on solar structure. Interpretation of results is left open to the public.

Slides ifae.pdf