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Abstract |
Proto-neutron stars forming a few seconds after core-collapse supernovae are hot and dense environments where hyperons can be efficiently produced by weak processes. By making use of various state-of-the-art supernova simulations combined with the proper extensions of the equations of state including Lambda hyperons, we calculate the cooling of the star induced by the emission of dark particles X-0 through the decay Lambda -> nX(0). Comparing this novel energy-loss process to the neutrino cooling of SN 1987A allows us to set a stringent upper limit on the branching fraction, BR(Lambda -> nX(0)) <= 8 x 10(-9), that we apply to massless dark photons and axions with flavor-violating couplings to quarks. We find that the new supernova bound can be orders of magnitude stronger than other limits in dark-sector models. |
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