🔭 darkNS – Neutron Star Dark Matter Tool

This project provides a modular and interactive Python-based tool to compute upper bounds on the cutoff scale Λ for effective interactions between dark matter and Standard Model particles inside neutron stars.

Within the framework of Effective Field Theory (EFT), interactions are described by fermionic and scalar contact operators. The tool numerically computes the dark matter capture efficiency (f) for each operator–target configuration via Monte Carlo integration using the Vegas algorithm.

By identifying the value of Λ for which the capture efficiency reaches the reference threshold of f = 1, the tool determines the discovery reach on Λ for different dark matter mass values. The implementation follows the methodology proposed in Joglekar et al., arXiv:2004.09539. Unit consistency is handled via the quantities module, and all relevant kinematic relations are implemented explicitly.

Note: electron targets are already integrated into the interface but not yet fully implemented at the computational level. Final refinements are in progress.

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🖥️ GUI Overview

The tool includes an interactive interface where users can:

• Select target particles (electron, muon, proton, neutron)
• Choose scalar or fermionic operators
• Adjust dark matter mass range
• Customize integration settings (nitn, neval, α)
• View plots
• Export results to CSV

📥 Installation

Clone the repository and move into the project directory:

git clone https://github.com/ale-amosso/darkNS.git
cd darkNS

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🚀 Usage

After installing the required packages, run the tool with:

python main.py

This will open the graphical interface. All configuration (target selection, operators, integration settings) is done directly through the GUI.

💡 Tip: Make sure you're in the root directory of the project when launching the script.

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🛠 Requirements

• Python 3.12 or higher
• Required packages:

pip install numpy matplotlib seaborn tqdm vegas quantities scipy customtkinter

📂 Project Structure

.
├── main.py                # Entry point - launches GUI
├── controllers/           # Connects GUI to physics functions
├── v_interface/           # GUI modules and layout
├── functions/             # Vegas integration, kinematics, plots
├── dictionaries/          # Physical constants and parameters
├── settings/              # Integration and DM mass defaults

📤 Output

After the calculation, the tool generates:

• A .png plot of Λ as a function of dark matter mass
• A .csv file with the numerical values for further processing

Example plot for the O_F1 operator on a neutron target:

⏱️ Note: A full run with high precision settings (e.g. 80 mass points from 10⁻⁸ to 10⁴ GeV, 5000 evaluations per iteration) can take several hours to complete depending on your system. For faster previews, consider reducing the number of points or the Vegas precision settings.

📚 References

• Aniket Joglekar, Nirmal Raj, Philip Tanedo, Hai-Bo Yu: Dark Kinetic Heating of Neutron Stars from Contact Interactions with Relativistic Targets, arXiv:2004.09539