Speaker
Description
An inelastic structure is a classic feature of many dark matter (DM) models arising from symmetry breaking, and investigating transitions between states with small mass splittings allows for the identification of unique, detectable signatures. While such inelasticity is a characteristic hallmark of well-motivated scenarios like Higgsino DM, it leads to particularly striking phenomenology in light hidden sectors. In this talk, we present a novel probe of this paradigm utilizing the extreme environment of the Galactic center. We investigate the capture and upscattering of DM within compact stars as they traverse the central DM density spike. Accelerated DM becomes trapped and upscatters into excited states that, following geodesics, can escape the stellar volume to decay semi-visibly in the vacuum outside. We show that the resulting X-ray signals could provide a possible origin for observed Sgr A* flares, while carrying distinct "smoking-gun" features. Using an inelastic dipole portal as a benchmark model, we demonstrate that the sensitivity of this astrophysical channel is highly competitive with that of traditional accelerator based searches, offering a powerful new frontier for identifying dark matter.