How Macroscopic Limits on Neutron Star Baryon Loss Yield Microscopic Limits on Non-Standard-Model Baryon Decay

We investigate how our baryon-loss limits from anomalous binary-pulsar period lengthening can be interpreted microscopically to yield specific constraints on the particle physics of baryon number violation within a neutron star. We focus on the possibility of anomalous baryon disappearance via dark baryon processes and on scenarios in which the produced dark-sector particles do not survive to influence the response of the star to baryon-number-violating effects. We flesh out the conditions for which this may occur, as well as other key assumptions. We then turn to the analysis of particle processes in the dense nuclear medium found at the core of a neutron star, employing the techniques of relativistic mean-field theory. Using our study of in-medium effects and limits on macroscopic baryon number violation we extract limits on in-vacuum baryon-number-violating processes, and we determine them for various equations of state. We conclude by noting the implications of our results for models of dark-sector-enabled baryogenesis.
Comment: Published version, 87 pages, 18 figures