Interpreting Mass and Radius Measurements of Neutron Stars with Dark Matter Halos
This research numerically simulates neutron stars mixed with dark matter (DANSs) using general relativity to see how dark matter halos affect their X-ray pulses. The study found that the DM distribution determines whether a star has a compact or diffuse halo, which significantly changes observed pulse profiles and mass/radius measurements compared to pure neutron stars. This highlights pitfalls in interpreting electromagnetic data.