WimPyC: an extension module of WimPyDD for the calculation of WIMP capture in celestial bodies

TL;DR

WimPyC delivers a flexible, fast framework to compute WIMP capture in celestial bodies within Galilean-invariant NR EFT, linking particle physics (Wilson coefficients) with nuclear responses and halo dynamics through a separable, interpolated approach. By extending WimPyDD with new classes (``Celestial_body'', ``Isotope'') and routines (``wimp_capture``, ``wimp_capture_matrix``, etc.), it enables combined DD and capture analyses across Sun, Earth, Jupiter, white dwarfs, and main-sequence stars, including elastic, inelastic, and momentum-dependent interactions. The paper demonstrates broad applicability via multiple benchmark scenarios, halo-independent methods, anapole DM matching, and a matrix-couplings framework that clarifies DD–capture complementarity and parameter-space constraints. While limited to the optically thin regime and NR EFT, WimPyC provides transparent bookkeeping, interpolation-based speedups, and robust options for sampling accuracy, making it a practical tool for probing WIMP interactions through both direct and indirect channels.

Abstract

We introduce WimPyC, a Python code for the calculation of the capture rate of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) by celestial bodies through nuclear scattering in the optically thin regime. WimPyC is an extension of the WimPyDD code, that calculates WIMP-nucleus scattering signals in direct detection (DD) experiments, and allows to combine DD and capture in celestial bodies in virtually any scenario within the framework of Galilean-invariant non-relativistic effective theory (NREFT), including inelastic scattering, an arbitrary WIMP spin and a generic WIMP velocity distribution in the Galactic halo. WimPyDD and WimPyC are suitable for both top-down approaches, where the interaction operators of a high-energy physics model are matched to those of the NREFT, and to bottom-up studies, where the Wilson coefficients of the NREFT are explored in a model-independent way and/or where the velocity distribution is written in terms of a superposition of streams taken as free parameters. As in the case of WimPyDD WimPyC exploits the factorization of the three main components that enter in the calculation of the capture rate: i) the Wilson coefficients that encode the dependence of the signals on the ultraviolet completion of the effective theory; ii) a response function that depends on the nuclear physics; iii) the halo function that depends on the WIMP velocity distribution. In WimPyC these three components are calculated and stored separately for later interpolation and combined together only as the last step of the signal evaluation procedure. This makes the phenomenological study of the capture rate with WimPyC transparent and improves computational speed.

Figures (10)

• Figure 1: Main combined structure of WimPyDD and WimPyC (the shaded area includes the main components of the new module). Diamond--shaped elements indicate the input from the user, oval shapes contain classes and rectangles represent functions.
• Figure 2: The WimPyC capture rate for the Sun, using the selected NREFT operators, is compared with the results of Ref. catena.
• Figure 3: The WimPyC capture rate for the Sun in the inelastic scenario is compared with published results Blennow:2015hzp, considering $\sigma_{\chi{\cal N}}=10^{-42}$ cm$^2$ for a spin-independent interaction.
• Figure 4: The WimPyC capture rate for Earth, using the selected NREFT operators, is compared to the results of Ref. catena_earth.
• Figure 5: The capture rate calculated using WimPyC for Jupiter (top-left), a light WD (top-right), and a main sequence star (bottom) is compared with the results from Refs. asteria, leane_wds and leane_ds, respectively.