Challenges in Binary Pulsar Timing Detection of Dark Matter Subhalos
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2026
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| author | Wang, Zheng-Long Xia, Zi-Qing Tsai, Yue-Lin Sming Fan, Yi-Zhong |
| author_facet | Wang, Zheng-Long Xia, Zi-Qing Tsai, Yue-Lin Sming Fan, Yi-Zhong |
| contents | Recently, binary pulsar timing has been proposed as a viable probe of dark matter subhalos with masses of $\sim 10^7\,M_{\odot}$ in the solar neighborhood. We present a comprehensive analytical framework that incorporates the subhalo mass function, projection effects of line-of-sight acceleration, and the spatiotemporal geometric requirements for joint detection by binary systems, enabling a quantitative evaluation of the detectability of nearby subhalos. Applying this framework to the current binary pulsar sample, we find a probability $\leq 1.6 \times 10^{-4}$ of detecting at least one subhalo within the effective volume. An independent timing residual analysis shows no statistically significant excess in line-of-sight accelerations beyond predictions from data-driven Galactic gravitational potential models. These results place stringent constraints on detecting $<10^8~M_{\odot}$ dark matter subhalos with existing pulsar timing data, aligning with the theoretical expectation that such subhalos have a low survival probability in the solar neighborhood. A low detection prospect still holds even for future Square Kilometre Array observations. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_26196 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Challenges in Binary Pulsar Timing Detection of Dark Matter Subhalos Wang, Zheng-Long Xia, Zi-Qing Tsai, Yue-Lin Sming Fan, Yi-Zhong High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Astrophysics of Galaxies Recently, binary pulsar timing has been proposed as a viable probe of dark matter subhalos with masses of $\sim 10^7\,M_{\odot}$ in the solar neighborhood. We present a comprehensive analytical framework that incorporates the subhalo mass function, projection effects of line-of-sight acceleration, and the spatiotemporal geometric requirements for joint detection by binary systems, enabling a quantitative evaluation of the detectability of nearby subhalos. Applying this framework to the current binary pulsar sample, we find a probability $\leq 1.6 \times 10^{-4}$ of detecting at least one subhalo within the effective volume. An independent timing residual analysis shows no statistically significant excess in line-of-sight accelerations beyond predictions from data-driven Galactic gravitational potential models. These results place stringent constraints on detecting $<10^8~M_{\odot}$ dark matter subhalos with existing pulsar timing data, aligning with the theoretical expectation that such subhalos have a low survival probability in the solar neighborhood. A low detection prospect still holds even for future Square Kilometre Array observations. |
| title | Challenges in Binary Pulsar Timing Detection of Dark Matter Subhalos |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.26196 |