  The presence of dark matter in the solar neighbourhood can be tested in the
framework of stellar evolution theory by using the new results of
helioseismology. If weakly interacting massive particles accumulate in the
center of the Sun, they can provide an additional mechanism for transferring
energy from the solar core. The presence of these particles produces a change
in the local luminosity of the Sun of the order of 0.1%, which is now within
the reach of seismic solar experiments. We find that typical WIMPs with a mass
of 60 GeV, annihilation cross-section of 10^{-32} cm^3/sec, and scalar
scattering interaction between 10^{-36} cm^2 and 10^{-41} cm^2, the lower end
of this range being that suggested by the DAMA direct detection experiment,
modify the radial profile of the square of the sound speed in the solar core by
\~ 0.1 %. This level of change is strongly constrained by the most recent
helioseismological results. Significantly more massive WIMPs have a much
smaller effect on the solar core temperature profile. However future
helioseismological experiments have the potential exploring most, if not all,
of the WIMP parameter space accessible to current and planned direct detection
experiments.
