We show that non-minimal coupling between matter and geometry can indeed help in constructing stable, traversable, wormholes (WHs) without requiring exotic matter under certain conditions. In models like f (Q, T) = Q+β T gravity, where Q is the non-metricity scalar, and T is the trace of the energy-momentum tensor, the coupling between matter and geometry introduces additional degrees of freedom in terms of the parameter β. These can mimic the effects of exotic matter or even replace it entirely under specific parameter choice. The analysis involves deriving WH shape functions based on two dark matter (DM) density profiles: a solitonic core at the center of DM halos, and the outer halo follows the universal Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) density profile of cold DM (CDM). The wormhole solutions derived in these models satisfy important geometric conditions like: Flaring-out condition (necessary for traversability) and asymptotic flatness condition. For large positive coupling parameter, the null energy condition (NEC) can be satisfied at the wormhole throat, meaning exotic matter is not needed, while the wormhole is no longer Lorentzian and the flaring-out condition is broken. However, for large negative coupling parameter, the NEC can be satisfied, allowing for healthy wormholes without exotic matter, provided the coupling strength remains within certain bounds. In the latter case, the NEC is broken only effectively. We investigate the stability of the obtained wormhole solutions by virtue of a modified version of Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) equation, which includes a new force due to matter-geometry non-minimal, showing that these wormholes can be dynamically stable.
Nashed et al. (Sat,) studied this question.