EDGES of the dark forest: A new absorption window into the composite dark matter and large scale structure

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ganguly, Anoma, Khatri, Rishi, Roy, Tuhin S.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Ganguly, Anoma
Khatri, Rishi
Roy, Tuhin S.
author_facet Ganguly, Anoma
Khatri, Rishi
Roy, Tuhin S.
contents We propose a new method to hunt for dark matter using dark forest/absorption features across the whole electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma rays, especially in the bands where there is a desert i.e. regions where no strong lines from baryons are expected. Such novel signatures can arise for dark matter models with a composite nature and internal electromagnetic transitions. The photons from a background source can interact with the dark matter resulting in an absorption signal in the source spectrum. In the case of a compact source, such as a quasar, such interactions in the dark matter halos can produce a series of closely spaced absorption lines, which we call the dark forest. We show that the dark forest feature is a sensitive probe of the dark matter self-interactions and the halo mass function, especially at the low mass end. There is a large volume of parameter space where dark forest is more sensitive compared to the best current and proposed direct detection experiments. Moreover, the absorption of CMB photons by dark matter gives rise to a global absorption signal in the CMB spectrum. For dark matter transition energies in the range $2.5\times 10^{-4}$ eV$-$ $5\times 10^{3}$ eV, such absorption features result in spectral distortions of the CMB in the COBE/FIRAS band of 60-600 GHz. If the dark matter transition frequency is $\sim$156 GHz, we show that the absorption of CMB photons by dark matter can provide an explanation for the anomalous absorption feature detected by the EDGES collaboration in 50-100 MHz range.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2301_03624
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle EDGES of the dark forest: A new absorption window into the composite dark matter and large scale structure
Ganguly, Anoma
Khatri, Rishi
Roy, Tuhin S.
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
We propose a new method to hunt for dark matter using dark forest/absorption features across the whole electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma rays, especially in the bands where there is a desert i.e. regions where no strong lines from baryons are expected. Such novel signatures can arise for dark matter models with a composite nature and internal electromagnetic transitions. The photons from a background source can interact with the dark matter resulting in an absorption signal in the source spectrum. In the case of a compact source, such as a quasar, such interactions in the dark matter halos can produce a series of closely spaced absorption lines, which we call the dark forest. We show that the dark forest feature is a sensitive probe of the dark matter self-interactions and the halo mass function, especially at the low mass end. There is a large volume of parameter space where dark forest is more sensitive compared to the best current and proposed direct detection experiments. Moreover, the absorption of CMB photons by dark matter gives rise to a global absorption signal in the CMB spectrum. For dark matter transition energies in the range $2.5\times 10^{-4}$ eV$-$ $5\times 10^{3}$ eV, such absorption features result in spectral distortions of the CMB in the COBE/FIRAS band of 60-600 GHz. If the dark matter transition frequency is $\sim$156 GHz, we show that the absorption of CMB photons by dark matter can provide an explanation for the anomalous absorption feature detected by the EDGES collaboration in 50-100 MHz range.
title EDGES of the dark forest: A new absorption window into the composite dark matter and large scale structure
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.03624