Sub-GeV Dark Matter Shining at Future MeV γ-Ray Telescopes

We propose a novel framework where light (sub-GeV) dark matter (DM) is detectable with future MeV γ-ray telescopes without conflicting with cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. The stable DM particle χ has a very low thermal relic abundance due to its large pair-annihilation cross section. The DM...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2018-08, Vol.121 (7), p.071101-071101, Article 071101
Main Authors: D'Eramo, Francesco, Profumo, Stefano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Background radiation
Big bang cosmology
Big Bang theory
Cosmic microwave background
Dark matter
Large scale structure of the universe
Nuclear fusion
Nuclei (nuclear physics)
Particle decay
PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
Telescopes
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Summary:We propose a novel framework where light (sub-GeV) dark matter (DM) is detectable with future MeV γ-ray telescopes without conflicting with cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. The stable DM particle χ has a very low thermal relic abundance due to its large pair-annihilation cross section. The DM number density is stored in a slightly heavier, metastable partner ψ with suppressed pair-annihilation rates, that does not perturb the CMB, and whose late-time decays ψ→χ fill the Universe with χ DM particles. We provide explicit, model-independent realizations for this framework, and discuss constraints on late-time decays, and thus on parameters of this setup, from CMB, big bang nucleosynthesis, and large scale structure.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.071101