Abstract
In this paper, we explore the impact of Dark Matter-photon interactions on the CMB angular power spectrum. Using the one-year data release of the Planck satellite, we derive an upper bound on the Dark Matter-photon elastic scattering cross section of σDM−γ ⩽ 8 × 10−31 (mDM/GeV) cm2 (68% CL) if the cross section is constant and a present-day value of σDM−γ ⩽ 6 × 10−40(mDM/GeV) cm2 (68% CL) if it scales as the temperature squared. For such a limiting cross section, both the B-modes and the TT angular power spectrum are suppressed with respect to ΛCDM predictions for ℓ≳500 and ℓ≳3000 respectively, indicating that forthcoming data from CMB polarisation experiments and Planck could help to constrain and characterise the physics of the dark sector. This essentially initiates a new type of dark matter search that is independent of whether dark matter is annihilating, decaying or asymmetric. Thus, any CMB experiment with the ability to measure the temperature and/or polarisation power spectra at high ℓ should be able to investigate the potential interactions of dark matter and contribute to our fundamental understanding of its nature.
Highlights
The last decade has witnessed tremendous progress in observational cosmology
Using the one-year data release of the Planck satellite, we derive an upper bound on the Dark Matter–photon elastic scattering cross section of σDM−γ ≤ 8×10−31 cm2 (68% CL) if the cross section is constant and a present-day value of σDM−γ ≤ 6 × 10−40 cm2 (68% CL) if it scales as the temperature squared
We present our constraints on the dark matter (DM)–γ elastic scattering cross section, which is considered to be either constant or proportional to the temperature squared
Summary
The last decade has witnessed tremendous progress in observational cosmology. From the accumulated data of e.g. supernovae surveys [1], BAO measurements [2] and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments such as WMAP [3], SPT [4], ACT [5] and more recently Planck [6], one could establish with great precision the quantity of dark matter (DM) in the Universe. Appropriate to look for evidence in low energy gamma-ray data [25], measurements of the electron/muon g-2 [26,27,28,29] or the neutrino mass generation mechanism [30] Such searches require one to assume a Particle Physics model and are not universal. [33] much further and show that a non-negligible DM–γ coupling generates distinctive features in the temperature and polarisation power spectra at high One can use these effects to search for evidence of DM interactions in CMB data and determine (at least observationally) the strength of DM–γ interactions that we are allowed.
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