Direct x-ray constraints on sterile neutrino warm dark matter
- Department of Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States)
Warm dark matter might more easily account for small scale clustering measurements than the heavier particles typically invoked in {lambda} cold dark matter ({lambda}CDM) cosmologies. In this paper, we consider a {lambda}WDM cosmology in which sterile neutrinos {nu}{sub s}, with a mass m{sub s} of roughly 1-100 keV, are the dark matter. We use the diffuse x-ray spectrum (total minus resolved point source emission) of the Andromeda galaxy to constrain the rate of sterile neutrino radiative decay: {nu}{sub s}{yields}{nu}{sub e,{mu}}{sub ,{tau}}+{gamma}. Our findings demand that m{sub s}<3.5 keV (95% C.L.) which is a significant improvement over the previous (95% C.L.) limits inferred from the x-ray emission of nearby clusters, m{sub s}<8.2 keV (Virgo A) and m{sub s}<6.3 keV (Virgo A+Coma)
- OSTI ID:
- 20869225
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 74, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.74.033009; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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