Constraints on Scattering of keV–TeV Dark Matter with Protons in the Early Universe

Journal Article · Mon Aug 20 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.081301· OSTI ID:1597941

Gluscevic, Vera ^[1]; Boddy, Kimberly K. ^[2]

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1. Inst. for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (United States); UH High Energy Physics Group
2. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States); Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)

Here in this work, we present the first cosmological constraint on dark matter scattering with protons in the early Universe for the entire range of dark matter masses between 1 keV and 1 TeV. This constraint is derived from the Planck measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropy, and the CMB lensing anisotropy. It improves upon previous CMB constraints by many orders of magnitude, where limits are available, and closes the gap in coverage for low-mass dark matter candidates. We focus on two canonical interaction scenarios: spin-independent and spin-dependent scattering with no velocity dependence. Our results exclude (with 95% confidence) spin-independent interactions with cross sections greater than $5.3\times {10}^{-27}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for 1 keV, $3.0\times {10}^{-26}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for 1 MeV, $1.7\times {10}^{-25}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for 1 GeV, and $1.6\times {10}^{-23}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for 1 TeV dark matter mass. Finally, we discuss the implications of this study for dark matter physics and future observations.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0010504
• OSTI ID: 1597941
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 121; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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