Model-Independent Bound on the Dark Matter Lifetime

Abstract

If dark matter (DM) is unstable, in order to be present today, its lifetime needs to be longer than the age of the Universe, t_U ~ 4 10^{17} s. It is usually assumed that if DM decays it would do it with some strength through a radiative mode. In this case, very constraining limits can be obtained from observations of the diffuse gamma ray background. However, although reasonable, this is a model-dependent assumption. Here our only assumption is that DM decays into, at least, one Standard Model (SM) particle. Among these, neutrinos are the least detectable ones. Hence, if we assume that the only SM decay daughters are neutrinos, a limit on their flux from DM decays in the Milky Way sets a conservative, but stringent and model-independent bound on its lifetime.

4 pp, 1 fig; published version with extended discussion, updated figure and added references

References in corpus (10)

• Calculation of atmospheric neutrino flux using the interaction model calibrated with atmospheric muon data
• Neutrino Constraints on the Dark Matter Total Annihilation Cross Section
• Contraints on radiative dark-matter decay from the cosmic microwave background
• Decaying warm dark matter and neutrino masses
• Testing MeV dark matter with neutrino detectors
• Circumscribing Late Dark Matter Decays Model Independently
• Resolving Cosmic Gamma Ray Anomalies with Dark Matter Decaying Now
• Cosmological Constraints on Invisible Decay of Dark Matter
• High energy extension of the FLUKA atmospheric neutrino flux
• Radiation can never again dominate Matter in a Vacuum Dominated Universe

Cited by in corpus (7)

• PAMELA data and leptonically decaying dark matter
• Dark Matter Candidates - Axions, Neutralinos, Gravitinos, and Axinos
• Testing MeV dark matter with neutrino detectors
• Conservative Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation into Gamma Rays
• Electroweak Bremsstrahlung in Dark Matter Annihilation
• Prospects for Detecting Neutrino Signals from Annihilating/Decaying Dark Matter to Account for the PAMELA and ATIC results
• Probing New Physics with Astrophysical Neutrinos