Antiquark nuggets as dark matter: New constraints and detection prospects

Abstract

Current evidence for dark matter in the universe does not exclude heavy composite nuclear-density objects consisting of bound quarks or antiquarks over a significant range of masses. Here we analyze one such proposed scenario, which hypothesizes antiquark nuggets with a range of log10(B) = 24-30 with specific predictions for spectral emissivity via interactions with normal matter. We find that, if these objects make up the majority of the dark matter density in the solar neighborhood, their radiation efficiency in solids is marginally constrained, due to limits from the total geothermal energy budget of the Earth. At allowed radiation efficiencies, the number density of such objects can be constrained to be well below dark matter densities by existing radio data over a mass range currently not restricted by other methods.

6 pages, 3 figures, revised references; submitted to PRD

References in corpus (3)

• The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna Ultra-high Energy Neutrino Detector Design, Performance, and Sensitivity for 2006-2007 Balloon Flight
• Quark Matter Induced Extensive Air Showers
• Difficulties for Compact Composite Object Dark Matter

Cited by in corpus (26)

• Axion field and the quark nugget's formation at the QCD phase transition
• The Axion Quark Nugget Dark Matter Model: Size Distribution and Survival Pattern
• Cosmological Axion and Quark Nugget Dark Matter Model
• Isotropic Radio Background from Quark Nugget Dark Matter
• The 21cm Absorption Line and Axion Quark Nugget Dark Matter Model
• Axion Quark Nuggets. Dark Matter and Matter-Antimatter asymmetry: theory, observations and future experiments
• Reviving quark nuggets as a candidate for dark matter
• Axion Quark Nuggets and how a Global Network can discover them
• Gravitationally trapped axions on Earth
• Limits on the flux of nuclearites and other heavy compact objects from the "Pi of the Sky" project
• Quark Nugget Dark Matter: No contradictions with neutrino flux constraints
• The ANITA Anomalous Events and Axion Quark Nuggets
• Snowmass-2013 Cosmic Frontier 3 (CF3) Working Group Summary: Non-WIMP dark matter
• DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation and Axion Quark Nugget Dark Matter Model
• Atmospheric Radio Signals From Galactic Dark Matter
• The Pierre Auger Exotic Events and Axion Quark Nuggets
• Telescope Array Bursts, Radio Pulses and Axion Quark Nuggets
• Non-collider searches for stable massive particles
• Quark Nugget Dark Matter: Comparison with radio observations of nearby galaxies
• The Glow of Axion Quark Nugget Dark Matter: (I) Large Scale Structures
• Arguing on entropic and enthalpic first-order phase transitions in strongly interacting matter
• Exploring the detection of AQNs in large liquid detectors
• Daily modulations and broadband strategy in axion searches. An application with CAST-CAPP detector
• Prospects for strangelet detection with large-scale cosmic ray observatories
• A multishell solution in the Skyrme model
• Multi-Modal Clustering Events observed by Horizon-10T and Axion Quark Nuggets