Nonabelian dark matter models for 3.5 keV X-rays

Abstract

A recent analysis of XXM-Newton data reveals the possible presence of an X-ray line at approximately 3.55 keV, which is not readily explained by known atomic transitions. Numerous models of eV-scale decaying dark matter have been proposed to explain this signal. Here we explore models of multicomponent nonabelian dark matter with typical mass ~ 1-10 GeV (higher values being allowed in some models) and eV-scale splittings that arise naturally from the breaking of the nonabelian gauge symmetry. Kinetic mixing between the photon and the hidden sector gauge bosons can occur through a dimension-5 or 6 operator. Radiative decays of the excited states proceed through transition magnetic moments that appear at one loop. The decaying excited states can either be primordial or else produced by upscattering of the lighter dark matter states. These models are significantly constrained by direct dark matter searches or cosmic microwave background distortions, and are potentially testable in fixed target experiments that search for hidden photons. We note that the upscattering mechanism could be distinguished from decays in future observations if sources with different dark matter velocity dispersions seem to require different values of the scattering cross section to match the observed line strengths.

27 pages, 9 figures; v2. added references

References in corpus (38)

• Observation of an anomalous positron abundance in the cosmic radiation
• A Theory of Dark Matter
• Dark Matter Results from 225 Live Days of XENON100 Data
• First results from DAMA/LIBRA and the combined results with DAMA/NaI
• Results from a Search for Light-Mass Dark Matter with a P-type Point Contact Germanium Detector
• Precise Relic WIMP Abundance and its Impact on Searches for Dark Matter Annihilation
• A Tentative Gamma-Ray Line from Dark Matter Annihilation at the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Exciting Dark Matter and the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV signal
• Impact of dark matter decays and annihilations on reionization
• The Poker Face of the Majoron Dark Matter Model: LUX to keV Line
• Resonantly-Produced 7 keV Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter Models and the Properties of Milky Way Satellites
• Contraints on radiative dark-matter decay from the cosmic microwave background
• A kinematically selected, metal-poor stellar halo in the outskirts of M31
• The Quest for an Intermediate-Scale Accidental Axion and Further ALPs
• Direct Detection of Multi-component Secluded WIMPs
• The windows for kinetically mixed Z'-mediated dark matter and the galactic center gamma ray excess
• Nonabelian dark matter: models and constraints
• The 7 keV axion dark matter and the X-ray line signal
• Hidden Sector Dark Matter Models for the Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess
• A 3.55 keV Photon Line and its Morphology from a 3.55 keV ALP Line
• The galactic 511 keV line from electroweak scale WIMPs
• A Dark Matter Progenitor: Light Vector Boson Decay into (Sterile) Neutrinos
• Dark Matter CMB Constraints and Likelihoods for Poor Particle Physicists
• X-ray line signal from decaying axino warm dark matter
• Generating X-ray lines from annihilating dark matter
• X-ray Lines from Dark Matter: The Good, The Bad, and The Unlikely
• Relic Gravity Waves and 7 keV Dark Matter from a GeV scale inflaton
• 3.5 keV X-rays as the "21 cm line" of dark atoms, and a link to light sterile neutrinos
• PAMELA, DAMA, INTEGRAL and Signatures of Metastable Excited WIMPs
• 7 keV Scalar Dark Matter and the Anomalous Galactic X-ray Spectrum
• Anomaly-free flavor models for Nambu-Goldstone bosons and the 3.5 keV X-ray line signal
• keV Photon Emission from Light Nonthermal Dark Matter
• A Dynamical Framework for KeV Dirac Neutrino Warm Dark Matter
• 3.55 keV X-ray Line Signal from Excited Dark Matter in Radiative Neutrino Model
• The 3.5 keV X-ray line signal from decaying moduli with low cutoff scale
• Cluster X-ray line at $3.5\mathrm{keV}$ from axion-like dark matter
• Can a millicharged dark matter particle emit an observable gamma-ray line?
• Effective field theory and keV lines from dark matter

Cited by in corpus (10)

• SIMPle Dark Matter: Self-Interactions and keV Lines
• Self-Scattering for Dark Matter with an Excited State
• Nonthermal Two Component Dark Matter Model for Fermi-LAT $\gamma$-ray excess and 3.55 keV X-ray Line
• A Fresh Look at keV Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter from Frozen-In Scalars
• Consistency of dark matter interpretations of the 3.5 keV X-ray line
• Decaying Vector Dark Matter as an Explanation for the 3.5 keV Line from Galaxy Clusters
• Displaced Vertices from X-ray Lines
• Non-abelian Dark Matter Solutions for Galactic Gamma-ray Excess and Perseus 3.5 keV X-ray Line
• A 3.55 keV Line from Exciting Dark Matter without a Hidden Sector
• Supersymmetric Higgs-portal and X-ray lines