An X-ray Spectroscopic Search for Dark Matter in the Perseus Cluster with Suzaku

Abstract

We present the results from deep Suzaku observations of the central region of the Perseus cluster. Bulbul et al. (2014) reported the detection by XMM-Newton instruments of an unidentified X-ray emission line at an energy around 3.5keV in spectra for the Perseus and other clusters. They argued for a possibility of the decay of sterile neutrino, a dark matter candidate. We examine Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) spectra of the Perseus cluster for evidence in the 3.5keV line and other possible dark matter features in the 2-6keV energy band. In order to search for and constrain a weak line feature with the XIS, observations of the Crab nebula are used to evaluate the system's effective area. We found no line feature at the claimed position with a systematic line flux upper limit at a half (1.5eV in line equivalent width) of the claimed best-fit value by Bulbul et al. We discuss this inconsistency in terms of instrumental calibration errors and modeling of continuum emission. Future prospects for high-energy resolution spectroscopy with ASTRO-H are presented.

Accepted for publication in PASJ in 2014-12-13, better PDF file may be found at http://tamura-job-log.blogspot.jp/2014/11/an-x-ray-spectroscopic-search-for-dark.html

References in corpus (4)

• Dark Matter Candidates from Particle Physics and Methods of Detection
• Searching for dark matter in X-rays: how not to check the dark matter origin of a spectral feature
• Cross-Calibration of the XMM-Newton EPIC pn & MOS On-Axis Effective Areas Using 2XMM Sources
• Extra light fermions in $E_6$-inspired models and the 3.5 keV X-ray line signal

Cited by in corpus (24)

• New Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter from $NuSTAR$ M31 Observations
• Hitomi constraints on the 3.5 keV line in the Perseus galaxy cluster
• A deep search for decaying dark matter with XMM-Newton blank-sky observations
• Dark matters on the scale of galaxies
• Status, Challenges and Directions in Indirect Dark Matter Searches
• Long-Exposure NuSTAR Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter in the Galactic Halo
• Warm Dark Matter Constraints Using Milky-Way Satellite Observations and Subhalo Evolution Modeling
• Fundamental physics with the Hubble Frontier Fields: constraining Dark Matter models with the abundance of extremely faint and distant galaxies
• Searches for sterile neutrinos and axionlike particles from the Galactic halo with eROSITA
• Axion Dark Matter from Lepton flavor-violating Decays
• Decaying dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: Prospects for X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes
• A Deep Redshift Survey of the Perseus Cluster: Spatial Distribution and Kinematics of Galaxies
• EBIT Observation of Ar Dielectronic Recombination Lines Near the Unknown Faint X-Ray Feature Found in the Stacked Spectrum of Galaxy Clusters
• Impact of ADC non-linearities on the sensitivity to sterile keV neutrinos with a KATRIN-like experiment
• Constraining Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter in the Milky Way Halo with Swift-XRT
• Thermal effects in freeze-in neutrino dark matter production
• Freeze-In Dark Matter within the Seesaw mechanism
• All-sky limits on Sterile Neutrino Galactic Dark Matter obtained with SRG/ART-XC after two years of operations
• Phasing out of Darkness: From Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter to Neutrino Masses via Time-Dependent Mixing
• Unlocking Discovery Potential for Decaying Dark Matter and Faint X-ray Sources with XRISM
• Signatures of Compact Halos of Sterile-Neutrino Dark Matter
• Exploring Ultralight Scalar Assistance in Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter: Cold Spectrum and Unusual X/Gamma-ray Signatures
• Searching for Particle Dark Matter with eROSITA Early Data
• High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of clusters of galaxies