Dark Matter that Interacts with Baryons: Density Distribution within the Earth and New Constraints on the Interaction Cross-section

Abstract

For dark matter (DM) particles with masses in the 0.6 - 6 m_p range, we set stringent constraints on the interaction cross-sections for scattering with ordinary baryonic matter. These constraints follow from the recognition that such particles can be captured by - and thermalized within - the Earth, leading to a substantial accumulation and concentration of DM that interact with baryons. Here, we discuss the probability that DM intercepted by the Earth will be captured, the number of DM particles thereby accumulated over Earth's lifetime, the fraction of such particles retained in the face of evaporation, and the density distribution of such particles within the Earth. In the latter context, we note that a previous treatment of the density distribution of DM, presented by Gould and Raffelt and applied subsequently to DM in the Sun, is inconsistent with considerations of hydrostatic equilibrium. Our analysis provides an estimate of the DM particle density at Earth's surface, which may exceed 1.E+14 cm-3 for the mass range under consideration. Based upon our determination of the DM density at Earth's surface, we derive constraints on the scattering cross-sections. These constraints are placed by four considerations: (1) the lifetime of the relativistic proton beam at the Large Hadron collider (LHC); (2) the orbital decay of spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO); (3) the vaporization rate of cryogenic liquids in well-insulated storage dewars; and (4) the thermal conductivity of Earth's crust. As an example application of our results, we show that for the scattering cross-sections that were invoked recently in Barkana's original explanation for the anomalously deep 21 cm absorption reported by EDGES, DM particle masses in the 0.6 - 4 m_p range are ruled out.

Accepted for publication in ApJ. This version has several minor changes to improve clarity. A new appendix had been added to justify our treatment of the dark matter density distribution within the Earth, where we note that a previous analysis of the density distribution of DM in the Sun by Gould and Raffelt is inconsistent with considerations of hydrostatic equilibrium

References in corpus (12)

• An absorption profile centred at 78 megahertz in the sky-averaged spectrum
• Possible interaction between baryons and dark-matter particles revealed by the first stars
• The Local Dark Matter Density
• Insights on Dark Matter from Hydrogen during Cosmic Dawn
• Severely Constraining Dark Matter Interpretations of the 21-cm Anomaly
• Constraining the Galaxy's dark halo with RAVE stars
• Towards Closing the Window on Strongly Interacting Dark Matter: Far-Reaching Constraints from Earth's Heat Flow
• Probing sub-GeV Dark Matter-Baryon Scattering with Cosmological Observables
• Constraining Baryon--Dark Matter Scattering with the Cosmic Dawn 21-cm Signal
• Search for low-mass WIMPs in a 0.6 kg day exposure of the DAMIC experiment at SNOLAB
• Constraints on scattering of keV--TeV dark matter with protons in the early Universe
• Weighing the local dark matter with RAVE red clump stars

Cited by in corpus (22)

• Reverse Direct Detection: Cosmic Ray Scattering With Light Dark Matter
• Gas-rich dwarf galaxies as a new probe of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter
• Evaporation of dark matter from celestial bodies
• Metastable Nuclear Isomers as Dark Matter Accelerators
• The 21cm Absorption Line and Axion Quark Nugget Dark Matter Model
• Earth-bound Milli-charge Relics
• No room to hide: implications of cosmic-ray upscattering for GeV-scale dark matter
• Search for dark matter induced de-excitation of ${}^{180}$Ta${}^{\mathrm{m}}$
• Celestial Objects as Strongly-Interacting Non-Annihilating Dark Matter Detectors
• Dark Matter Induced Power in Quantum Devices
• A Composite Solution to the Neutron Bottle Anomaly
• Dark Matter Annihilation inside Large Volume Neutrino Detectors
• Accelerating Earth-Bound Dark Matter
• Continuous Gravitational Waves: A New Window to Look for Heavy Non-annihilating Dark Matter
• Optimal Celestial Bodies for Dark Matter Detection
• Neutrinos from Earth-Bound Dark Matter Annihilation
• Dark Matter that Interacts with Baryons: Experimental Limits on the Interaction Cross-section for 27 Atomic Nuclei, and Resultant Constraints on the Particle Properties
• On the cosmology and terrestrial signals of sexaquark dark matter
• Millicharge Dark Matter Detection with Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
• Search for Dark Matter Scattering from Optically Levitated Nanoparticles
• Bounds on ALP-Mediated Dark Matter Models from Celestial Objects
• Opening windows with Isospin-Violating Dark Matter