Galactic Positron Excess from Selectively Enhanced Dark Matter Annihilation

Abstract

Precision measurements of the positron flux in cosmic ray have revealed an unexplained bump in the spectrum around $E\simeq 300\mathrm{GeV}$, not clearly attributable to known astrophysical processes. We propose annihilation of dark matter of mass $m_{\ddot{I}}‡=780\mathrm{GeV}$ with a late-time cross section $\ddot{I}ƒv=4.63\times 10^{-24}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^3{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ as a possible source. The nonmonotonic dependence of the annihilation rate on dark matter velocity, owing to a selective $p$-wave Sommerfeld enhancement, allows such a large signal from the Milky Way without violating corresponding constraints from CMB and dwarf galaxy observations. We briefly explore other signatures of this scenario, and outline avenues to test it in future experiments.

v3:15 pages, 12 figures, matches published version