The cosmology of sub-MeV dark matter freeze-in

Abstract

Dark matter (DM) could be a relic of freeze-in through a light mediator, where the DM is produced by extremely feeble, IR-dominated processes in the thermal Standard Model plasma. In the simplest viable models with the DM mass below the MeV scale, the DM has a small effective electric charge and is born with a nonthermal phase-space distribution. This DM candidate would cause observable departures from standard cosmological evolution. In this work, we combine data from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), Lyman-$\alpha$ forest, quasar lensing, stellar streams, and Milky Way satellite abundances to set a lower limit on freeze-in DM masses up to $\sim 20$keV, with the exact constraint depending on whether the DM thermalizes in its own sector. We perform forecasts for the CMB-S4 experiment, the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array, and the Vera Rubin Observatory, finding that freeze-in DM masses up to $\sim 80$keV can be explored. These cosmological probes are highly complementary with proposed direct-detection efforts to search for this DM candidate.

arXiv comment5+17 pages, 3+9 figures

References in corpus (91)

• Efficient Computation of CMB anisotropies in closed FRW models
• Cosmological parameters from CMB and other data: a Monte-Carlo approach
• The Cosmic Linear Anisotropy Solving System (CLASS) II: Approximation schemes
• Cold and Fuzzy Dark Matter
• An absorption profile centred at 78 megahertz in the sky-averaged spectrum
• Freeze-In Production of FIMP Dark Matter
• Planck 2018 results. V. CMB power spectra and likelihoods
• Dark Matter Self-interactions and Small Scale Structure
• Warm Dark Matter as a solution to the small scale crisis: new constraints from high redshift Lyman-alpha forest data
• A New Dark Matter Candidate: Non-thermal Sterile Neutrinos
• Direct Detection of Sub-GeV Dark Matter
• New Constraints on the free-streaming of warm dark matter from intermediate and small scale Lyman-$\alpha$ forest data
• The Dawn of FIMP Dark Matter: A Review of Models and Constraints
• CMB power spectrum parameter degeneracies in the era of precision cosmology
• Supernova 1987A Constraints on Sub-GeV Dark Sectors, Millicharged Particles, the QCD Axion, and an Axion-like Particle
• First Direct Detection Limits on sub-GeV Dark Matter from XENON10
• Updated Bounds on Milli-Charged Particles
• Dark Matter and Dark Radiation
• Light Dark Matter: Models and Constraints
• Milky Way Satellite Census. III. Constraints on Dark Matter Properties from Observations of Milky Way Satellite Galaxies
• Naturally Light Hidden Photons in LARGE Volume String Compactifications
• Strong bound on canonical ultra-light axion dark matter from the Lyman-alpha forest
• New stellar constraints on dark photons
• Constraining Dark Matter-Baryon Scattering with Linear Cosmology
• Kinetic Mixing of the Photon with Hidden U(1)s in String Phenomenology
• Dark-Matter Electric and Magnetic Dipole Moments
• Black Hole Superradiance Signatures of Ultralight Vectors
• Nonlinear Evolution of Cosmological Structures in Warm Dark Matter Models
• A Lower Bound on the Mass of Cold Thermal Dark Matter from Planck
• Warm dark matter chills out: constraints on the halo mass function and the free-streaming length of dark matter with 8 quadruple-image strong gravitational lenses
• Superconducting Detectors for Super Light Dark Matter
• Turning off the Lights: How Dark is Dark Matter?
• Severely Constraining Dark Matter Interpretations of the 21-cm Anomaly
• Dark Radiation constraints on minicharged particles in models with a hidden photon
• Signs of Dark Matter at 21-cm?
• The one-dimensional Ly-alpha forest power spectrum from BOSS
• Detection of sub-MeV Dark Matter with Three-Dimensional Dirac Materials
• Early-Universe Constraints on Dark Matter-Baryon Scattering and their Implications for a Global 21cm Signal
• Detecting Superlight Dark Matter with Fermi-Degenerate Materials
• Detection of Light Dark Matter With Optical Phonons in Polar Materials
• Detecting Dark Matter with Superconducting Nanowires
• Probing sub-GeV Dark Matter-Baryon Scattering with Cosmological Observables
• SHARP -- VII. New constraints on the dark matter free-streaming properties and substructure abundance from gravitationally lensed quasars
• Constraints on neutrino masses from Lyman-alpha forest power spectrum with BOSS and XQ-100
• Refined Bounds on MeV-scale Thermal Dark Sectors from BBN and the CMB
• Constraints on Dark Matter Microphysics from the Milky Way Satellite Population
• Directional Detection of Dark Matter with Two-Dimensional Targets
• On the Detectability of Light Dark Matter with Superfluid Helium
• Making dark matter out of light: freeze-in from plasma effects
• Direct Detection of sub-GeV Dark Matter with Scintillating Targets
• Constraints from Ly-$\alpha$ forests on non-thermal dark matter including resonantly-produced sterile neutrinos
• Directional Detection of Light Dark Matter with Polar Materials
• A Critical Assessment of CMB Limits on Dark Matter-Baryon Scattering: New Treatment of the Relative Bulk Velocity
• Heating of Baryons due to Scattering with Dark Matter During the Dark Ages
• First results of the CERN Resonant WISP Search (CROWS)
• Right-Handed Sneutrino as Cold Dark Matter
• Diamond Detectors for Direct Detection of Sub-GeV Dark Matter
• Light Dark Matter in Superfluid Helium: Detection with Multi-excitation Production
• BBN And The CMB Constrain Light, Electromagnetically Coupled WIMPs
• Multi-Channel Direct Detection of Light Dark Matter: Target Comparison
• A Guide to Designing Future Ground-based CMB Experiments
• XQ-100: A legacy survey of one hundred 3.5 < z < 4.5 quasars observed with VLT/XSHOOTER
• Cosmic microwave background and large scale structure limits on the interaction between dark matter and baryons
• Probing the Small-Scale Matter Power Spectrum with Large-Scale 21-cm Data
• 21-cm Fluctuations from Charged Dark Matter
• SiC Detectors for Sub-GeV Dark Matter
• Dirac Materials for Sub-MeV Dark Matter Detection: New Targets and Improved Formalism
• Thermal Dark Matter Below an MeV
• Novel constraints on non-cold (non-thermal) Dark Matter from Lyman-$\alpha$ forest data
• Future CMB tests of dark matter: ultra-light axions and massive neutrinos
• Right-Handed Sneutrino as Cold Dark Matter of the Universe
• Right-handed Sneutrinos as Nonthermal Dark Matter
• Directional Dark Matter Detection in Anisotropic Dirac Materials
• Evidence of a population of dark subhalos from Gaia and Pan-STARRS observations of the GD-1 stream
• Exploring the robustness of stellar cooling constraints on light particles
• Gas-rich dwarf galaxies as a new probe of dark matter interactions with ordinary matter
• Galactic Center Gas Clouds and Novel Bounds on Ultra-Light Dark Photon, Vector Portal, Strongly Interacting, Composite, and Super-Heavy Dark Matter
• New Constraints on the Mass of Fermionic Dark Matter from Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Evidence for Dark Matter Self-Interactions via Collisionless Shocks in Cluster Mergers
• The Cosmology of Sub-MeV Dark Matter
• CHAMP Cosmic Rays
• New Limits on Charged Dark Matter from Large-Scale Coherent Magnetic Fields
• Non-thermal right-handed sneutrino dark matter and the Omega_DM/Omega_b problem
• Chameleon Vector Bosons
• Direct Deflection of Particle Dark Matter
• Probing the Fundamental Nature of Dark Matter with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
• Disentangling Dark Physics with Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments
• Dynamics of millicharged dark matter in supernova remnants
• Long range dark matter self-interactions and plasma instabilities
• Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck formalism for dark-matter--baryon scattering
• Matter Power Spectrum of Light Freeze-in Dark Matter: With or without Self-Interaction

Cited by in corpus (41)

• Joint constraints on thermal relic dark matter from strong gravitational lensing, the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest, and Milky Way satellites
• How warm are non-thermal relics? Lyman-$\alpha$ bounds on out-of-equilibrium dark matter
• Cosmological Constraints on Dark Matter Interactions with Ordinary Matter
• DarkELF: A python package for dark matter scattering in dielectric targets
• Lyman-$\alpha$ constraints on freeze-in and superWIMPs
• Searches for light dark matter using condensed matter systems
• Lower Mass Bounds on FIMP Dark Matter Produced via Freeze-In
• Nano-Hertz gravitational waves from collapsing domain walls associated with freeze-in dark matter in light of pulsar timing array observations
• New limits on light dark matter - proton cross section from the cosmic large-scale structure
• Observational constraints on dark matter scattering with electrons
• Freezing-in a hot bath: resonances, medium effects and phase transitions
• Les Houches Lectures on Indirect Detection of Dark Matter
• Probing the effects of primordial black holes on 21-cm EDGES signal along with interacting dark energy and dark matter - baryon scattering
• Structure Formation and the Global 21-cm Signal in the Presence of Coulomb-like Dark Matter-Baryon Interactions
• Endothermic self-interacting dark matter in Milky Way-like dark matter haloes
• Dark Matter Candidates and Searches
• Cosmologically Varying Kinetic Mixing
• Massive Gravitons as Feebly Interacting Dark Matter Candidates
• Phenomenology of CP-even ALP
• Probing feebly interacting dark matter with monojet searches
• Global 21-cm brightness temperature in viscous dark energy models
• Freeze-in, glaciation, and UV sensitivity from light mediators
• Astrophysical Plasma Instabilities induced by Long-Range Interacting Dark Matter
• Dark matter self-interactions in the matter power spectrum
• Evaluating Lyman-$\alpha$ Constraints for General Dark-Matter Velocity Distributions: Multiple Scales and Cautionary Tales
• Time-delayed neutrino emission from supernovae as a probe of dark matter-neutrino interactions
• Constraining PBH mass distributions from 21cm brightness temperature results and an analytical mapping between probability distribution of 21cm signal and PBH masses
• Impact of freeze-in on dark matter isocurvature
• Explorations of pseudo-Dirac dark matter having keV splittings and interacting via transition electric and magnetic dipole moments
• Dark matter freeze-in via a light fermion mediator: forbidden decay and scattering
• Dark Matter Freeze-In and Small-Scale Observables: Novel Mass Bounds and Viable Particle Candidates
• Constraints on freeze-in dark matter from Lyman-$\alpha$ forest and 21-cm signal : single-field models
• Numerical solution of the exact background collisional Boltzmann equation for dark matter-baryon scattering
• MeV Dark Matter with MeV Dark Photons in Abelian Kinetic Mixing Theories
• Gravitational Wave Spectral Shapes as a probe of Long Lived Right-handed Neutrinos, Leptogenesis and Dark Matter: Global versus Local B-L Cosmic Strings
• The Terrestrial Density of Strongly-Coupled Relics
• Probing Non-Minimal Dark Sectors via the 21 cm Line at Cosmic Dawn
• Dark matter scattering in astrophysical media: collective effects
• Seasons of Dark Matter Freeze-In Shaped by the Weather of the Early Universe
• Structure Formation Limits on Axion-Like Dark Matter
• Dark Matter Recoupling