Constraints on Self-Interacting dark matter from relaxed galaxy groups

Abstract

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) has been proposed as an alternative to the standard collisionless cold dark matter to explain the diversity of galactic rotation curves and core-cusp problems seen at small scales. Here, we estimate the constraints on SIDM for a sample of 11 relaxed galaxy groups with X-ray observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton. We fit the dark matter density distribution to the Einasto profile and use the estimated Einasto $\alpha$ parameter to constrain the SIDM cross-section, based on the empirical relation between the two, which was obtained in Eckert et al (2022). We obtain a non-zero central estimate for the cross-section per unit mass ($\sigma /m$) for seven groups, with the most precise estimate obtained for NGC 5044, given by $\sigma /m=0.165\pm 0.025\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^2/g$, for dark matter velocity dispersion of about 300 km/sec. For the remaining four groups, we obtain 95% c.l. upper limits on $\sigma /m<0.16-6.61\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^2/g$ with dark matter velocity dispersions between 200-500 km/sec, with the most stringent limit for our sample obtained for the group MKW 4, given by $\sigma /m<0.16\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^2/g$ for dark matter velocity dispersion of about 350 km/sec.

14 pages, 22 figures. Accepted in Phys. Dark Universe

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