21cm signal sensitivity to dark matter decay

Abstract

The redshifted 21cm signal from the Cosmic Dawn is expected to provide unprecedented insights into early Universe astrophysics and cosmology. Here we explore how dark matter can heat the intergalactic medium before the first galaxies, leaving a distinctive imprint in the 21cm power spectrum. We provide the first dedicated Fisher matrix forecasts on the sensitivity of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) telescope to dark matter decays. We show that with 1000 hours of observation, HERA has the potential to improve current cosmological constraints on the dark matter decay lifetime by up to three orders of magnitude. Even in extreme scenarios with strong X-ray emission from early-forming, metal-free galaxies, the bounds on the decay lifetime would be improved by up to two orders of magnitude. Overall, HERA shall improve on existing limits for dark matter masses below $2$ GeV$/c^2$ for decays into $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ and below few MeV$/c^2$ for decays into photons.

34 pages, 12 figures. v2: published version with additional references and improved figures

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Cited by in corpus (16)

• The EDGES measurement disfavors an excess radio background during the cosmic dawn
• Probing Dark Relativistic Species and Their Interactions with Dark Matter through CMB and 21cm surveys
• Detecting galaxy-21-cm cross-correlation during reionization
• Constraints on freeze-in dark matter from Lyman-$\alpha$ forest and 21-cm signal : single-field models
• 21-cm Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation after an Early Matter-Dominated Era
• Upcoming searches for decaying dark matter with ULTRASAT ultraviolet maps
• Probing self-interacting ultrahigh-energy neutrinos with the cosmic 21-cm signal
• Prospects for probing dark matter particles and primordial black holes with the Hongmeng mission using the 21 cm global spectrum at cosmic dawn
• Global signal in the redshifted hydrogen 21-cm line from the Dark Ages and Cosmic Dawn: Dependence on the nature of dark matter and modeling of first light
• Multi-Component Dark Matter from Minimal Flavor Violation
• Lyman-$\alpha$ limit on axion-like cold dark matter
• Signatures of inhomogeneous dark matter annihilation on 21-cm
• Astrophysical uncertainties challenge 21-cm forecasts: A primordial black hole case study
• Blade Antenna-SDR System Prototype for the CANTAR Global 21-cm Experiment: Simulations, Measurements, and In-Situ Results
• Probing Non-Minimal Dark Sectors via the 21 cm Line at Cosmic Dawn
• 21 cm Cosmology Sensitivity to Small-Scale Structure: Warm vs Neutrino-Interacting Dark Matter