In Situ Measurements of Dark Photon Dark Matter Using Parker Solar Probe: Going beyond the Radio Window

Abstract

Dark photon dark matter (DPDM) emerges as a compelling candidate for ultralight bosonic dark matter, detectable through resonant conversion into photons within a plasma environment. This study employs in-situ measurements from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), the first spacecraft to venture into the solar corona, to probe for DPDM signatures. The PSP in-situ measurements go beyond the traditional radio window, spanning frequencies between about 10 kHz and 20 MHz, a challenging range inaccessible to Earth-based radio astronomy. Additionally, the proximity of PSP to the resonant conversion location enhances the signal flux, providing a distinct advantage over ground-based observations. As a result, the PSP data establishes the most stringent constraints on the kinetic mixing parameter $\epsilon$ for DPDM frequencies between 70 kHz and 20 MHz, with values of $\epsilon \lesssim 10^{-14}-10^{-13}$. Investigating the data from STEREO satellites resulted in weaker constraints compared to those obtained from PSP. By utilizing state-of-the-art solar observations from space, we have surpassed the cosmic microwave background limits derived from early-universe observations.

5 pages, 3 figures + Supplemental Material. v3: fixed a small display issue in the Supplemental Material

References in corpus (18)

• The Solar Probe Cup on Parker Solar Probe
• Global maps of the magnetic field in the solar corona
• First in-situ Measurements of Electron Density and Temperature from Quasi-Thermal Noise Spectroscopy with Parker Solar Probe/FIELDS
• Microwave Background Constraints on Mixing of Photons with Hidden Photons
• Illuminating the Hidden Sector of String Theory by Shining Light through a Magnetic Field
• Dark Photon Dark Matter from a Network of Cosmic Strings
• Density Fluctuations in the Solar Wind Based on Type III Radio Bursts Observed by Parker Solar Probe
• Gravitational Waves and Dark Photon Dark Matter from Axion Rotations
• Direct detection of dark photon dark matter using radio telescopes
• Gravitational production of dark photon dark matter with mass generated by the Higgs mechanism
• Constraint on Vector Coherent Oscillation Dark Matter with Kinetic Function
• Solar wind energy flux observations in the inner heliosphere: First results from Parker Solar Probe
• Searching for Ultralight Dark Matter Conversion in Solar Corona using Low Frequency Array Data
• Determination of Solar Wind Angular Momentum and Alfvén Radius from Parker Solar Probe Observations
• Total Electron Temperature Derived from Quasi-Thermal Noise Spectroscopy In the Pristine Solar Wind: Parker Solar Probe Observations
• Solar radio emissions and ultralight dark matter
• Dark Matter from Entropy Perturbations in Curved Field Space
• Listening for Dark Photon Radio from the Galactic Centre

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Experimental targets for dark photon dark matter
• New model of spontaneous scalarization of black holes induced by curvature and matter
• Ultralight dark matter detection with trapped-ion interferometry
• Black Hole Solutions in Dark Photon Models with Higher Order Corrections
• Low-frequency radio telescopes sensitivity to light dark matter