CMB Constraints on Loop-Induced Decays of Leptophilic Dark Matter

Abstract

Leptophilic sub-MeV spin-zero dark matter (DM) decays into photons via one-loop processes, a scenario that has been in part overlooked in current literature. In this work, we provide updated and comprehensive upper limits on scalar, pseudo-scalar, and axion-like DM-electron couplings based on the latest NPIPE cosmic microwave background data from Planck. Our bounds on the couplings are not only competitive with astrophysical and terrestrial experiments, but outperform them in certain regions of parameter space. Notably, we present the most stringent limits to date on scalar DM with masses around a few keV and pseudo-scalar DM with masses between 100 eV and a few keV. Additionally, we explore, for the first time, the impact of implementing a cosmology-consistent treatment of energy deposition into the cosmic medium.

arXiv comment14 pages, 8 figures, v2: minor changes, matches published version

References in corpus (62)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• Array Programming with NumPy
• The Cosmic Linear Anisotropy Solving System (CLASS) II: Approximation schemes
• Planck 2018 results. V. CMB power spectra and likelihoods
• Conservative Constraints on Early Cosmology: an illustration of the Monte Python cosmological parameter inference code
• Light Dark Matter Search with Ionization Signals in XENON1T
• Excess Electronic Recoil Events in XENON1T
• Particle decays during the cosmic dark ages
• Light Dark Matter: Models and Constraints
• Stellar cooling bounds on new light particles: plasma mixing effects
• Planck intermediate results. LVII. Joint Planck LFI and HFI data processing
• Constraining Light Dark Matter with Diffuse X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Observations
• Search for New Physics in Electronic Recoil Data from XENONnT
• General Constraints on Dark Matter Decay from the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Axions from Strings: the Attractive Solution
• INTEGRAL constraints on primordial black holes and particle dark matter
• More Axions from Strings
• Cosmological constraints on exotic injection of electromagnetic energy
• Axion Kinetic Misalignment Mechanism
• Flavor probes of axion-like particles
• Cosmological parameters derived from the final (PR4) Planck data release
• Searching for Dark Matter in the CMB: A Compact Parameterization of Energy Injection from New Physics
• A fresh look at linear cosmological constraints on a decaying dark matter component
• Axion and neutrino bounds improved with new calibrations of the tip of the red-giant branch using geometric distance determinations
• Recent Progress in the Physics of Axions and Axion-Like Particles
• Refined Bounds on MeV-scale Thermal Dark Sectors from BBN and the CMB
• Can annihilating Dark Matter be lighter than a few GeVs?
• Neutrino decoupling beyond the Standard Model: CMB constraints on the Dark Matter mass with a fast and precise $N_{\mathrm{eff}}$ evaluation
• The Darkest Hour Before Dawn: Contributions to Cosmic Reionization from Dark Matter Annihilation and Decay
• New Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter from $NuSTAR$ M31 Observations
• BBN And The CMB Constrain Neutrino Coupled Light WIMPs
• Energy Injection And Absorption In The Cosmic Dark Ages
• BBN And The CMB Constrain Light, Electromagnetically Coupled WIMPs
• Supernova Muons: New Constraints on Z' Bosons, Axions, and ALPs
• Muons in supernovae: implications for the axion-muon coupling
• A deep search for decaying dark matter with XMM-Newton blank-sky observations
• MeV-mass dark matter and primordial nucleosynthesis
• CMB Anisotropy in the Decaying Neutrino Cosmology
• Emission of Single and Few Electrons in XENON1T and Limits on Light Dark Matter
• Axions - Motivation, limits and searches
• Exotic energy injection with ExoCLASS: Application to the Higgs portal model and evaporating black holes
• Search for dark matter particle interactions with electron final states with DarkSide-50
• DarkHistory: A code package for calculating modified cosmic ionization and thermal histories with dark matter and other exotic energy injections
• Searches for electron interactions induced by new physics in the EDELWEISS-III germanium bolometers
• Constraints on dark photons and axion-like particles from SuperCDMS Soudan
• Axion Kinetic Misalignment and Parametric Resonance from Inflation
• Axion Misalignment Driven to the Hilltop
• Strong supernovae bounds on ALPs from quantum loops
• Stellar limits on scalars from electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung
• Joint CMB and BBN Constraints on Light Dark Sectors with Dark Radiation
• Probing Dark Matter with Future CMB Measurements
• Dark Matter Absorption via Electronic Excitations
• Gravitational production of scalar dark matter
• The first search for bosonic super-WIMPs with masses up to 1 MeV/c${}^2$ with GERDA
• Axions are blind to anomalies
• Disentangling Dark Physics with Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments
• CMB and Lyman-$\alpha$ constraints on dark matter decays to photons
• What does cosmology tell us about the mass of thermal-relic dark matter?
• Axion Dark Matter from Lepton flavor-violating Decays
• Exploring New Physics with PandaX-4T Low Energy Electronic Recoil Data
• Search for MeV-Scale Axionlike Particles and Dark Photons with PandaX-4T
• Interacting light thermal-relic dark matter: self-consistent cosmological bounds