470 research outputs found
Searching for dark matter in X-rays: how to check the dark matter origin of a spectral feature
A signal from decaying dark matter (DM) can be unambiguously distinguished
from spectral features of astrophysical or instrumental origin by studying its
spatial distribution. We demonstrate this approach by examining the recent
claim of 0912.0552 regarding the possible DM origin of the 2.5 keV line in
Chandra observations of the Milky Way satellite known as Willman 1. Our
conservative strategy is to adopt a relatively large dark mass for Willman 1
and relatively small dark masses for the comparison objects. We analyze
archival observations by XMM-Newton of M31 and Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy
(dSph) and Chandra observations of Sculptor dSph. By performing a conservative
analysis of X-ray spectra, we show the absence of a DM decay line with
parameters consistent with those of 0912.0552. For M31, the observations of the
regions between 10 and 20 kpc from the center, where the uncertainties in the
DM distribution are minimal, make a strong exclusion at the level above
10sigma. The minimal estimate for the amount of DM in the central 40 kpc of M31
is provided by the model of 0912.4133, assuming the stellar disk's mass to
light ratio ~8 and almost constant DM density within a core of 28 kpc. Even in
this case one gets an exclusion at 5.7sigma from central region of M31 whereas
modeling all processed data from M31 and Fornax produces more than 14sigma
exclusion. Therefore, despite possible systematic uncertainties, we exclude the
possibility that the spectral feature at ~2.5 keV found in 0912.0552 is a DM
decay line. We conclude, however, that the search for DM decay line, although
demanding prolonged observations of well-studied dSphs, M31 outskirts and other
similar objects, is rather promising, as the nature of a possible signal can be
checked. An (expected) non-observation of a DM decay signal in the planned
observations of Willman 1 should not discourage further dedicated observations.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures; journal version; analysis of additional data
from M31 outskirts and comments on arXiv:1001.4055 are adde
Where to find a dark matter sterile neutrino?
We propose a strategy of how to look for dark matter (DM) particles
possessing a radiative decay channel and derive constraints on their parameters
from observations of X-rays from our own Galaxy and its dwarf satellites. When
applied to the sterile neutrinos in keV mass range, it allows a significant
improvement of restrictions to its parameters, as compared with previous works.Comment: 5 pp, revtex; v3: 1-sigma limits have been replaced by more
conservative 3-sigma limits, a picture illustrating the data analysis methods
has been ade
Sterile neutrinos as subdominant warm dark matter
In light of recent findings which seem to disfavor a scenario with (warm)
dark matter entirely constituted of sterile neutrinos produced via the
Dodelson-Widrow (DW) mechanism, we investigate the constraints attainable for
this mechanism by relaxing the usual hypothesis that the relic neutrino
abundance must necessarily account for all of the dark matter. We first study
how to reinterpret the limits attainable from X-ray non-detection and
Lyman-alpha forest measurements in the case that sterile neutrinos constitute
only a fraction fs of the total amount of dark matter. Then, assuming that
sterile neutrinos are generated in the early universe solely through the DW
mechanism, we show how the X-ray and Lyman-alpha results jointly constrain the
mass-mixing parameters governing their production. Furthermore, we show how the
same data allow us to set a robust upper limit fs < 0.7 at the 2 sigma level,
rejecting the case of dominant dark matter (fs = 1) at the ~ 3 sigma level.Comment: Minor changes; added references; version accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
Fermions in the harmonic potential and string theory
We explicitly derive collective field theory description for the system of
fermions in the harmonic potential. This field theory appears to be a coupled
system of free scalar and (modified) Liouville field. This theory should be
considered as an exact bosonization of the system of non-relativistic fermions
in the harmonic potential. Being surprisingly similar to the world-sheet
formulation of c=1 string theory, this theory has quite different physical
features and it is conjectured to give space-time description of the string
theory, dual to the fermions in the harmonic potential. A vertex operator in
this theory is shown to be a field theoretical representation of the local
fermion operator, thus describing a D0 brane in the string language. Possible
generalization of this result and its derivation for the case of c=1 string
theory (fermions in the inverse harmonic potential) is discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures, LaTeX2e. v2 - minor correction
Sterile Neutrino-Enhanced Supernova Explosions
We investigate the enhancement of lepton number, energy, and entropy
transport resulting from active-sterile neutrino conversion
deep in the post-bounce supernova core followed by re-conversion
further out, near the neutrino sphere. We explicitly take
account of shock wave and neutrino heating modification of the active neutrino
forward scattering potential which governs sterile neutrino production. We find
that the luminosity at the neutrino sphere could be increased by
between and during the crucial shock re-heating epoch
if the sterile neutrino has a rest mass and vacuum mixing parameters in ranges
which include those required for viable sterile neutrino dark matter. We also
find sterile neutrino transport-enhanced entropy deposition ahead of the shock.
This `` pre-heating\rq\rq can help melt heavy nuclei and thereby reduce the
nuclear photo-dissociation burden on the shock. Both neutrino luminosity
enhancement and pre-heating could increase the likelihood of a successful core
collapse supernova explosion.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
On the hadronic contribution to sterile neutrino production
Sterile neutrinos with masses in the keV range are considered to be a viable
candidate for warm dark matter. The rate of their production through
active-sterile neutrino transitions peaks, however, at temperatures of the
order of the QCD scale, which makes it difficult to estimate their relic
abundance quantitatively, even if the mass of the sterile neutrino and its
mixing angle were known. We derive here a relation, valid to all orders in the
strong coupling constant, which expresses the production rate in terms of the
spectral function associated with active neutrinos. The latter can in turn be
expressed as a certain convolution of the spectral functions related to various
mesonic current-current correlation functions, which are being actively studied
in other physics contexts. In the naive weak coupling limit, the appropriate
Boltzmann equations can be derived from our general formulae.Comment: 28 pages. v2: small clarifications added, published versio
Dark-matter sterile neutrinos in models with a gauge singlet in the Higgs sector
Sterile neutrino with mass of several keV can be the cosmological dark
matter, can explain the observed velocities of pulsars, and can play an
important role in the formation of the first stars. We describe the production
of sterile neutrinos in a model with an extended Higgs sector, in which the
Majorana mass term is generated by the vacuum expectation value of a
gauge-singlet Higgs boson. In this model the relic abundance of sterile
neutrinos does not necessarily depend on their mixing angles, the
free-streaming length can be much smaller than in the case of warm dark matter
produced by neutrino oscillations, and, therefore, some of the previously
quoted bounds do not apply. The presence of the gauge singlet in the Higgs
sector has important implications for the electroweak phase transition,
baryogenesis, and the upcoming experiments at the Large Hadron Collider and a
Linear Collider.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Microscopic construction of the chiral Luttinger liquid theory of the quantum Hall edge
We give a microscopic derivation of the chiral Luttinger liquid theory for
the Laughlin states. Starting from the wave function describing an arbitrary
incompressibly deformed Laughlin state (IDLS) we quantize these deformations.
In this way we obtain the low-energy projections of local microscopic operators
and derive the quantum field theory of edge excitations directly from quantum
mechanics of electrons. This shows that to describe experimental and numeric
deviations from chiral Luttinger liquid theory one needs to go beyond
Laughlin's approximation. We show that in the large N limit the IDLS is
described by the dispersionless Toda hierarchy.Comment: 5 pages, revtex, several clarifying comments adde
Production of a sterile species via active-sterile mixing: an exactly solvable model
The production of a sterile species via active-sterile mixing in a thermal
medium is studied in an exactly solvable model. The \emph{exact} time evolution
of the sterile distribution function is determined by the dispersion relations
and damping rates for the quasiparticle modes. These depend on
\wtg = \Gamma_{aa}/2\Delta E, with the interaction rate of the
active species in absence of mixing and the oscillation frequency in
the medium without damping. \wtg \ll1,\wtg \gg 1 describe the weak and strong
damping limits respectively. For \wtg\ll1, \Gamma_1 = \Gamma_{aa}\cos^2\tm ;
\Gamma_{2}=\Gamma_{aa}\sin^2\tm where \tm is the mixing angle in the medium
and the sterile distribution function \emph{does not} obey a simple rate
equation. For \wtg \gg 1, and \Gamma_2 = \Gamma_{aa}
\sin^22\tm/4\wtg^2, is the sterile production rate. In this regime sterile
production is suppressed and the oscillation frequency \emph{vanishes} at an
MSW resonance, with a breakdown of adiabaticity. These are consequences of
quantum Zeno suppression. For active neutrinos with standard model interactions
the strong damping limit is \emph{only} available near an MSW resonance
\emph{if} with the vacuum mixing angle.
The full set of quantum kinetic equations for sterile production for arbitrary
\wtg are obtained from the quantum master equation. Cosmological resonant
sterile neutrino production is quantum Zeno suppressed relieving potential
uncertainties associated with the QCD phase transition.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
Constraints on the Dark Matter Particle Mass from the Number of Milky Way Satellites
We have conducted N-body simulations of the growth of Milky Way-sized halos
in cold and warm dark matter cosmologies. The number of dark matter satellites
in our simulated Milky Ways decreases with decreasing mass of the dark matter
particle. Assuming that the number of dark matter satellites exceeds or equals
the number of observed satellites of the Milky Way we derive lower limits on
the dark matter particle mass. We find with 95% confidence m_s > 13.3 keV for a
sterile neutrino produced by the Dodelson and Widrow mechanism, m_s > 8.9 keV
for the Shi and Fuller mechanism, m_s > 3.0 keV for the Higgs decay mechanism,
and m_{WDM} > 2.3 keV for a thermal dark matter particle. The recent discovery
of many new dark matter dominated satellites of the Milky Way in the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey allows us to set lower limits comparable to constraints from
the complementary methods of Lyman-alpha forest modeling and X-ray observations
of the unresolved cosmic X-ray background and of dark matter halos from dwarf
galaxy to cluster scales. Future surveys like LSST, DES, PanSTARRS, and
SkyMapper have the potential to discover many more satellites and further
improve constraints on the dark matter particle mass.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, replaced with final version published in
Physical Review
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