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Exciting Dark Matter and the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV signal

3 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.

3 Pith papers citing it
abstract

We propose a WIMP candidate with an ``excited state'' 1-2 MeV above the ground state, which may be collisionally excited and de-excites by e+e- pair emission. By converting its kinetic energy into pairs, such a particle could produce a substantial fraction of the 511 keV line observed by INTEGRAL/SPI in the inner Milky Way. Only a small fraction of the WIMPs have sufficient energy to excite, and that fraction drops sharply with galactocentric radius, naturally yielding a radial cutoff, as observed. Even if the scattering probability in the inner kpc is << 1% per Hubble time, enough power is available to produce the ~3x10^42 pairs per second observed in the Galactic bulge. We specify the parameters of a pseudo-Dirac fermion designed to explain the positron signal, and find that it annihilates chiefly to e+e- and freezes out with the correct relic density. We discuss possible observational consequences of this model.

citation-role summary

background 2

citation-polarity summary

years

2026 3

verdicts

UNVERDICTED 3

roles

background 2

polarities

background 2

representative citing papers

Solar Reflection of Inelastic Dark Matter

hep-ph · 2026-04-23 · unverdicted · novelty 6.0

Solar-reflected inelastic dark matter produces detectable signals in xenon and semiconductor detectors, enabling new constraints on MeV-scale dark matter parameter space.

Boosted Dark Matter from Sagittarius A$^\star$

hep-ph · 2026-06-29 · unverdicted · novelty 5.0

The nuclear star cluster around Sgr A* is the dominant source of gravitationally boosted dark matter in the Milky Way, with particles up to ~25,000 km/s that enhance sub-GeV detection prospects independently of the DM model.

citing papers explorer

Showing 3 of 3 citing papers.

  • Solar Reflection of Inelastic Dark Matter hep-ph · 2026-04-23 · unverdicted · none · ref 31

    Solar-reflected inelastic dark matter produces detectable signals in xenon and semiconductor detectors, enabling new constraints on MeV-scale dark matter parameter space.

  • Boosted Dark Matter from Sagittarius A$^\star$ hep-ph · 2026-06-29 · unverdicted · none · ref 70 · internal anchor

    The nuclear star cluster around Sgr A* is the dominant source of gravitationally boosted dark matter in the Milky Way, with particles up to ~25,000 km/s that enhance sub-GeV detection prospects independently of the DM model.

  • Cosmology of Inelastic Self-Interacting Dark Matter: Linear Evolution and Observational Constraints astro-ph.CO · 2026-04-16 · unverdicted · none · ref 34

    Inelastic self-interacting dark matter with small mass splitting produces a cutoff in the matter power spectrum at k > 1 h Mpc^{-1} whose location depends on cross-section normalization, velocity dependence, dark matter mass and mass splitting, yielding non-monotonic exclusion regions from Lyman-α森林