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New Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter from $NuSTAR$ M31 Observations

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

6 Pith papers citing it
abstract

We use a combined 1.2 Ms of $NuSTAR$ observations of M31 to search for X-ray lines from sterile neutrino dark matter decay. For the first time in a $NuSTAR$ analysis, we consistently take into account the signal contribution from both the focused and unfocused fields of view. We also reduce the modeling systematic uncertainty by performing spectral fits to each observation individually and statistically combining the results, instead of stacking the spectra. We find no evidence of unknown lines, and thus derive limits on the sterile neutrino parameters. Our results place stringent constraints for dark matter masses $\gtrsim 12$ keV, which reduces the available parameter space for sterile neutrino dark matter produced via neutrino mixing ($e.g.$, in the $\nu$MSM) by approximately one-third. Additional $NuSTAR$ observations, together with improved low-energy background modeling, could probe the remaining parameter space in the future. Lastly, we also report model-independent limits on generic dark matter decay rates and annihilation cross sections.

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fields

hep-ph 6

years

2026 6

representative citing papers

Majoron Dark Matter, High-Scale Seesaw, and Leptogenesis

hep-ph · 2026-06-01 · unverdicted · novelty 4.0

Majoron dark matter is viable for sub-MeV masses in high-scale seesaw models with thermal leptogenesis, produced via misalignment and cosmic strings in pre- and post-inflationary scenarios and constrained by CMB, X-ray, and gravitational wave observations.

Flavor phenomenology of light dark particles

hep-ph · 2026-06-05 · unverdicted · novelty 2.0

Review surveying limits and prospects for flavor-violating decays of light axion-like particles, highlighting complementarity of lab, astro, and cosmo probes up to 10^12 GeV scales.

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Showing 6 of 6 citing papers.