REVIEW 16 cited by
Refined Bounds on MeV-scale Thermal Dark Sectors from BBN and the CMB
Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.
This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.
SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event
T0 review · schema-true
One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.
pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp
Refined Bounds on MeV-scale Thermal Dark Sectors from BBN and the CMB
read the original abstract
New light states thermally coupled to the Standard Model plasma alter the expansion history of the Universe and impact the synthesis of the primordial light elements. In this work, we carry out an exhaustive and precise analysis of the implications of MeV-scale BSM particles in Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and for Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations. We find that, BBN observations set a lower bound on the thermal dark matter mass of $m_\chi > 0.4\,\text{MeV}$ at $2\sigma$. This bound is independent of the spin and number of internal degrees of freedom of the particle, of the annihilation being s-wave or p-wave, and of the annihilation final state. Furthermore, we show that current BBN plus CMB observations constrain purely electrophilic and neutrinophilic BSM species to have a mass, $m_\chi > 3.7\,\text{MeV}$ at $2\sigma$. We explore the reach of future BBN measurements and show that upcoming CMB missions should improve the bounds on light BSM thermal states to $m_\chi > (10-15)\,\text{MeV}$. Finally, we demonstrate that very light BSM species thermally coupled to the SM plasma are highly disfavoured by current cosmological observations.
Forward citations
Cited by 16 Pith papers
-
Probing Cosmic-Ray-Boosted and Supernova-Sourced Sub-GeV Dark Matter with Paleo-Detectors
Paleo-detectors can achieve high sensitivity to sub-GeV dark matter boosted by cosmic rays and supernovae, covering previously inaccessible parameter space with orders of magnitude better reach than current experiments.
-
Light Dark Matter Discovery Potential and Model Selection at LDMX
LDMX Phase II is projected to discover R=2.5 thermal complex-scalar DM at 5σ and to discriminate dark-photon electromagnetic-moment models via 2D Bayes factors.
-
Dark matter energy exchange in stars orbiting supermassive black holes
Orbit-averaged elastic DM scattering in S4714 reaches stellar luminosity at σ_χp ∼ 10^{-36} cm² (MeV–GeV) and σ_χe ∼ 5×10^{-38} cm² (sub-MeV) for a spiked profile.
-
Theory Calculations for LDMX and LOHENGRIN beyond Coherent Bethe-Heitler Scattering
Higher-order electromagnetic and hadronic contributions to dark photon bremsstrahlung have limited impact on signal and background predictions for LDMX and LOHENGRIN except for requiring an HCAL extension in LOHENGRIN...
-
CMB Limits on the Absorption of Light Vector and Axial-Vector Dark Matter
Planck CMB data set upper limits on vector and axial-vector dark matter-electron couplings for masses 100 eV to 100 keV via energy injection from inelastic scattering and hydrogen absorption.
-
Irreducible Constraints on Hadronically Interacting Sub-GeV Dark Matter
Sub-GeV dark matter that interacts hadronically is ruled out for nucleon scattering cross sections above 10^{-36} cm² across the keV to 100 MeV mass range by combined cosmological and particle-decay constraints.
-
Light Vector Dark Matter via a Magnetic Dipole Portal: Bridging Direct Detection and Fixed-Target Searches
A sub-GeV vector DM model with a magnetic dipole portal is studied at LDMX/NA64, but the claimed viable region relies on an unjustified thermal equilibrium assumption.
-
Consistent $N_{\rm eff}$ fitting in big bang nucleosynthesis analysis
Conventional BBN fitting for negative Delta N_eff is unphysical; a consistent treatment via entropy dilution after neutrino decoupling yields significantly different bounds.
-
PBH formation and Gravitational Waves as Multi-messenger Signals of First-order Phase Transitions
False-vacuum collapse during first-order phase transitions can form PBHs and emit GWs across a broad parameter range, and MeV-scale classically conformal U(1)_{B-L} symmetry breaking has the largest region where both ...
-
Dark matter energy exchange in stars orbiting supermassive black holes
Orbit-averaged DM energy exchange for S4714 reaches stellar luminosity at σ_χp ~ 10^{-36} cm² (MeV-GeV) and σ_χe ~ 5×10^{-38} cm² (sub-MeV) for spiked DM profiles.
-
Boosted Dark Matter from Sagittarius A$^\star$
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.
-
Dark Matter Interpretation of the Super-Kamiokande Antineutrino Excess and Predictions for JUNO
Interprets Super-Kamiokande antineutrino excess as s-wave annihilating dark matter with mass in the tens of MeV, predicting signals for JUNO.
-
Cosmology of Inelastic Self-Interacting Dark Matter: Linear Evolution and Observational Constraints
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 matt...
-
New Thermal-Relic Targets for sub-GeV Dark Matter Direct Detection
For sub-GeV dark matter coupled to anomaly-free U(1) mediators, thermal freeze-out predicts electron-recoil cross sections that are already excluded for electrophilic mediators but still viable and discoverable for el...
-
Joint probes of dark matter annihilation from neutrino detectors and CMB targets
Joint analysis of neutrino detectors and CMB observables can constrain dark matter annihilation into neutrinos for MeV-GeV masses.
-
Dark Matter Interpretation of the Super-Kamiokande Antineutrino Excess in $\mathrm{U}(1)_{L_\mu-L_\tau}$ model
A 22 MeV Dirac dark matter particle in a U(1)_{Lμ-Lτ} model annihilates to muon and tau neutrinos that oscillate to explain the SK excess while matching thermal relic abundance.
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.