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Cosmological Bounds on sub-GeV Dark Vector Bosons from Electromagnetic Energy Injection
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology · Submitted 4 Mar 2020
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim In this work we study the constraints implied by these effects on a range of sub-GeV dark vectors including the kinetically mixed dark photon, and the $B-L$, $L_e-L_\mu$, $L_e-L_\tau$ , and $L_\mu-L_\tau$ dark U(1) bosons.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
New dark vector bosons that couple very feebly to regular matter can be created in the early universe and decay after the onset of big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) or the formation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at recombination. The energy injected by such decays can alter the light element abundances or modify the power and frequency spectra of the CMB. In this work we study the constraints implied by these effects on a range of sub-GeV dark vectors including the kinetically mixed dark photon, and the $B-L$, $L_e-L_\mu$, $L_e-L_\tau$ , and $L_\mu-L_\tau$ dark U(1) bosons. We focus on the effects of electromagnetic energy injection, and we update previous investigations of dark photon and other dark vector decays by taking into account non-universality in the photon cascade spectrum relevant for BBN and the energy dependence of the ionization efficiency after recombination in our treatment of modifications to the CMB.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | New dark vector bosons that couple very feebly to regular matter can be created in the early universe and decay after the onset of big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) or the formation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at recombination. | background 1.00 | 0.06 | 0.04 | hedged possibility 0.77 |
| s1 | The energy injected by such decays can alter the light element abundances or modify the power and frequency spectra of the CMB. | background 1.00 | 0.05 | 0.05 | hedged possibility 0.50 |
| s2 | In this work we study the constraints implied by these effects on a range of sub-GeV dark vectors including the kinetically mixed dark photon, and the $B-L$, $L_e-L_\mu$, $L_e-L_\tau$ , and $L_\mu-L_\tau$ dark U(1) bosons. | contribution 1.00 | 0.83 | 0.08 | asserted 0.89 |
| s3 | We focus on the effects of electromagnetic energy injection, and we update previous investigations of dark photon and other dark vector decays by taking into account non-universality in the photon cascade spectrum relevant for BBN and the energy dependence of the ionization efficiency after recombination in our treatment of modifications to the CMB. | contribution 0.73 | 0.91 | 0.09 | asserted 0.99 |
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The paper
Original abstract
New dark vector bosons that couple very feebly to regular matter can be created in the early universe and decay after the onset of big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) or the formation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at recombination. The energy injected by such decays can alter the light element abundances or modify the power and frequency spectra of the CMB. In this work we study the constraints implied by these effects on a range of sub-GeV dark vectors including the kinetically mixed dark photon, and the $B-L$, $L_e-L_\mu$, $L_e-L_\tau$ , and $L_\mu-L_\tau$ dark U(1) bosons. We focus on the effects of electromagnetic energy injection, and we update previous investigations of dark photon and other dark vector decays by taking into account non-universality in the photon cascade spectrum relevant for BBN and the energy dependence of the ionization efficiency after recombination in our treatment of modifications to the CMB.
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References
How the literature uses it
16 arXiv papers cite this in 26 sentences
Papers citing it · 14 sentences without a confident label
Builds on it 1 paper
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Expanding on Ref. [ref] , the authors of Ref. [ref] have updated their discussions on electromagnetic injection by taking into account non-universality in the photon cascade spectrum relevant for BBN.
Probing dark photons in the early universe with big bang nucleosynthesis · Introduction · 0.91
Uses its method or tool 1 paper
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In this work, we follow the general scheme of Refs. [ref] , albeit with a completely self-consistent treatment of nuclear reactions and temperature-time-scale factor phasing and entropy flow between the neutrinos and the photon-electron/positron-baryon plasma, as described above.
Probing dark photons in the early universe with big bang nucleosynthesis · Introduction · 0.84
Uses its data or values 1 paper
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To obtain the nuclide abundances we use the photon spectrum $f_γ$ derived in Refs. [ref] (which is a more accurate description for sub-100 MeV energy injections than the “universal spectrum" widely used).
Cosmological and astrophysical probes of dark baryons · $m_χ> m_n$ · 0.92
Compares with it 1 paper
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We show these constraints on the parameter space of $U(1)_B-L$, obtained from [ref] , that are complementary to our results.
Cosmological Implications of Gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ on $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ in the CMB and BBN · Introduction · 0.80
Cites it as background 7 papers
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Depending on whether the mass is heavy (above the MeV scale) [ref] , light (from keV to MeV) [ref] , or ultra-light (well below the aforementioned scales) [ref] , dark photons can be produced in multiple ways in the early universe.
Dark Photons in the Early Universe: From Thermal Production to Cosmological Constraints · Introduction · 0.88
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In addition to the dark photon considerations in Refs. [ref] , a generic scenario of sub-GeV particles and electromagnetic energy injection from their decays has also been studied, for example in Refs. [ref] .
Probing dark photons in the early universe with big bang nucleosynthesis · Introduction · 0.99
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In the early Universe, these annihilations might for example still inject a significant amount of electromagnetic energy into the SM heat bath, which can be constrained by cosmological observations including those from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) [ref] and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) [ref] .
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on resonant DM annihilations · Introduction · 0.83
What it cites · 154 sentences without a confident label
Builds on 2 papers
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This study expands on previous investigations of cosmological bounds on dark photons in two ways [ref] .
Cosmological Constraints on Decoupled Dark Photons and Dark Higgs · Introduction · 0.99
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This study expands on previous investigations of cosmological bounds on dark photons in two ways [ref] .
Cosmological Constraints on Very Dark Photons · Introduction · 0.99
Uses the method or tool of 29 papers
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To estimate the CMB bounds from Planck [ref] on dark vector decays, we make use of principal component functions and eigenvectors over the space of energy deposition histories described in Refs. [ref] and collected in Ref. [ref] .
Dark Matter CMB Constraints and Likelihoods for Poor Particle Physicists · Methods for the CMB Power Spectrum · 0.96
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To estimate the CMB bounds from Planck [ref] on dark vector decays, we make use of principal component functions and eigenvectors over the space of energy deposition histories described in Refs. [ref] and collected in Ref. [ref] .
Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters · Methods for the CMB Power Spectrum · 0.96
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To estimate the CMB bounds from Planck [ref] on dark vector decays, we make use of principal component functions and eigenvectors over the space of energy deposition histories described in Refs. [ref] and collected in Ref. [ref] .
Searching for Dark Matter in the CMB: A Compact Parameterization of Energy Injection from New Physics · Methods for the CMB Power Spectrum · 0.96
Uses data or values from 9 papers
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We then compare the resulting light element abundances to the following observed values, quoted with effective $1σ$ uncertainties (with theoretical and experimental uncertainties combined in quadrature): Y_p = 0.245±0.004 (Ref. [ref] ) n_D/n_H = (2.53±0.05)×10^-5 (Ref. [ref] ) n_^3He/n_H = (1.0±0.5)×10^-5 (Ref. [ref] ) .
The effects of He I 10830 on helium abundance determinations · Methods for Calculating the Impact on BBN · 0.86
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We then compare the resulting light element abundances to the following observed values, quoted with effective $1σ$ uncertainties (with theoretical and experimental uncertainties combined in quadrature): Y_p = 0.245±0.004 (Ref. [ref] ) n_D/n_H = (2.53±0.05)×10^-5 (Ref. [ref] ) n_^3He/n_H = (1.0±0.5)×10^-5 (Ref. [ref] ) .
One percent determination of the primordial deuterium abundance · Methods for Calculating the Impact on BBN · 0.86
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In our analysis we follow Ref. [ref] and extract the form factor from $e^+e^-→π^+π^-(γ)$ measurements by the BABAR experiment [ref] .
Precise Measurement of the e+ e- --> pi+ pi- (gamma) Cross Section with the Initial-State Radiation Method at BABAR · Vector Boson Decay Branching Fractions · 0.81
Compares with 8 papers
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For $ϵ∼10^-11$ and $m_V ∼$, Refs. [ref] also found disjoint BBN exclusions on the dark photon from neutron-proton converstions induced by charged pion and kaon injection, while for $ϵ∼10^-13$ and $m_V ≳2$ they obtained BBN bounds mainly from the direct injection of neutrons from vector decays.
Cosmological Constraints on Very Dark Photons · Cosmological Bounds on Thermal Dark Vector Parameters · 0.93
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For $ϵ∼10^-11$ and $m_V ∼$, Refs. [ref] also found disjoint BBN exclusions on the dark photon from neutron-proton converstions induced by charged pion and kaon injection, while for $ϵ∼10^-13$ and $m_V ≳2$ they obtained BBN bounds mainly from the direct injection of neutrons from vector decays.
Cosmological Constraints on Decoupled Dark Photons and Dark Higgs · Cosmological Bounds on Thermal Dark Vector Parameters · 0.93
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For decays, we also find that the projected limits for longer lifetimes $τ_V ≫10^13 s$ agree well with the principal components derived for dark matter decay with respect to the space of energy injection spectra based on Planck 2015 data [ref] .
General Constraints on Dark Matter Decay from the Cosmic Microwave Background · Methods for the CMB Power Spectrum · 0.93
Cites as support 6 papers
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However, it was shown in Refs. [ref] that lower-energy electromagnetic injection near or below the GeV scale can lead to cascade photon spectra that deviate significantly from the predictions of the universal spectrum, and that can depend on the type and spectrum of the energy [ref] .
Non-universal BBN bounds on electromagnetically decaying particles · Introduction · 0.96
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However, it was shown in Refs. [ref] that lower-energy electromagnetic injection near or below the GeV scale can lead to cascade photon spectra that deviate significantly from the predictions of the universal spectrum, and that can depend on the type and spectrum of the energy [ref] .
BBN constraints on MeV-scale dark sectors. Part II. Electromagnetic decays · Introduction · 0.96
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However, it was shown in Refs. [ref] that lower-energy electromagnetic injection near or below the GeV scale can lead to cascade photon spectra that deviate significantly from the predictions of the universal spectrum, and that can depend on the type and spectrum of the energy [ref] .
Limits from BBN on Light Electromagnetic Decays · Introduction · 0.96
Cites as background 15 papers
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We investigate a range of light (but massive) U(1) vector bosons including a dark photon (DP) that connects to the SM exclusively through gauge kinetic mixing with hypercharge [ref] , as well as the anomaly-free combinations $$ [ref] , $$ [ref] , $$ [ref] , and $$ [ref] with only very tiny direct couplings to the SM.
On the possibility of search for $L_\mu - L_\tau$ gauge boson at Belle-II and neutrino beam experiments · Introduction · 0.92
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We investigate a range of light (but massive) U(1) vector bosons including a dark photon (DP) that connects to the SM exclusively through gauge kinetic mixing with hypercharge [ref] , as well as the anomaly-free combinations $$ [ref] , $$ [ref] , $$ [ref] , and $$ [ref] with only very tiny direct couplings to the SM.
Lepton Flavorful Fifth Force and Depth-dependent Neutrino Matter Interactions · Introduction · 0.92
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We investigate a range of light (but massive) U(1) vector bosons including a dark photon (DP) that connects to the SM exclusively through gauge kinetic mixing with hypercharge [ref] , as well as the anomaly-free combinations $$ [ref] , $$ [ref] , $$ [ref] , and $$ [ref] with only very tiny direct couplings to the SM.
Neutrino Trident Production: A Powerful Probe of New Physics with Neutrino Beams · Introduction · 0.92
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