Published October 1, 2021 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Indirect dark matter searches at ultrahigh energy neutrino detectors

  • 1. University of Maryland
  • 2. Gran Sasso Science Institute
  • 3. City University of New York
  • 4. University of Chicago
  • 5. University of Iowa
  • 6. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Description

High to ultrahigh energy neutrino detectors can uniquely probe the properties of dark matter $πœ’$ by searching for the secondary neutrinos produced through annihilation and/or decay processes. We evaluate the sensitivities to dark matter thermally averaged annihilation cross section $βŸ¨πœŽβ’π‘£βŸ©$ and partial decay width $Ξ“_{πœ’β†’πœˆ\overline{𝜈}}⁒$ (in the mass scale $10^7β‰€π‘š_πœ’/GeV≀10^{15})$ for next generation observatories like POEMMA (Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics) and GRAND (Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection). We show that in the range $10^7β‰€π‘šπœ’/GeV≀10^{11}$, space-based Cherenkov detectors like POEMMA have the advantage of full-sky coverage and rapid slewing, enabling an optimized dark matter observation strategy focusing on the Galactic Center. We also show that ground-based radio detectors such as GRAND can achieve high sensitivities and high duty cycles in radio quiet areas. We compare the sensitivities of next generation neutrino experiments with existing constraints from IceCube and updated 90% C.L. upper limits on $βŸ¨πœŽβ’π‘£βŸ©$ and $Ξ“_{πœ’β†’πœˆβ’\overline{𝜈}}$ using results from the Pierre Auger Collaboration and Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna. We show that in the range $10^7β‰€π‘š_πœ’/GeV≀10^{11}$, POEMMA and GRAND10k will improve the neutrino sensitivity to particle dark matter by factors of 2 to 10 over existing limits, whereas GRAND200k will improve this sensitivity by 2 orders of magnitude. In the range $10^{11}β‰€π‘šπœ’/GeV≀10^{15}$, POEMMA's fluorescence observation mode will achieve an unprecedented sensitivity to dark matter properties. Finally, we highlight the importance of the uncertainties related to the dark matter distribution in the galactic halo, using the latest fit and estimates of the galactic parameters.

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PhysRevD.104.083002.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1103/PhysRevD.104.083002
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:12172

Funding

Joint Space Science Institute
Neil Gehrels Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship
U.S. National Science Foundation
PHY-2112527
United States Department of Energy
DE-SC-0010113
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NNX17AJ82G
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC19K0626
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Probe Mission Concept Study award

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Physical Sciences Division
Department(s)
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Enrico Fermi Institute
Center(s) or Institute(s)
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics