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Chianese, M., Fiorillo, D. F. G., Hajjar, R., Miele, G., & Saviano, N. (2021). Constraints on heavy decaying dark matter with current gamma-ray measurements. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 11(11), 035–13pp.
Abstract: Among the several strategies for indirect searches of dark matter, a very promising one is to look for the gamma-rays from decaying dark matter. Here we use the most up-to-date upper bounds on the gamma-ray flux from 10(5) to 10(11) GeV, obtained from CASA-MIA, KASCADE, KASCADE-Grande, Pierre Auger Observatory, Telescope Array and EAS-MSU. We obtain global limits on dark matter lifetime in the range of masses in m(DM) = [10(7)-10(15)] GeV. We provide the bounds for a set of decay channels chosen as representatives. The constraints derived here are new and cover a region of the parameter space not yet explored. We compare our results with the projected constraints from future neutrino telescopes, in order to quantify the improvement that will be obtained by the complementary high-energy neutrino searches.
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Arina, C., Di Mauro, M., Fornengo, N., Heisig, J., Jueid, A., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2024). CosmiXs: cosmic messenger spectra for indirect dark matter searches. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 03(3), 035–41pp.
Abstract: The energy spectra of particles produced from dark matter (DM) annihilation or decay are one of the fundamental ingredients to calculate the predicted fluxes of cosmic rays and radiation searched for in indirect DM detection. We revisit the calculation of the source spectra for annihilating and decaying DM using the VINCIA shower algorithm in PYTHIA to include QED and QCD final state radiation and diagrams for the EW corrections with massive bosons, not present in the default PYTHIA shower model. We take into account the spin information of the particles during the entire EW shower and the off -shell contributions from massive gauge bosons. Furthermore, we perform a dedicated tuning of the VINCIA and PYTHIA parameters to LEP data on the production of pions, photons, and hyperons at the Z resonance and discuss the underlying uncertainties. To enable the use of our results in DM studies, we provide the tabulated source spectra for the most relevant cosmic messenger particles, namely antiprotons, positrons, gamma rays and the three neutrino flavors, for all the fermionic and bosonic channels and DM masses between 5 GeV and 100 TeV, on github.
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Guerrero, M., Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Saez-Chillon Gomez, D. (2021). Shadows and optical appearance of black bounces illuminated by a thin accretion disk. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 08(8), 036–19pp.
Abstract: We study the light rings and shadows of an uniparametric family of spherically symmetric geometries interpolating between the Schwarzschild solution, a regular black hole, and a traversable wormhole, and dubbed as black bounces, all of them sharing the same critical impact parameter. We consider the ray-tracing method in order to study the impact parameter regions corresponding to the direct, lensed, and photon ring emissions, finding a broadening of all these regions for black bounce solutions as compared to the Schwarzschild one. Using this, we determine the optical appearance of black bounces when illuminated by three standard toy models of optically and geometrically thin accretion disks viewed in face-on orientation.
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Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Guinea, F., Fogler, M. M., Katsnelson, M. I., Martin-Albo, J., Monrabal, F., et al. (2012). GraXe, graphene and xenon for neutrinoless double beta decay searches. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 02(2), 037–17pp.
Abstract: We propose a new detector concept, GraXe (to be pronounced as grace), to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in Xe-136. GraXe combines a popular detection medium in rare-event searches, liquid xenon, with a new, background-free material, grapheme. In our baseline design of GraXe, a sphere made of graphene-coated titanium mesh and filled with liquid xenon (LXe) enriched in the Xe-136 isotope is immersed in a large volume of natural LXe instrumented with photodetectors. Liquid xenon is an excellent scintillator, reasonably transparent to its own light. Graphene is transparent over a large frequency range, and impermeable to the xenon. Event position could be deduced from the light pattern detected in the photosensors. External backgrounds would be shielded by the buffer of natural LXe, leaving the ultra-radiopure internal volume virtually free of background. Industrial graphene can be manufactured at a competitive cost to produce the sphere. Enriching xenon in the isotope Xe-136 is easy and relatively cheap, and there is already near one ton of enriched xenon available in the world (currently being used by the EXO, KamLAND-Zen and NEXT experiments). All the cryogenic know-how is readily available from the numerous experiments using liquid xenon. An experiment using the GraXe concept appears realistic and affordable in a short time scale, and its physics potential is enormous.
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Bertone, G., Calore, F., Caron, S., Ruiz de Austri, R., Kim, J. S., Trotta, R., et al. (2016). Global analysis of the pMSSM in light of the Fermi GeV excess: prospects for the LHC Run-II and astroparticle experiments. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 037–20pp.
Abstract: We present a new global fit of the 19-dimensional phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (pMSSM-19) that complies with all the latest experimental results from dark matter indirect, direct and accelerator dark matter searches. We show that the model provides a satisfactory explanation of the excess of gamma rays from the Galactic centre observed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope, assuming that it is produced by the annihilation of neutralinos in the Milky Way halo. We identify two regions that pass all the constraints: the first corresponds to neutralinos with a mass similar to 80 – 100 GeV annihilating into WW with a branching ratio of 95%; the second to heavier neutralinos, with mass similar to 180 – 200 GeV annihilating into (l) over barl with a branching ratio of 87%. We show that neutralinos compatible with the Galactic centre GeV excess will soon be within the reach of LHC run-II – notably through searches for charginos and neutralinos, squarks and light smuons – and of Xenon1T, thanks to its unprecedented sensitivity to spin-dependent cross-section off neutrons.
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Barenboim, G., & Park, W. I. (2017). Lepton number asymmetries and the lower bound on the reheating temperature. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 12(12), 037–13pp.
Abstract: We show that the reheating temperature of a matter-domination era in the early universe can be pushed down to the neutrino decoupling temperature at around 2 MeV if the reheating takes place through non-hadronic decays of the dominant matter and neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries are still large enough, vertical bar L vertical bar greater than or similar to O(10(-2)) (depending on the neutrino flavor) at the end of reheating.
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Escudero, M., Hooper, D., & Witte, S. J. (2017). Updated collider and direct detection constraints on Dark Matter models for the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 02(2), 038–21pp.
Abstract: Utilizing an exhaustive set of simplified models, we revisit dark matter scenarios potentially capable of generating the observed Galactic Center gamma-ray excess, updating constraints from the LUX and PandaX- II experiments, as well as from the LHC and other colliders. We identify a variety of pseudoscalar mediated models that remain consistent with all constraints. In contrast, dark matter candidates which annihilate through a spin-1 mediator are ruled out by direct detection constraints unless the mass of the mediator is near an annihilation resonance, or the mediator has a purely vector coupling to the dark matter and a purely axial coupling to Standard Model fermions. All scenarios in which the dark matter annihilates throught-channel processes are now ruled out by a combination of the constraints from LUX/ PandaX-II and the LHC.
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Gelmini, G. B., Huh, J. H., & Witte, S. J. (2017). Unified halo-independent formalism from convex hulls for direct dark matter searches. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 12(12), 039–33pp.
Abstract: Using the Fenchel-Eggleston theorem for convex hulls (an extension of the Caratheodory theorem), we prove that any likelihood can be maximized by either a dark matter 1-speed distribution F(v) in Earth's frame or 2-Galactic velocity distribution f(gal) ((u) over right arrow), consisting of a sum of delta functions. The former case applies only to time-averaged rate measurements and the maximum number of delta functions is (N-1), where N is the total number of data entries. The second case applies to any harmonic expansion coefficient of the time-dependent rate and the maximum number of terms is N. Using time-averaged rates, the aforementioned form of F(v) results in a piecewise constant unmodulated halo function (eta) over tilde (BF)-B-0 (v(min)) (which is an integral of the speed distribution) with at most (N-1) downward steps. The authors had previously proven this result for likelihoods comprised of at least one extended likelihood, and found the best-fit halo function to be unique. This uniqueness, however, cannot be guaranteed in the more general analysis applied to arbitrary likelihoods. Thus we introduce a method for determining whether there exists a unique best-fit halo function, and provide a procedure for constructing either a pointwise con fi dence band, if the best-fit halo function is unique, or a degeneracy band, if it is not. Using measurements of modulation amplitudes, the aforementioned form of f(gal) ((u) over right arrow), which is a sum of Galactic streams, yields a periodic time-dependent halo function (eta) over right arrow BF (v(min); t) which at any fixed time is a piecewise constant function of v(min) with at most N downward steps. In this case, we explain how to construct pointwise confidence and degeneracy bands from the time-averaged halo function. Finally, we show that requiring an isotropic Galactic velocity distribution leads to a Galactic speed distribution F(u)that is once again a sum of delta functions, and produces a time-dependent (eta) over tilde BF (v(min); t) function (and a time-averaged (eta) over tilde (0) BF (v(min))) that is piecewise linear, di ff ering significantly from best-fit halo functions obtained without the assumption of isotropy.
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Ramirez, H., Passaglia, S., Motohashi, H., Hu, W., & Mena, O. (2018). Reconciling tensor and scalar observables in G-inflation. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 039–20pp.
Abstract: The simple m(2)phi(2) potential as an inflationary model is coming under increasing tension with limits on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r and measurements of the scalar spectral index n(s). Cubic Galileon interactions in the context of the Horndeski action can potentially reconcile the observables. However, we show that this cannot be achieved with only a constant Galileon mass scale because the interactions turn off too slowly, leading also to gradient instabilities after inflation ends. Allowing for a more rapid transition can reconcile the observables but moderately breaks the slow-roll approximation leading to a relatively large and negative running of the tilt alpha(s) that can be of order n(s) – 1. We show that the observables on CMB and large scale structure scales can be predicted accurately using the optimized slow-roll approach instead of the traditional slow-roll expansion. Upper limits on vertical bar alpha(s)vertical bar place a lower bound of r greater than or similar to 0.005 and, conversely, a given r places a lower bound on vertical bar alpha(s)vertical bar, both of which are potentially observable with next generation CMB and large scale structure surveys.
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Stadler, J., Boehm, C., & Mena, O. (2020). Is it mixed dark matter or neutrino masses? J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 01(1), 039–18pp.
Abstract: In this paper, we explore a scenario where the dark matter is a mixture of interacting and non interacting species. Assuming dark matter-photon interactions for the interacting species, we find that the suppression of the matter power spectrum in this scenario can mimic that expected in the case of massive neutrinos. Our numerical studies include present limits from Planck Cosmic Microwave Background data, which render the strength of the dark matter photon interaction unconstrained when the fraction of interacting dark matter is small. Despite the large entangling between mixed dark matter and neutrino masses, we show that future measurements from the Dark Energy Instrument (DESI) could help in establishing the dark matter and the neutrino properties simultaneously, provided that the interaction rate is very close to its current limits and the fraction of interacting dark matter is at least of O (10%). However, for that region of parameter space where a small fraction of interacting DM coincides with a comparatively large interaction rate, our analysis highlights a considerable degeneracy between the mixed dark matter parameters and the neutrino mass scale.
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