A Limit on the Warm Dark Matter Particle Mass from the Redshifted 21 cm Absorption Line

Safarzadeh, Mohammadtaher; Scannapieco, Evan; Babul, Arif

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aac5e0

Cited by 61 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Here, as in Refs. [22][23][24][25][26][27]39], we take advantage of this lower bound on the amount of Lyman-α photons to probe different dark-matter models. We will phrase the EDGES requirement in terms of the dimensionless coupling coefficient x α , which enters in the definition of the spin temperature (ignoring collisional coupling during cosmic dawn) as…”

Section: E Edges Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Probing the small-scale matter power spectrum with large-scale 21-cm data

2020

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The distribution of matter fluctuations in our universe is key for understanding the nature of dark matter and the physics of the early cosmos. Different observables have been able to map this distribution at large scales, corresponding to wavenumbers k 10 Mpc −1 , but smaller scales remain much less constrained. In this work we study the sensitivity of upcoming measurements of the 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen to the small-scale matter power spectrum. The 21-cm line is a promising tracer of early stellar formation, which took place in small haloes (with masses M ∼ 10 6 − 10 8 M ), formed out of matter overdensities with wavenumbers as large as k ≈ 100 Mpc −1 . Here we forecast how well both the 21-cm global signal, and its fluctuations, could probe the matter power spectrum during cosmic dawn (z = 12−25). In both cases we find that the long-wavelength modes (with k 40 Mpc −1 ) are highly degenerate with astrophysical parameters, whereas the modes with k = (40 − 80) Mpc −1 are more readily observable. This is further illustrated in terms of the principal components of the matter power spectrum, which peak at k ∼ 50 Mpc −1 both for a typical experiment measuring the 21-cm global signal and its fluctuations. We find that, imposing broad priors on astrophysical parameters, a global-signal experiment can measure the amplitude of the matter power spectrum integrated over k = (40−80) Mpc −1 with a precision of tens of percent. A fluctuation experiment, on the other hand, can constrain the power spectrum to a similar accuracy over both the k = (40 − 60) Mpc −1 and (60 − 80) Mpc −1 ranges even without astrophysical priors. The constraints outlined in this work would be able to test the behavior of dark matter at the smallest scales yet measured, for instance probing warm-dark matter masses up to mWDM = 8 keV for the global signal and 14 keV for the 21-cm fluctuations. This could shed light on the nature of dark matter beyond the reach of other cosmic probes.

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Section: E Edges Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous works have studied the effect of non-CDM models on the 21-cm signal [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Those models typically suppress the matter power spectrum beyond some wavenumber k, delaying the onset of cosmic dawn.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing the small-scale matter power spectrum with large-scale 21-cm data

2020

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“…This model is motivated by the EDGES measurement of the 21-cm spectrum at z ≃ 17, which revealed an anomalously large absorption signal [34,35] (see also Refs. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]). The SENSEI constraint (orange) is bounded by the solid (dashed) line for small (large)σ e .…”

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confidence: 99%

SENSEI: First Direct-Detection Constraints on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from a Surface Run

et al. 2018

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The Sub-Electron-Noise Skipper CCD Experimental Instrument (SENSEI) uses the recently developed Skipper-CCD technology to search for electron recoils from the interaction of sub-GeV dark matter particles with electrons in silicon. We report first results from a prototype SENSEI detector, which collected 0.019 g day of commissioning data above ground at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. These commissioning data are sufficient to set new direct-detection constraints for dark matter particles with masses between ∼500 keV and 4 MeV. Moreover, since these data were taken on the surface, they disfavor previously allowed strongly interacting dark matter particles with masses between ∼500 keV and a few hundred MeV. We discuss the implications of these data for several dark matter candidates, including one model proposed to explain the anomalously large 21-cm signal observed by the EDGES Collaboration. SENSEI is the first experiment dedicated to the search for electron recoils from dark matter, and these results demonstrate the power of the Skipper-CCD technology for dark matter searches.

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“…Because the intensity of the detected signal is proportional to I 21 cm ∝ 1 − ðT R ðzÞ=T S ðzÞÞ, where T S is the spin temperature of the atomic hydrogen and T R is the temperature of background radiation, the very first studies of the EDGES anomaly ascribed the extra absorption to a new cooling mechanism for the hydrogen gas, based on baryon-dark matter (DM) interactions [2][3][4][5][6][7] (this idea was studied before the EDGES anomaly appeared in Refs. [8][9][10]), on modified onset of star formation [11,12], or on the effects of dark energy [13,14]. DM annihilations [15][16][17] and black hole accretion [18], however, result in the injection of particles characterized by a broad energy spectrum that inevitably lead to heating the hydrogen clouds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraining primordial black holes with the EDGES 21-cm absorption signal

et al. 2018

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The EDGES experiment has recently measured an anomalous global 21-cm spectrum due to hydrogen absorptions at redshifts of about z ∼ 17. Model independently, the unusually low temperature of baryons probed by this observable sets strong constraints on any physical process that transfers energy into the baryonic environment at such redshifts. Here, we make use of the 21-cm spectrum to derive bounds on the energy injection due to a possible population of Oð1-100ÞM ⊙ primordial black holes, which induce a wide spectrum of radiation during the accretion of the surrounding gas. After calculating the total radiative intensity of a primordial black hole population, we estimate the amount of heat and ionizations produced in the baryonic gas and compute the resulting thermal history of the Universe with a modified version of RECFAST code. Finally, by imposing that the temperature of the gas at z ∼ 17 does not exceed the indications of EDGES, we constrain the possible abundance of primordial black holes. Depending on uncertainties related to the accretion model, we find that Oð10ÞM ⊙ primordial black holes can only contribute to a fraction f PBH < ð1-10 −3 Þ of the total dark matter abundance.

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A Limit on the Warm Dark Matter Particle Mass from the Redshifted 21 cm Absorption Line

Cited by 61 publications

References 49 publications

Probing the small-scale matter power spectrum with large-scale 21-cm data

Probing the small-scale matter power spectrum with large-scale 21-cm data

SENSEI: First Direct-Detection Constraints on Sub-GeV Dark Matter from a Surface Run

Constraining primordial black holes with the EDGES 21-cm absorption signal

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