Time-delayed neutrino emission from supernovae as a probe of dark matter-neutrino interactions

Abstract

Thermal MeV neutrino emission from core-collapse supernovae offers a unique opportunity to probe physics beyond the Standard Model in the neutrino sector. The next generation of neutrino experiments, such as DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande, can detect 𝒪(103) and 𝒪(104) neutrinos in the event of a Galactic supernova, respectively. As supernova neutrinos propagate to Earth, they may interact with the local dark matter via hidden mediators and may be delayed with respect to the initial neutrino signal. We show that for sub-MeV dark matter, the presence of dark matter-neutrino interactions may lead to neutrino echoes with significant time delays. The absence or presence of this feature in the light curve of MeV neutrinos from a supernova allows us to probe parameter space that has not been explored by dark matter direct detection experiments.

Refractive neutrino masses, ultralight dark matter and cosmology

“…Astrophysical neutrinos interact with DM halos as well as DM in the intergalactic space along their path to the Earth. This leads to energy loss of the neutrinos and, consequently, to a suppression of their flux for a given spectra ∝ E −γ with γ > 0 [34,[36][37][38][39][40][41]. This constrains ν − ϕ interactions, and hence, parameters of our scenario.…”

NGC 1068 constraints on neutrino-dark matter scattering

“…Neutrinos and dark matter (DM) are the most weakly coupled particles in the Universe; it is intriguing to imagine that they might interact very weakly with each other. Much effort has been made to search for signals of ν-DM interactions, through their effects on cosmology [1][2][3][4][5][6], astrophysics [1,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13], and direct detection of boosted DM [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and fermionic absorption DM [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Neutrino emission from active galactic nuclei (AGN) can provide a sensitive probe of ν-DM scattering, in particular from the blazar TXS 0506+056, from which a 290 TeV neutrino was observed by IceCube [29].…”

Supernova Neutrinos: Flavour Conversion Mechanisms and New Physics Scenarios

“…Secret interactions of neutrinos can also be constrained from their interactions with the cosmic neutrino background, which leads to a dissipation of the neutrino energy below the expected value [249]. Neutrinos from an SN can also be used to probe neutrino-dark matter interactions through their interaction with the DM in the galactic halo [252][253][254][255].…”