Direct X-ray Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Warm Dark Matter
Watson, Casey R. · Beacom, John F. · Yuksel, Hasan · Walker, Terry P.
Original · EN
Warm dark matter (WDM) might more easily account for small scale clustering measurements than the heavier particles typically invoked in Lambda cold dark matter (LCDM) cosmologies. In this paper, we consider a Lambda WDM cosmology in which sterile neutrinos nuₛ, with a mass mₛ of roughly 1-100 keV, are the dark matter. We use the diffuse X-ray spectrum (total minus resolved point source emission) of the Andromeda galaxy to constrain the rate of sterile neutrino radiative decay: nuₛ -> nue,mu,tau + gamma. Our findings demand that mₛ < 3.5 keV (95% C.L.) which is a significant improvement over the previous (95% C.L.) limits inferred from the X-ray emission of nearby clusters, mₛ < 8.2 keV (Virgo A) and mₛ < 6.3 keV (Virgo A + Coma).
English translation
This paper has no Arabic translation yet. Be the first: it takes a few seconds, and the result is stored for every future reader.