Self-interacting dark matter with a stable vector mediator

24 May 2018, 14:40
20m
Big Lecture Hall, Mathematics (Bonn)

Big Lecture Hall, Mathematics

Bonn

Physikalisches Institut Nussallee 12 53115 Bonn

Speaker

Mr Sebastian Wild (TU München)

Description

Self-interactions of dark matter induced by a MeV-scale vector mediator $Z_\text{D}$ can naturally cure some shortcomings of the standard cold dark matter paradigm at small scales. However, if the vector particle decays into Standard Model states, such a scenario is robustly excluded by constraints from energy injection during CMB. We study to what extent this conclusion can be circumvented if $Z_\text{D}$ is stable and annihilates into lighter degrees of freedom, such that it contributes itself to the observed amount of dark matter in the Universe. Indeed, we find viable parts of the parameter space which lead to the desired self-interaction cross section while being compatible with all relevant bounds from CMB and BBN observations.

Presentation materials