Polarization of photons emitted by decaying dark matter

Radiatively decaying dark matter may be searched through investigating the photon spectrum of galaxies and galaxy clusters. We explore whether the properties of dark matter can be constrained through the study of a polarization state of emitted photons. Starting from the basic principles of quantum...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: W. Bonivento, D. Gorbunov, M. Shaposhnikov, A. Tokareva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017-02-01
Series:Physics Letters B
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269316307110
Description
Summary:Radiatively decaying dark matter may be searched through investigating the photon spectrum of galaxies and galaxy clusters. We explore whether the properties of dark matter can be constrained through the study of a polarization state of emitted photons. Starting from the basic principles of quantum mechanics we show that the models of symmetric dark matter are indiscernible by the photon polarization. However, we find that the asymmetric dark matter consisted of Dirac fermions is a source of circularly polarized photons, calling for the experimental determination of the photon state.
ISSN:0370-2693
1873-2445