NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact
© 2020 American Physical Society. © 2020 American Physical Society. We analyze two dedicated NuSTAR observations with exposure ∼190 ks located ∼10° from the Galactic plane, one above and the other below, to search for x-ray lines from the radiative decay of sterile-neutrino dark matter. These fields...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society (APS)
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/135363 |
| _version_ | 1811089462895050752 |
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| author | Roach, Brandon M Ng, Kenny CY Perez, Kerstin Beacom, John F Horiuchi, Shunsaku Krivonos, Roman Wik, Daniel R |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Roach, Brandon M Ng, Kenny CY Perez, Kerstin Beacom, John F Horiuchi, Shunsaku Krivonos, Roman Wik, Daniel R |
| author_sort | Roach, Brandon M |
| collection | MIT |
| description | © 2020 American Physical Society. © 2020 American Physical Society. We analyze two dedicated NuSTAR observations with exposure ∼190 ks located ∼10° from the Galactic plane, one above and the other below, to search for x-ray lines from the radiative decay of sterile-neutrino dark matter. These fields were chosen to minimize astrophysical x-ray backgrounds while remaining near the densest region of the dark matter halo. We find no evidence of anomalous x-ray lines in the energy range 5-20 keV, corresponding to sterile neutrino masses 10-40 keV. Interpreted in the context of sterile neutrinos produced via neutrino mixing, these observations provide the leading constraints in the mass range 10-12 keV, improving upon previous constraints in this range by a factor ∼2. We also compare our results to Monte Carlo simulations, showing that the fluctuations in our derived limit are not dominated by systematic effects. An updated model of the instrumental background, which is currently under development, will improve NuSTAR's sensitivity to anomalous x-ray lines, particularly for energies 3-5 keV. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:19:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/135363 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:19:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | American Physical Society (APS) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1353632023-09-19T18:15:58Z NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact Roach, Brandon M Ng, Kenny CY Perez, Kerstin Beacom, John F Horiuchi, Shunsaku Krivonos, Roman Wik, Daniel R Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics © 2020 American Physical Society. © 2020 American Physical Society. We analyze two dedicated NuSTAR observations with exposure ∼190 ks located ∼10° from the Galactic plane, one above and the other below, to search for x-ray lines from the radiative decay of sterile-neutrino dark matter. These fields were chosen to minimize astrophysical x-ray backgrounds while remaining near the densest region of the dark matter halo. We find no evidence of anomalous x-ray lines in the energy range 5-20 keV, corresponding to sterile neutrino masses 10-40 keV. Interpreted in the context of sterile neutrinos produced via neutrino mixing, these observations provide the leading constraints in the mass range 10-12 keV, improving upon previous constraints in this range by a factor ∼2. We also compare our results to Monte Carlo simulations, showing that the fluctuations in our derived limit are not dominated by systematic effects. An updated model of the instrumental background, which is currently under development, will improve NuSTAR's sensitivity to anomalous x-ray lines, particularly for energies 3-5 keV. 2021-10-27T20:23:08Z 2021-10-27T20:23:08Z 2020 2021-07-09T14:32:45Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/135363 en 10.1103/PHYSREVD.101.103011 Physical Review D Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Physical Society (APS) APS |
| spellingShingle | Roach, Brandon M Ng, Kenny CY Perez, Kerstin Beacom, John F Horiuchi, Shunsaku Krivonos, Roman Wik, Daniel R NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| title | NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| title_full | NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| title_fullStr | NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| title_full_unstemmed | NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| title_short | NuSTAR tests of sterile-neutrino dark matter: New Galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| title_sort | nustar tests of sterile neutrino dark matter new galactic bulge observations and combined impact |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/135363 |
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