Exciting dark matter and the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV signal

被引:300
作者
Finkbeiner, Douglas P. [1 ]
Weiner, Neal [2 ]
机构
[1] Harvard Smithsonian Ctr Astrophys, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
[2] NYU, Ctr Cosmol & Particle Phys, Dept Phys, New York, NY 10003 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1103/PhysRevD.76.083519
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
We propose a dark matter candidate with an "excited state" 1-2 MeV above the ground state, which may be collisionally excited and deexcites by e(+) e(-) pair emission. By converting its kinetic energy into pairs, such a particle could produce a substantial fraction of the 511 keV line observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory/SPI in the inner Milky Way. Only a small fraction of the dark matter candidates have sufficient energy to excite, and that fraction drops sharply with galactocentric radius, naturally yielding a radial cutoff, as observed. Even if the scattering probability in the inner kpc is << 1% per Hubble time, enough power is available to produce the similar to 3 x 10(42) pairs per second observed in the galactic bulge. We specify the parameters of a pseudo-Dirac fermion designed to explain the positron signal, and find that it annihilates chiefly to e(+) e(-) and freezes out with the correct relic density. We discuss possible observational consequences of this model.
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页数:9
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