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Register a new userGalactic 511 keV line from MeV millicharged dark matter
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We present a possible explanation of the recently observed 511 keV $gamma$-ray anomaly with a new ``millicharged fermion. The new fermion is light (${cal O}({rm MeV})$) but has never been observed by any collider experiments mainly because of its tiny electromagnetic charge $epsilon e$. We show that constraints from its relic density in the Universe and collider experiments allow a parameter range such that the 511 keV cosmic $gamma$-ray emission from the galactic bulge may be due to positron production from this millicharged fermion.
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We propose a possible explanation for the recently observed anomalous 511 keV line with a new millicharged fermion. This new fermion is light [${cal O}({rm MeV})$]. Nevertheless, it has never been observed by any collider experiments by virtue of its tiny electromagnetic charge $epsilon e$. In particular, we constrain parameters of this millicharged particle if the 511 keV cosmic $gamma$-ray emission from the galactic bulge is due to positron production from this new particle.
Sterile right-handed neutrinos can be naturally embedded in a low scale gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of the standard model. We show that, within a low reheating scenario, such a neutrino is an interesting candidate for dark matter. We emphasize that if the neutrino mass is of order of MeV, then it accounts for the measured dark matter relic density and also accommodates the observed flux of 511 keV photons from the galactic bulge.
About one year ago, it was speculated that decaying or annihilating Light Dark Matter (LDM) particles could explain the flux and extension of the 511 keV line emission in the galactic centre. Here we present a thorough comparison between theoretical expectations of the galactic positron distribution within the LDM scenario and observational data from INTEGRAL/SPI. Unlike previous analyses, there is now enough statistical evidence to put tight constraints on the shape of the dark matter halo of our galaxy, if the galactic positrons originate from dark matter. For annihilating candidates, the best fit to the observed 511 keV emission is provided by a radial density profile with inner logarithmic slope gamma=1.03+-0.04. In contrast, decaying dark matter requires a much steeper density profile, gamma>1.5, rather disfavoured by both observations and numerical simulations. Within the annihilating LDM scenario, a velocity-independent cross-section would be consistent with the observational data while a cross-section purely proportional to v^2 can be rejected at a high confidence level. Assuming the most simplistic model where the galactic positrons are produced as primaries, we show that the LDM candidate should be a scalar rather than a spin-1/2 particle and obtain a very stringent constraint on the value of the positron production cross-section to explain the 511 keV emission. One consequence is that the value of the fine structure constant should differ from that recommended in the CODATA. This is a very strong test for the LDM scenario and an additional motivation in favour of experiments measuring alpha directly. Our results finally indicate that an accurate measurement of the shape of the dark halo profile could have a tremendous impact on the determination of the origin of the 511 keV line and vice versa.
The signature of positron annihilation, namely the 511 keV $gamma$-ray line, was first detected coming from the direction of the Galactic center in the 1970s, but the source of Galactic positrons still remains a puzzle. The measured flux of the annihilation corresponds to an intense steady source of positron production, with an annihilation rate on the order of $sim10^{43}$~e$^{+}$/s. The 511 keV emission is the strongest persistent Galactic $gamma$-ray line signal and it shows a concentration towards the Galactic center region. An additional low-surface brightness component is aligned with the Galactic disk; however, the morphology of the latter is not well constrained. The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is a balloon-borne soft $gamma$-ray (0.2--5 MeV) telescope designed to perform wide-field imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy. One of its major goals is to further our understanding of Galactic positrons. COSI had a 46-day balloon flight in May--July 2016 from Wanaka, New Zealand, and here we report on the detection and spectral and spatial analyses of the 511 keV emission from those observations. To isolate the Galactic positron annihilation emission from instrumental background, we have developed a technique to separate celestial signals utilizing the COMPTEL Data Space. With this method, we find a 7.2$sigma$ detection of the 511 keV line. We find that the spatial distribution is not consistent with a single point source, and it appears to be broader than what has been previously reported.
Heat transfer between baryons and millicharged dark matter has been invoked as a possible explanation for the anomalous 21-cm absorption signal seen by EDGES. Prior work has shown that the solution requires that millicharged particles make up only a fraction $(m_chi/{rm MeV}) 0.0115% lesssim f lesssim 0.4%$ of the dark matter and that their mass $m_chi$ and charge $q_chi$ have values $0.1 lesssim (m_chi/{rm MeV})lesssim 10$ and $10^{-6} lesssim (q_chi/e)lesssim 10^{-4}$. Here we show that such particles come into chemical equilibrium before recombination, and so are subject to a constraint on the effective number $N_{rm eff}$ of relativistic degrees of freedom, which we update using Planck 2018 data. We moreover determine the precise relic abundance $f$ that results for a given mass $m_chi$ and charge $q_chi$ and incorporate this abundance into the constraints on the millicharged-dark-matter solution to EDGES. With these two results, the solution is ruled out if the relic abundance is set by freeze-out.
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