Dark Matter Annihilation inside Large-Volume Neutrino Detectors

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Theories beyond the Standard Model predict new stable particles that could constitute dark matter.
• These particles may evade direct detection due to rapid thermalization in dense environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of large-volume neutrino telescopes for discovering or constraining new dark matter particles.
• To investigate the annihilation signals of stable relics interacting with visible matter.

Main Methods:

• Analyzing the annihilation of stable relic particles into visible matter within neutrino telescopes.
• Constraining models using existing Super-Kamiokande data on dinucleon annihilation.
• Developing an explicit model of secluded dark matter coupled to a dark photon.

Main Results:

• Annihilation signals are most pronounced for relic particles in the GeV mass range.
• Existing Super-Kamiokande searches provide stringent constraints on these particles.
• The proposed method yields novel bounds complementary to other experimental constraints.

Conclusions:

• Neutrino telescopes offer a novel avenue for dark matter searches.
• Stable relics in the GeV range are significantly constrained by current data.
• The secluded dark matter model with a dark photon is effectively bounded by this approach.