Constraining dark matter-neutrino interactions using the CMB and large-scale structure

Wilkinson, R.J.; Boehm, C.; Lesgourgues, J.

doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2014/05/011

Constraining dark matter-neutrino interactions using the CMB and large-scale structure

Wilkinson, R.J.; Boehm, C.; Lesgourgues, J.

Authors

R.J. Wilkinson

C. Boehm

J. Lesgourgues

Abstract

We present a new study on the elastic scattering cross section of dark matter (DM) and neutrinos using the latest cosmological data from Planck and large-scale structure experiments. We find that the strongest constraints are set by the Lyman-alpha forest, giving sigma_{DM-neutrino} < 10^{-33} (m_DM/GeV) cm^2 if the cross section is constant and a present-day value of sigma_{DM-neutrino} < 10^{-45} (m_DM/GeV) cm^2 if it scales as the temperature squared. These are the most robust limits on DM-neutrino interactions to date, demonstrating that one can use the distribution of matter in the Universe to probe dark ("invisible") interactions. Additionally, we show that scenarios involving thermal MeV DM and a constant elastic scattering cross section naturally predict (i) a cut-off in the matter power spectrum at the Lyman-alpha scale, (ii) N_eff ~ 3.5 +/- 0.4, (iii) H_0 ~ 71 +/- 3 km/s/Mpc and (iv) the possible generation of neutrino masses.

Citation

Wilkinson, R., Boehm, C., & Lesgourgues, J. (2014). Constraining dark matter-neutrino interactions using the CMB and large-scale structure. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2014(05), https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2014/05/011

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	May 12, 2014
Deposit Date	May 14, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Dec 10, 2014
Journal	Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Publisher	IOP Publishing
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	2014
Issue	05
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2014/05/011
Related Public URLs	http://arxiv.org/abs/1401.7597