Revisiting ultrahigh-energy constraints on decaying super-heavy dark matter
Abstract
We revisit constraints on decaying very heavy dark matter (VHDM) using the latest ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray (UHECR; eV) data and ultrahigh-energy (UHE) -ray flux upper limits, measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. We present updated limits on the VHDM lifetime () for masses up to ~GeV, considering decay into quarks, leptons, and massive bosons. In particular, we consider not only the UHECR spectrum but their composition data that favors heavier nuclei. Such a combined analysis improves the limits at GeV because VHDM decay does not produce UHECR nuclei. We also show that the constraints from the UHE -ray upper limits are more stringent than that obtained from cosmic rays, for all of the Standard Model final states we consider. The latter improves our limits to VHDM lifetime by a factor of two for dark matter mass GeV.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2302.02993,
title = {Revisiting ultrahigh-energy constraints on decaying super-heavy dark matter},
author = {Saikat Das and Kohta Murase and Toshihiro Fujii},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2302.02993},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
9 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in PRD