English

Type Ia supernova constraints on compact object dark matter

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics 2023-07-26 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

The nature of dark matter (DM) is an open question in cosmology, despite its abundance in the universe. While elementary particles have been posited to explain DM, compact astrophysical objects such as black holes formed in the early universe offer a theoretically appealing alternate route. Here, we constrain the fraction of DM that can be made up of primordial black holes (PBHs) with masses M0.01MM \gtrsim 0.01 M_\odot, using the Type Ia supernova Hubble diagram. Utilizing the Dyer-Roeder distance relation, where the homogeneous matter fraction is parameterized with η\eta, we find a maximum fractional amount of DM in compact objects (fpf_p) of 0.50 at 95\% confidence level (C.L.), in the flat Λ\LambdaCDM model and 0.49 when marginalising over a constant dark energy equation of state. These limits do not change when marginalising over cosmic curvature, demonstrating the robustness to the cosmological model. When allowing for the prior on η\eta to include η>1\eta > 1, we derive fp<0.32f_p < 0.32 at 95%\% C.L., showing that the prior assumption of η1\eta \leq 1 gives a conservative upper limit on fpf_p. When including Cepheid calibrated supernovae, the 95\% C.L. constraints improve to fp<0.25f_p < 0.25. We find that the estimate for the Hubble constant in our inference is consistent with the homogeneous case, showing that inhomogeneities in the form of compact dark matter cannot account for the observed Hubble tension. In conclusion, we strongly exclude the possibility that PBHs with stellar masses and above form a dominant fraction of the dark matter.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2301.10204,
  title  = {Type Ia supernova constraints on compact object dark matter},
  author = {S. Dhawan and E. Mörtsell},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.10204},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

to be submitted to MNRAS Letters

R2 v1 2026-06-28T08:18:56.941Z