Cosmological probes of decaying dark matter

by Laura Lopez Honorez (ULB)

Thursday 29 Jun 2023, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Berlin

HS2 (Physikdepartment)

Dark matter (DM) is five times more prevalent than ordinary matter in the Universe. Yet we do not know its fundamental nature. The most precise measurement of dark matter properties is its relic abundance. The latter is obtained from the analysis of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy spectrum. Interestingly the latter can also probe dark matter interactions if e.g. dark matter is capable of injecting energy in the early universe. In this talk in particular, as an introduction, I will revisit CMB constraints on DM, in the 10eV to keV mass range, decaying to a pair of photons. In the near future, with the advent of radio telescope arrays such as HERA, 21cm Cosmology shall open a new window on the early history of the Universe. I will show that, making use of the 21cm power spectrum, we shall be able to significantly improve the existing bounds on DM decays from Cosmology probes.