Cosmic-ray knee and flux of secondaries from interactions of cosmic rays with dark matter

TL;DR

This paper proposes that interactions between cosmic rays and dark matter particles, possibly due to new physics at the TeV scale, could explain the cosmic ray knee and predicts a secondary gamma-ray flux consistent with observations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hypothesis linking cosmic ray features to dark matter interactions at high energies, supported by flux predictions matching observations.

Findings

Cosmic ray knee may result from dark matter interactions.

Predicted gamma-ray flux aligns with MILAGRO data.

High-energy cross sections grow rapidly in models with extra dimensions.

Abstract

We discuss possible implications of a large interaction cross section between cosmic rays and dark matter particles due to new physics at the TeV scale. In particular, in models with extra dimensions and a low fundamental scale of gravity the cross section grows very fast at transplanckian energies. We argue that the knee observed in the cosmic ray flux could be caused by such interactions. We show that this hypothesis implies a well defined flux of secondary gamma rays that seems consistent with MILAGRO observations.