Capture and Indirect Detection of Inelastic Dark Matter

TL;DR

This paper calculates the capture rate of inelastic dark matter in the Sun, predicts neutrino signals for telescopes, and constrains models using current neutrino telescope data, focusing on models compatible with direct detection experiments.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed calculation of inelastic dark matter capture in the Sun and links it to neutrino signals and experimental constraints.

Findings

Current neutrino telescope bounds significantly constrain inelastic dark matter models.

Capture predominantly occurs via scattering off iron nuclei.

Models with certain annihilation channels remain compatible with experimental data.

Abstract

We compute the capture rate for Dark Matter in the Sun for models where the dominant interaction with nuclei is inelastic -- the Dark Matter up-scatters to a nearby dark "partner" state with a small splitting of order a 100 keV. Such models have previously been shown to be compatible with DAMA/LIBRA data, as well as data from all other direct detection experiments. The kinematics of inelastic Dark Matter ensures that the dominant contribution to capture occurs from scattering off of iron. We give a prediction for neutrino rates for current and future neutrino telescopes based on the results from current direct detection experiments. Current bounds from Super--Kamiokande and IceCube-22 significantly constrain these models, assuming annihilations are into two-body Standard Model final states, such as W+W-, t-tbar, b-bbar or tau+tau-. Annihilations into first and second generation quarks and leptons are generally allowed, as are annihilations into new force carriers which decay dominantly into e+e-, mu+mu- and pi+pi-.