Distinguishing Dark Matter Annihilation Enhancement Scenarios via Halo Shapes

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to distinguish dark matter annihilation enhancement scenarios by analyzing their effects on halo shapes, revealing observable differences in galactic dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to differentiate Sommerfeld and Breit-Wigner enhancement models through halo shape analysis based on self-interaction effects.

Findings

Sommerfeld enhancement models affect halo shapes observable in galactic dynamics.

Breit-Wigner models show negligible impact on halo shapes due to minimal self-interaction.

Halo shape analysis can effectively distinguish between different dark matter enhancement mechanisms.

Abstract

Sommerfeld enhancement and Breit-Wigner enhancement of the dark matter annihilation have been proposed to explain the "boost factor" which is suggested by observed cosmic ray excesses. Although these two scenarios can provide almost indistinguishable effects on the cosmic ray fluxes, the cross sections of the self-interaction in those enhancement mechanisms are drastically different. As a result, we show that they can be distinguished by examining the effects of the self-interaction on the halo shapes. In Sommerfeld enhancement models with m_phi<100MeV and m_DM<3TeV, the self-interaction can leave observable imprints in the galactic dynamics, while dark matter is effectively collisionless in Breit-Wigner models.