Dark Matter annihilation energy output and its effects on the high-z IGM

TL;DR

This study evaluates dark matter annihilation as an energy source affecting the high-redshift intergalactic medium, concluding it has minimal impact on reionization but potential detectability through 21 cm signals for certain WIMP masses.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of DM clustering, energy output, and effects on the IGM, incorporating adiabatic contraction and assessing detectability via 21 cm signals for different WIMP masses.

Findings

DM annihilation is not a significant feedback mechanism.

At z ~ 10, a 1TeV WIMP can raise IGM temperature to 10K.

A 10GeV WIMP can raise IGM temperature to 200K and ionization fraction to 8×10⁻³.

Abstract

We study the case of DM self annihilation, in order to assess its importance as an energy injection mechanism, to the IGM in general, and to the medium within particular DM haloes. We consider thermal relic WIMP particles with masses of 10GeV and 1TeV and we analyse in detail the clustering properties of DM in a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, on all hierarchy levels, from haloes and their mass function, to subhaloes and the DM density profiles within them, considering adiabatic contraction by the presence of a SMBH. We then compute the corresponding energy output, concluding that DM annihilation does not constitute an important feedback mechanism. We also calculate the effects that DM annihilation has on the IGM temperature and ionization fraction, and we find that assuming maximal energy absorption, at z ~ 10, for the case of a 1TeV WIMP, the ionization fraction could be raised to $6 \times 10^{-4}$ and the temperature to 10K, and in the case of a 10GeV WIMP, the IGM temperature could be raised to 200K and the ionization fraction to $8 \times 10^{-3}$. We conclude that DM annihilations cannot be regarded as an alternative reionization scenario. Regarding the detectability of the WIMP through the modifications to the 21 cm differential brightness temperature signal ($\delta$Tb), we conclude that a thermal relic WIMP with mass of 1TeV is not likely to be detected from the global signal alone, except perhaps at the 1-3mK level in the frequency range 30MHz < $\nu$ < 35MHz corresponding to 40 < z < 46. However, a 10GeV mass WIMP may be detectable at the 1-3mK level in the frequency range 55MHz < $\nu$ < 119MHz corresponding to 11 < z < 25, and at the 1-10mK level in the frequency range 30MHz < $\nu$ < 40MHz corresponding to 35 < z < 46.