Dark Radiation Alleviates Problems with Dark Matter Halos

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model where dark radiation and dark matter interactions resolve small-scale structure issues in cosmology, with testable predictions for primordial element abundances and cosmic microwave background observations.

Contribution

It introduces a scalar and fermion model charged under a global U(1) that explains dark matter, dark radiation, and improves galactic scale structure without conflicting with existing data.

Findings

Delayed DM-DR decoupling alleviates missing satellites problem.

DR-mediated interactions address cusp vs. core and too big to fail problems.

Predicted DR may be detectable via BBN and CMB measurements.

Abstract

We show that a scalar and a fermion charged under a global U(1) symmetry can not only explain the existence and abundance of dark matter (DM) and dark radiation (DR), but also imbue DM with improved scattering properties at galactic scales, while remaining consistent with all other observations. Delayed DM-DR kinetic decoupling eases the missing satellites problem, while DR mediated self-interactions of DM ease the cusp vs. core and too big to fail problems. In this scenario, DM is expected to be pseudo-Dirac and have a mass between 100 keV and 10 GeV. The predicted DR may be measurable using the primordial elemental abundances from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), and using the cosmic microwave background (CMB).