A Search for the 3.5 keV Line from the Milky Way's Dark Matter Halo with HaloSat

TL;DR

This study used HaloSat to search for a 3.5 keV X-ray line from the Milky Way's dark matter halo, finding no evidence and setting upper limits that challenge some previous claims but do not conclusively refute the sterile neutrino decay hypothesis.

Contribution

First HaloSat observations provide new upper limits on the 3.5 keV line flux and sterile neutrino mixing angle, offering an independent check on prior detections and systematic effects.

Findings

No 3.5 keV line detected in HaloSat data.

Established upper limits on line flux and mixing angle.

Constraints challenge some previous detections but do not exclude sterile neutrino decay.

Abstract

Previous detections of an X-ray emission line near 3.5 keV in galaxy clusters and other dark matter-dominated objects have been interpreted as observational evidence for the decay of sterile neutrino dark matter. Motivated by this, we report on a search for a 3.5 keV emission line from the Milky Way's galactic dark matter halo with HaloSat. As a single pixel, collimated instrument, HaloSat observations are impervious to potential systematic effects due to grazing incidence reflection and CCD pixelization, and thus may offer a check on possible instrumental systematic errors in previous analyses. We report non-detections of a $\sim$3.5 keV emission line in four HaloSat observations near the Galactic Center. In the context of the sterile neutrino decay interpretation of the putative line feature, we provide 90% confidence level upper limits on the 3.5 keV line flux and 7.1 keV sterile neutrino mixing angle: $F \leq 0.077$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ sr$^{-1}$ and $\sin^2(2\theta) \leq 4.25 \times 10^{-11}$. The HaloSat mixing angle upper limit was calculated using a modern parameterization of the Milky Way's dark matter distribution, and in order to compare with previous limits, we also report the limit calculated using a common historical model. The HaloSat mixing angle upper limit places constraints on a number of previous mixing angle estimates derived from observations of the Milky Way's dark matter halo and galaxy clusters, and excludes several previous detections of the line. The upper limits cannot, however, entirely rule out the sterile neutrino decay interpretation of the 3.5 keV line feature.