Probing the properties of superheavy dark matter annihilating or decaying into neutrinos with ultra-high energy neutrino experiments

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the potential of future ultra-high energy neutrino observatories to detect signals from superheavy dark matter decay or annihilation, highlighting the importance of detector capabilities and dark matter distribution uncertainties.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of upcoming neutrino detectors like POEMMA and GRAND for superheavy dark matter detection, considering various observational strategies and uncertainties.

Findings

GRAND can achieve high sensitivities due to its large effective area.

POEMMA's full-sky coverage and rapid slewing improve detection prospects.

Uncertainties in dark matter distribution significantly affect neutrino flux predictions.

Abstract

The evidence for dark matter particles, $\chi$, is compelling based on Galactic to cosmological scale observations. Thus far, the promising weakly interacting massive particle scenario have eluded detection, motivating alternative models of dark matter. We consider scenarios involving superheavy dark matter (SHDM) that potentially can decay or annihilate to neutrinos and antineutrinos. In the mass range $m_\chi=10^7-10^{15}\,{\rm GeV}$, we evaluate the sensitivities of future observatories POEMMA and GRAND for indirect dark matter detection via the measurement of neutrino-induced extensive air showers (EAS), compute the Auger and ANITA limits using their last up-to-date sensitivities, and compare them with IceCube limits. We also show that the uncertainties related to the dark matter distribution in the Galactic halo have a large impact on the neutrino flux. We show that a ground-based radio detector such as GRAND can achieve high sensitivities due to its large effective area and high duty cycle. Space-based Cherenkov detectors such as POEMMA that measure the EAS optical Cherenkov signal have the advantage of full-sky coverage and rapid slewing, enabling an optimized SHDM observation strategy focusing on the Galactic Center. We show that increasing the field of view of the Cherenkov detectors can significantly enhance the sensitivity. Moreover, POEMMA's fluorescence observation mode that measures EAS above $20\,$EeV will achieve state-of-the-art sensitivity to SHDM properties at the highest mass scales.