Core-collapse Supernova Constraint on the Origin of Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter via Neutrino Self-interactions

TL;DR

This paper investigates how neutrino self-interactions affect sterile neutrino dark matter production, using supernova cooling constraints to explore parameter space beyond terrestrial and cosmological limits.

Contribution

It provides a detailed calculation of supernova cooling effects due to scalar-mediated neutrino self-interactions, extending the constraints on sterile neutrino dark matter.

Findings

Supernova cooling constrains neutrino self-interaction parameters.

Neutrino self-interactions can produce viable sterile neutrino dark matter.

Supernova constraints complement terrestrial and cosmological bounds.

Abstract

Novel neutrino self-interaction can open up viable parameter space for the relic abundance of sterile-neutrino dark matter (S$\nu$DM). In this work, we constrain the relic target using core-collapse supernova which features the same fundamental process and a similar environment to the early universe era when S$\nu$DM is dominantly produced. We present a detailed calculation of the effects of a massive scalar mediated neutrino self-interaction on the supernova cooling rate, including the derivation of the thermal potential in the presence of non-zero chemical potentials from plasma species. Our results demonstrate that the supernova cooling argument can cover the neutrino self-interaction parameter space that complements terrestrial and cosmological probes.