Unveiling dark forces with measurements of the Large Scale Structure of the Universe

TL;DR

This paper investigates how long-range dark sector forces influence the universe's large-scale structure, deriving constraints from current data and developing a new theoretical framework to understand these effects.

Contribution

It introduces the first Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure incorporating dark sector forces and provides new constraints from Planck and BOSS data.

Findings

Current data constrains dark sector forces significantly.

Future surveys could tighten constraints by an order of magnitude.

Develops a novel EFT framework for dark sector interactions.

Abstract

Cosmology offers opportunities to test Dark Matter independently of its interactions with the Standard Model. We study the imprints of long-range forces acting solely in the dark sector on the distribution of galaxies, the so-called Large Scale Structure (LSS). We derive the strongest constraint on such forces from a combination of Planck and BOSS data. Along the way we consistently develop, for the first time, the Effective Field Theory of LSS in the presence of new dynamics in the dark sector. We forecast that future surveys will improve the current bound by an order of magnitude.