Interacting Dark Sector (ETHOS $n=0$): Cosmological Constraints from SPT Cluster Abundance with DES and HST Weak Lensing Data

TL;DR

This study uses galaxy cluster abundance and weak lensing data to constrain interactions between dark matter and dark radiation within the ETHOS framework, tightening limits on dark radiation properties and addressing the $S_8$ tension.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on dark matter-dark radiation interactions using combined cluster and CMB data, highlighting the complementarity of large-scale structure and CMB observations.

Findings

Upper limit on dark radiation temperature ratio: <17% from cluster data.

Tighter constraint: <10% when combined with Planck and BAO data.

Slight preference for non-zero dark radiation abundance, potentially addressing the $S_8$ tension.

Abstract

We use galaxy cluster abundance measurements from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) enhanced by Multi-Component Matched Filter (MCMF) confirmation and complemented with mass information obtained using weak-lensing data from Dark Energy Survey Year~3 (DES Y3) and targeted Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations for probing deviations from the cold dark matter paradigm. Concretely, we consider a class of dark sector models featuring interactions between dark matter (DM) and a dark radiation (DR) component within the framework of the Effective Theory of Structure Formation (ETHOS). We focus on scenarios that lead to power suppression over a wide range of scales, and thus can be tested with data sensitive to large scales, as realized for example for DM$-$DR interactions following from an unbroken non-Abelian $SU(N)$ gauge theory (interaction rate with power-law index $n=0$ within the ETHOS parameterization). Cluster abundance measurements are mostly sensitive to the amount of DR interacting with DM, parameterized by the ratio of DR temperature to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature, $\xi_{\rm DR}=T_{\rm DR}/T_{\rm CMB}$. We find an upper limit $\xi_{\rm DR}<17\%$ at $95\%$ credibility. When the cluster data are combined with Planck 2018 CMB data along with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements we find $\xi_{\rm DR}<10\%$, corresponding to a limit on the abundance of interacting DR that is around three times tighter than that from CMB+BAO data alone. We also discuss the complementarity of weak lensing informed cluster abundance studies with probes sensitive to smaller scales, explore the impact on our analysis of massive neutrinos, and comment on a slight preference for the presence of a non-zero interacting DR abundance, which enables a physical solution to the $S_8$ tension.