Road through Dark$\nu$ess: Probing dark matter-neutrino interactions using KM3-230213A

TL;DR

This paper uses a high-energy neutrino event detected by KM3NeT to set new constraints on dark matter-neutrino interactions, especially at extreme energies, advancing our understanding of BSM physics.

Contribution

It introduces the first constraints on DM-neutrino interactions derived from a PeV neutrino event, considering both conservative and optimistic scenarios with host halo contributions.

Findings

Energy-dependent constraints are among the strongest to date.

Energy-independent bounds are weaker than previous limits.

Future neutrino detections can further improve constraints or reveal new physics.

Abstract

KM3NeT has recently reported an event where a muon of energy $120^{+110}_{-60}$ PeV was observed at its ARCA detector, which can stem from a very high-energy neutrino interaction in the vicinity of the detector. Besides revolutionizing our understanding of high-energy neutrino sources, this event can serve as a valuable probe for studying Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) interactions of neutrinos. In this work, we study the dark matter (DM)-neutrino interaction by assuming the neutrino for the event KM3-230213A is originated from a blazar. The flux of such neutrinos, traveling through DM distributed across astrophysical and cosmological scales, can get attenuated due to DM interactions. The detection of such event by KM3NeT allows us to place constraints on the interaction cross section at highest-ever neutrino energy. We derive both conservative constraints-neglecting flux attenuation from the host halo-and optimistic ones by including host halo contributions. Our results show that the energy-independent constraints are weaker than previous bounds. For energy-dependent case, the extreme energy of the event allows us to set some of the strongest limits on scattering cross sections. In future, more such neutrino events with well-understood origin will be essential in constraining or potentially discovering DM-neutrino interactions.