Shedding light on dark matter spikes through neutrino-dark matter interactions

TL;DR

This paper explores how neutrino observations from supernovae at DUNE can detect effective neutrino masses induced by interactions with dark matter, especially in regions with dark matter density spikes near the Galactic Center.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to probe neutrino mass and dark matter distribution through supernova neutrino time-of-flight measurements at DUNE, emphasizing the impact of dark matter spikes.

Findings

DUNE can set competitive bounds on neutrino refractive mass.

Dark matter spikes near the Galactic Center enhance sensitivity.

Supernova neutrino observations can test neutrino mass and dark matter distribution.

Abstract

The origin of neutrino mass remains an open question in particle physics. One intriguing possibility is that neutrinos are massless in vacuum but acquire an effective refractive mass through interactions with ultralight dark matter (DM) during propagation. We investigate the capability of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to probe such refractive masses using the time-of-flight delays of neutrinos from a galactic core-collapse supernova. Our analysis shows that DUNE can set competitive bounds on the refractive neutrino mass, with sensitivity significantly enhanced if neutrinos traverse a DM density spike near the Galactic Center. In particular, we quantify how the presence of a spike modifies the projected limits, demonstrating that supernova neutrino observations at DUNE provide a powerful and novel avenue to test both the nature of neutrino masses and the distribution of DM in the innermost regions of the Milky Way.