Searching for dark matter signals with high energy astrophysical neutrinos in IceCube

TL;DR

This paper uses IceCube high-energy neutrino data from four active galactic nuclei to set new constraints on dark matter-neutrino interactions, especially around supermassive black holes, improving previous limits.

Contribution

It provides the first stringent constraints on dark matter-neutrino scattering cross-sections using astrophysical neutrino observations from multiple sources.

Findings

Established upper bounds on energy-dependent and independent DM-neutrino cross-sections.

Performed a combined analysis of four AGN sources to enhance sensitivity.

Found the strongest limits in scenarios with adiabatic black hole growth.

Abstract

High-energy neutrinos provide a potentially powerful and distinctive probe for dark matter (DM) - neutrino interactions, particularly in environments with enhanced DM densities, such as the DM spikes predicted to form around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Recent observations by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which identified four AGN, namely TXS 0506+056, NGC 1068, PKS 1424+240, and NGC 4151 as neutrino sources, provide a unique opportunity to search for signatures of these interactions. In this study, we use IceCube data to derive the most stringent constraints to date on both the energy-dependent and energy-independent DM-neutrino scattering cross-sections. We perform a statistical analysis using data from individual sources as well as a combined (stacked) analysis of all four sources. Our strongest limits arise from the stacking analysis, yielding an upper bound of $\sigma_{0} \lesssim 8\times 10^{-39}$ cm$^2$ for an energy-independent cross-section and $\sigma_{0} \lesssim 10^{-39}$ cm$^2$ for a linearly energy-dependent cross-section, both at 90\% confidence level, particularly in scenarios involving the adiabatic growth of black holes.