Dark photon constraints from CMB temperature anisotropies

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, vol. 2024, pp. 049

Abstract

Abstract The resonant conversion, within the inter-galactic medium, of regular photons into dark photons amplifies the anisotropy observed in the CMB, thereby imposing stringent constraints on the existence of light dark photons. In this study, we investigate the impact of light dark photons, with masses in the range 3 × 10 -15 eV < m A ' < 3 × 10 -12 eV on the power spectrum of temperature anisotropies within the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation utilizing the state-of-the-art large-volume FLAMINGO cosmological simulations. Our results show that using full Planck data, one can expect the existing constraints on the dark photon mixing parameter in this mass range to improve by an order of magnitude.

Authors 9

1. Andres Aramburo-Garcia Aachen Institute Lorentz

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute Lorentz, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, Leiden, NL-2333 CA, The Netherlands

2. Kyrylo Bondarenko

   Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics · Stockholm University · KTH Royal Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Hannes Alfvéns väg 12, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden

3. Alexey Mikhajlovich Boyarsky Aachen Institute Lorentz

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute Lorentz, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, Leiden, NL-2333 CA, The Netherlands

4. Pavlo Kashko

   Vrije Universiteit Brussel · Interuniversity Institute for High Energies

   Affiliation as printed

   Inter-University Institute for High Energies (IIHE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, 1050, Belgium

5. Josef Pradler

   University of Vienna · Austrian Academy of Sciences · Institute of High Energy Physics

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

   Institute of High Energy Physics, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Georg-Coch-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna, Austria

6. Anastasia Sokolenko

   Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory · University of Chicago

   Affiliation as printed

   Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A

   Theoretical Astrophysics Department, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois, 60510, U.S.A

7. Roi Kugel Aachen Leiden Observatory

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

8. Matthieu Schaller Aachen Institute Lorentz Leiden Observatory

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute Lorentz, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, Leiden, NL-2333 CA, The Netherlands

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

9. Joop Schaye Aachen Leiden Observatory

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands