2015

Heating up the Galaxy with Hidden Photons

Dubovsky, Sergei, Hernández-Chifflet, Guzmán

Understand

We elaborate on the dynamics of ionized interstellar medium in the presence of hidden photon dark matter.

  • Our main focus is the ultra-light regime, where the hidden photon mass is smaller than the plasma frequency in the Milky Way.
  • We point out that as a result of the Galactic plasma shielding direct detection of ultra-light photons in this mass range is especially challenging.
  • However, we demonstrate that ultra-light hidden photon dark matter provides a powerful heating source for the ionized interstellar medium.

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