Constraints on MeV dark matter and primordial black holes: Inverse Compton signals at the SKA

Understand

We investigate the possibilities for probing MeV dark matter (DM) particles and primordial black holes (PBHs) (for masses $\sim 10^{15}$--$10^{17}$ g) at the upcoming radio telescope SKA, using photon signals from the Inverse Compton (IC) effect within a galactic halo.

• Pair-annihilation or decay of MeV DM particles (into $e^+ e^-$ pairs) or Hawking radiation from a population of PBHs generates mildly relativistic $e^{\pm}$ which can lead to radio signals through the IC scattering on low energy cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons.
• We study the ability of SKA to detect such signals coming from nearby ultra-faint dwarf galaxies Segue I and Ursa Major II as well as the globular cluster $\omega$-cen and the Coma cluster.
• We find that with $\sim 100$ hours of observation, the SKA improves the Planck constraints on the DM annihilation/decay rate and the PBH abundance for masses in the range $\sim 1$ to few tens of MeV and above $10^{15}$ to $10^{17}$ g, respectively.