Heating Galaxy Clusters with Interacting Dark Matter

Understand

The overcooling of cool core clusters is a persistent puzzle in the astrophysics of galaxy clusters.

• We propose that it may naturally be resolved via interactions between the baryons of the intracluster medium (ICM) and its dark matter (DM).
• DM-baryon interactions can inject heat into the ICM to offset bremmstrahlung cooling, but these interactions are also strongly constrained by existing experiments and astrophysical observations.
• We survey existing constraints and combine these with the energetic needs of an observed sample of cool core clusters.