Bounds and detection of MeV-scale dark matter annihilation to neutrinos

Abstract

Current and most upcoming neutrino detectors can only reach a dark matter annihilation cross section to neutrinos larger than the standard freeze-out value, but they open intriguing detection avenues for non-standard dark matter paradigms. An important corollary of these non-standard scenarios is relic dark matter annihilation after neutrino decoupling, which was previously overlooked in constraining MeV-scale dark matter. However, by combining the contributions from entropy injection during neutrino decoupling and from nonthermal neutrino energy release after decoupling, we derive significant constraints on the annihilation cross section to neutrinos, which in some mass regimes become stronger than the current bounds. Furthermore, we find that the lower bounds on dark matter masses become inconclusive under the recent data releases from the DESI, SPT-3G, and ACT collaborations. These bounds determine the extent to which upcoming neutrino detectors will probe dark matter annihilation into neutrinos.