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arXiv · 2605.02172

Constraints on Ultralight Scalar and Dark Photon Dark Matter from PPTA-DR3 and EPTA-DR2

Xiao-Song Hu·Siyuan Chen·Kuo Liu·Xingjiang Zhu·Shi-Yi Zhao·Wu Jiang·John Antoniadis·N. D. Ramesh Bhat·Amodio Carleo·Shi Dai·Valentina Di Marco·Huanchen Hu·Wenhua Ling·Yang Liu·Saurav Mishra·Christopher J Russell·Ryan M. Shannon·Clemente Smarra·Jingbo Wang·Lin Wang·Andrew Zic
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Abstract

The cold dark matter model successfully describes the Universe on large scales, yet faces challenges at sub-galactic scales. Ultralight dark matter (ULDM), with particle masses around $10^{-22} \mathrm{eV}$, offers a promising solution to these small-scale issues. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs), designed to detect nanohertz gravitational waves, can also provide a sensitive probe for ULDM signals. In this work, we perform a Bayesian search for ULDM using PTA data sets, focusing on two types of signals: the oscillatory gravitational potential from scalar ULDM and the fifth-force interaction mediated by dark photon dark matter (DPDM). We incorporate pulsar distances in the analysis to better model the ULDM density. No statistically significant evidence for ULDM has been found, therefore we place 95% confidence-level upper limits on the relevant parameters. For scalar ULDM, our analysis does not exclude the scenario in which ULDM constitutes all of dark matter. The constraints from PPTA-DR3 show significant improvements over the earlier PPTA-DR2 (2018 Preview) across most of the mass range, and are consistent with the recent uncorrelated limits from other PTAs. We also present for the first time the DPDM constraints using EPTA data. The obtained bounds on the DPDM from the EPTA-DR2 and PPTA-DR3 are comparable to existing constraints.

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Xiao-Song Hu, Siyuan Chen, Kuo Liu, Xingjiang Zhu, Shi-Yi Zhao, Wu Jiang, John Antoniadis, N. D. Ramesh Bhat, Amodio Carleo, Shi Dai, Valentina Di Marco, Huanchen Hu, Wenhua Ling, Yang Liu, Saurav Mishra, Christopher J Russell, Ryan M. Shannon, Clemente Smarra, Jingbo Wang, Lin Wang, Andrew Zic. 2026-05-04. Constraints on Ultralight Scalar and Dark Photon Dark Matter from PPTA-DR3 and EPTA-DR2. https://doi.org/10.1103/wff3-b1fs

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