1. Limits to Gauge Coupling in the Dark Sector Set by the Nonobservation of Instanton-Induced Decay of Super-Heavy Dark Matter in the Pierre Auger Observatory Data.
- Author
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Abreu P, Aglietta M, Albury JM, Allekotte I, Almeida Cheminant K, Almela A, Aloisio R, Alvarez-Muñiz J, Alves Batista R, Ammerman Yebra J, Anastasi GA, Anchordoqui L, Andrada B, Andringa S, Aramo C, Araújo Ferreira PR, Arnone E, Arteaga Velázquez JC, Asorey H, Assis P, Avila G, Avocone E, Badescu AM, Bakalova A, Balaceanu A, Barbato F, Bellido JA, Berat C, Bertaina ME, Bhatta G, Biermann PL, Binet V, Bismark K, Bister T, Biteau J, Blazek J, Bleve C, Blümer J, Boháčová M, Boncioli D, Bonifazi C, Bonneau Arbeletche L, Borodai N, Botti AM, Brack J, Bretz T, Brichetto Orchera PG, Briechle FL, Buchholz P, Bueno A, Buitink S, Buscemi M, Büsken M, Caballero-Mora KS, Caccianiga L, Canfora F, Caracas I, Caruso R, Castellina A, Catalani F, Cataldi G, Cazon L, Cerda M, Chinellato JA, Chudoba J, Chytka L, Clay RW, Cobos Cerutti AC, Colalillo R, Coleman A, Coluccia MR, Conceição R, Condorelli A, Consolati G, Contreras F, Convenga F, Correia Dos Santos D, Covault CE, Dasso S, Daumiller K, Dawson BR, Day JA, de Almeida RM, de Jesús J, de Jong SJ, de Mello Neto JRT, De Mitri I, de Oliveira J, de Oliveira Franco D, de Palma F, de Souza V, De Vito E, Del Popolo A, Del Río M, Deligny O, Deval L, di Matteo A, Dobre M, Dobrigkeit C, D'Olivo JC, Domingues Mendes LM, Dos Anjos RC, Dova MT, Ebr J, Engel R, Epicoco I, Erdmann M, Escobar CO, Etchegoyen A, Falcke H, Farmer J, Farrar G, Fauth AC, Fazzini N, Feldbusch F, Fenu F, Fick B, Figueira JM, Filipčič A, Fitoussi T, Fodran T, Fujii T, Fuster A, Galea C, Galelli C, García B, Garcia Vegas AL, Gemmeke H, Gesualdi F, Gherghel-Lascu A, Ghia PL, Giaccari U, Giammarchi M, Glombitza J, Gobbi F, Gollan F, Golup G, Gómez Berisso M, Gómez Vitale PF, Gongora JP, González JM, González N, Goos I, Góra D, Gorgi A, Gottowik M, Grubb TD, Guarino F, Guedes GP, Guido E, Hahn S, Hamal P, Hampel MR, Hansen P, Harari D, Harvey VM, Haungs A, Hebbeker T, Heck D, Hill GC, Hojvat C, Hörandel JR, Horvath P, Hrabovský M, Huege T, Insolia A, Isar PG, Janecek P, Johnsen JA, Jurysek J, Kääpä A, Kampert KH, Keilhauer B, Khakurdikar A, Kizakke Covilakam VV, Klages HO, Kleifges M, Kleinfeller J, Knapp F, Kunka N, Lago BL, Langner N, Leigui de Oliveira MA, Lenok V, Letessier-Selvon A, Lhenry-Yvon I, Lo Presti D, Lopes L, López R, Lu L, Luce Q, Lundquist JP, Machado Payeras A, Mancarella G, Mandat D, Manning BC, Manshanden J, Mantsch P, Marafico S, Mariani FM, Mariazzi AG, Mariş IC, Marsella G, Martello D, Martinelli S, Martínez Bravo O, Mastrodicasa M, Mathes HJ, Matthews J, Matthiae G, Mayotte E, Mayotte S, Mazur PO, Medina-Tanco G, Melo D, Menshikov A, Michal S, Micheletti MI, Miramonti L, Mollerach S, Montanet F, Morejon L, Morello C, Mostafá M, Müller AL, Muller MA, Mulrey K, Mussa R, Muzio M, Namasaka WM, Nasr-Esfahani A, Nellen L, Nicora G, Niculescu-Oglinzanu M, Niechciol M, Nitz D, Norwood I, Nosek D, Novotny V, Nožka L, Nucita A, Núñez LA, Oliveira C, Palatka M, Pallotta J, Papenbreer P, Parente G, Parra A, Pawlowsky J, Pech M, Pękala J, Pelayo R, Peña-Rodriguez J, Pereira Martins EE, Perez Armand J, Pérez Bertolli C, Perrone L, Petrera S, Petrucci C, Pierog T, Pimenta M, Pirronello V, Platino M, Pont B, Pothast M, Privitera P, Prouza M, Puyleart A, Querchfeld S, Rautenberg J, Ravignani D, Reininghaus M, Ridky J, Riehn F, Risse M, Rizi V, Rodrigues de Carvalho W, Rodriguez Rojo J, Roncoroni MJ, Rossoni S, Roth M, Roulet E, Rovero AC, Ruehl P, Saftoiu A, Saharan M, Salamida F, Salazar H, Salina G, Sanabria Gomez JD, Sánchez F, Santos EM, Santos E, Sarazin F, Sarmento R, Sarmiento-Cano C, Sato R, Savina P, Schäfer CM, Scherini V, Schieler H, Schimassek M, Schimp M, Schlüter F, Schmidt D, Scholten O, Schoorlemmer H, Schovánek P, Schröder FG, Schulte J, Schulz T, Sciutto SJ, Scornavacche M, Segreto A, Sehgal S, Shellard RC, Sigl G, Silli G, Sima O, Smau R, Šmída R, Sommers P, Soriano JF, Squartini R, Stadelmaier M, Stanca D, Stanič S, Stasielak J, Stassi P, Streich A, Suárez-Durán M, Sudholz T, Suomijärvi T, Supanitsky AD, Szadkowski Z, Tapia A, Taricco C, Timmermans C, Tkachenko O, Tobiska P, Todero Peixoto CJ, Tomé B, Torrès Z, Travaini A, Travnicek P, Trimarelli C, Tueros M, Ulrich R, Unger M, Vaclavek L, Vacula M, Valdés Galicia JF, Valore L, Varela E, Vásquez-Ramírez A, Veberič D, Ventura C, Vergara Quispe ID, Verzi V, Vicha J, Vink J, Vorobiov S, Wahlberg H, Watanabe C, Watson AA, Weindl A, Wiencke L, Wilczyński H, Wittkowski D, Wundheiler B, Yushkov A, Zapparrata O, Zas E, Zavrtanik D, Zavrtanik M, and Zehrer L
- Abstract
Instantons, which are nonperturbative solutions to Yang-Mills equations, provide a signal for the occurrence of quantum tunneling between distinct classes of vacua. They can give rise to decays of particles otherwise forbidden. Using data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory, we search for signatures of such instanton-induced processes that would be suggestive of super-heavy particles decaying in the Galactic halo. These particles could have been produced during the post-inflationary epoch and match the relic abundance of dark matter inferred today. The nonobservation of the signatures searched for allows us to derive a bound on the reduced coupling constant of gauge interactions in the dark sector: α_{X}≲0.09, for 10^{9}≲M_{X}/GeV<10^{19}. Conversely, we obtain that, for instance, a reduced coupling constant α_{X}=0.09 excludes masses M_{X}≳3×10^{13} GeV. In the context of dark matter production from gravitational interactions alone, we illustrate how these bounds are complementary to those obtained on the Hubble rate at the end of inflation from the nonobservation of tensor modes in the cosmological microwave background.
- Published
- 2023
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