Shining LIMelight into the dark: Probing Dark matter - baryon interactions with Line Intensity Mapping

@misc{ghosh2026shining,
  title = {{Shining LIMelight into the dark: Probing Dark matter - baryon interactions with Line Intensity Mapping}},
  author = {Durba Ghosh and Ranjini Mondol and Ranjan Laha},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.02311},
  eprint = {2610.02311},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.02311},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Shining LIMelight into the dark: Probing Dark matter - baryon interactions with Line Intensity Mapping
AU  - Durba Ghosh
AU  - Ranjini Mondol
AU  - Ranjan Laha
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.02311
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.02311
AB  - Line-intensity mapping (LIM) is an emerging technique for probing both the astrophysics of galaxy formation and the cosmological evolution of large-scale structure. We investigate, for the first time, its potential as a probe of dark matter-baryon (DM-b) interactions using the upcoming Carbon Monoxide Mapping Array Project (COMAP) surveys, COMAP-EoR (Epoch of Reionization) and COMAP-ERA (Expanded Reionization Array). Elastic scattering of dark matter (DM) with baryons, i.e., protons (p) and electrons (e), exchange momentum and heat with the DM, suppressing structure formation and leaving characteristic signatures in the linear matter power spectrum. These effects propagate to the LIM power spectrum (PS) and voxel intensity distribution (VID). We consider momentum-transfer cross sections σ^χb_T,n=σ^χb_nv^n, with n=0,−2, and −4, corresponding to contact, electric dipole-moment-like, and Coulomb-like interactions, respectively. Using Fisher forecasts, we obtain the projected sensitivities to σ^χb_n from the PS and VID. Our VID-only forecasts combining the 16 and 30 GHz observed bands yield stronger sensitivities than existing cosmological limits for n=−2 and n=−4 for sub-GeV DM masses. We also explore the potential of combining the PS and VID to probe these interactions. Our study highlights LIM as a complementary probe of DM models alongside other astrophysical, cosmological, and terrestrial searches.
ER  -