In Situ Measurements of Dark Photon Dark Matter Using Parker Solar Probe: Going beyond the Radio Window

作者：Haipeng An, Shuailiang Ge, Jia Liu, Mingzhe Liu · 发表于：Physical Review Letters · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1103/physrevlett.134.171001 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena、CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors、Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics

Dark photon dark matter (DPDM) emerges as a compelling candidate for ultralight bosonic dark matter, detectable through resonant conversion into photons within a plasma environment. This Letter employs in situ measurements from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), the first spacecraft to venture into the solar corona, to probe for DPDM signatures. The PSP in situ measurements go beyond the traditional radio window, spanning frequencies between about 10 kHz and 20 MHz, a challenging range inaccessible to Earth-based radio astronomy. Additionally, the proximity of PSP to the resonant conversion location enhances the signal flux, providing a distinct advantage over ground-based observations. As a result, the PSP data establishes the most stringent constraints on the kinetic mixing parameter ε for DPDM frequencies between 70 kHz and 20 MHz, with values of ε≲10^{-14}-10^{-13}. Investigating the data from STEREO satellites resulted in weaker constraints compared to those obtained from PSP. By utilizing state-of-the-art solar observations from space, we have surpassed the cosmic microwave background limits derived from early-universe observations.