Response to a comment on Dessert et al. "The dark matter interpretation of the 3.5 keV line is inconsistent with blank-sky observations"
Abstract
The dark matter explanation of the 3.5 keV line is strongly disfavored by our work in Dessert et al. (2020). Boyarsky et al. (2004) questions that conclusion: modeling additional background lines is claimed to weaken the limit sufficiently to re-allow a dark matter interpretation. We respond as follows. (1) A more conservative limit is obtained by modeling additional lines; this point appeared in its entirety in our work in Dessert et al. (2020), though we also showed that the inclusion of such lines is not necessary. (2) Despite suggestions in Boyarsky et al. (2004), even the more conservative limits strongly disfavor a decaying dark matter origin of the 3.5 keV line.
- Publication:
-
Physics of the Dark Universe
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.dark.2020.100656
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2006.03974
- Bibcode:
- 2020PDU....3000656D
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
- E-Print:
- 7 pages, 1 figure, response to technical comment solicited by Science. Version published in PDU. Full analysis available at https://github.com/bsafdi/BlankSkyfor3p5