A COMPELLING DARK-MATTER CANDIDATE IS KEV-MASS STERILE NEUTRINOS WHICH CAN BE TESTED BY X-RAY LINE SIGNALS FROM THEIR RADIATIVE DECAYS. NUSTAR OBSERVATIONS HAVE BEEN USED TO PLACE STRONG CONSTRAINTS ON THEIR PARTICLE PROPERTIES. FOR EXAMPLE THE PROPOSING TEAM EXPLOITED ARCHIVAL NUSTAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER USING SO-CALLED 0-BOUNCE PHOTONS TO SEARCH FOR DIFFUSE EMISSION FROM DARK MATTER. HERE WE PROPOSE DEDICATED NUSTAR OBSERVATIONS (100 KS) JUST OFF THE GALACTIC PLANE. RELATIVE TO OUR PREVIOUS WORK THERE IS ONLY A SLIGHT REDUCTION IN THE DARK-MATTER SIGNAL WHILE THERE IS A LARGE REDUCTION IN THE BACKGROUND AND ATTENDANT SYSTEMATIC UNCERTAINTIES. WE PROJECT THAT THESE OBSERVATIONS ANALYZED BY OUR PROVEN TEAM WILL LEAD TO UNPRECEDENTED SENSITIVITY TO STERILE NEUTRINO DARK MATTER.
$71,913FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA