Refined Cosmic-Ray Flux Predictions from Dark Matter Annihilation and Decay
A new arXiv preprint presents updated calculations of antiproton and antideuteron cosmic-ray fluxes produced by weak-scale dark matter particles, covering masses from a few GeV to 100 TeV. The work incorporates improved propagation models, updated dark matter halo profiles, and new inelastic cross-section data from ALICE, superseding older predictions from the widely used PPPC4DMID tool. The refined flux estimates are significantly more robust against propagation model uncertainties, potentially sharpening the sensitivity of future dark matter indirect detection searches.
Researchers have submitted a preprint to arXiv detailing refined predictions for the cosmic-ray fluxes of antiprotons and antideuterons that would result from the annihilation or decay of weak-scale dark matter particles in the Galactic halo. The calculations use updated propagation models organized under new MIN/MED/MAX parameter sets within the SLIM/BIG/QUAINT schemes, and incorporate improved particle spectra from the CosmiXs code. Three dark matter density profiles — NFW, Einasto, and Burkert — are considered with the most current parameter fits, and inelastic cross-sections for antiprotons and antideuterons are updated using data from the ALICE experiment at CERN. A key finding is that the new propagation models yield flux predictions that are substantially more consistent across the MIN-to-MAX propagation parameter range compared to older models, reducing a major source of theoretical uncertainty. The authors validate their results against existing literature and numerical packages, and make all tabulated flux results publicly available via a GitHub repository under the new CosmiXsPPPC project, ready for use in dark matter indirect detection studies.
What's missing
As a preprint, this work has not yet undergone formal peer review. The sensitivity of results to the choice of solar modulation model for low-energy cosmic rays is not discussed in the abstract.
What different sources said
- arXiv astro-phCenter
Refined anti-proton and anti-deuteron fluxes from weak-scale Dark Matter
Related
Gut Bacteria Enzyme Found to Break Down Heat-Processed Food Compounds, Producing Novel Biogenic Amines
Researchers have discovered that an enzyme in common gut bacteria can degrade N-epsilon-carboxymethyllysine (CML), a compound formed during thermal food processing, producing previously unknown biogenic amines. The enzyme, ornithine decarboxylase SpeC from enterobacteria, acts on CML and related modified lysine derivatives through a low-level 'underground' catalytic activity. This finding suggests a previously unrecognized communication axis between thermally processed dietary compounds and gut microbial physiology, with potential implications for host health.
Full-Length Gene Sequencing Reveals Two Distinct Bacterial Communities in Black-Legged Ticks Expanding Into Canada
Researchers used Oxford Nanopore full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the microbiome of Ixodes scapularis black-legged ticks collected in Nova Scotia, Canada, distinguishing between tick-adapted bacteria and environmentally acquired bacteria. The study comes as I. scapularis — the primary vector of Lyme disease — is rapidly expanding northward into Canada due to climate change. The findings suggest that environmentally derived bacteria in tick microbiomes are not mere contamination, which has implications for how tick microbiome data is collected and interpreted across surveillance studies.
Study Identifies Metabolic Link Between Cell Envelope Stress and Biofilm Formation in Bacteria
Researchers have discovered that the metabolite acetyl-CoA directly inhibits enzymes that degrade the bacterial signaling molecule c-di-GMP, connecting cell envelope biosynthesis stress to biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study found that sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics targeting early peptidoglycan biosynthesis — but not other antibiotic classes — elevate c-di-GMP levels by reducing phosphodiesterase activity, with acetyl-CoA competing for the enzyme active site. Because the relevant enzyme domain is broadly conserved across bacterial species, this checkpoint mechanism may be widespread and could have implications for understanding antibiotic-induced biofilm responses.