Astrophysical constraints on millicharged atomic dark matter

Abstract

Some models of inelastic dark matter posit the existence of bound states under some new $U(1)'$ gauge symmetry. If this new dark photon kinetically mixes with the standard model photon, then the constituent particles in these bound states can acquire a fractional electric charge. This electric charge renders a dark-matter medium dispersive. We compute this frequency-dependent index of refraction for such a medium and use the frequency-dependent arrival time of light from astrophysical sources to constrain the properties of dark atoms in the medium. Using optical-wavelength observations from the Crab Pulsar, we find the electric millicharge of dark (electrons) protons to be smaller than the electric charge $e$ for dark atom masses below 100 keV, assuming a dark fine structure constant $\boldsymbol{\alpha}=1$. We estimate that future broadband observations of gamma-ray bursts can produce constraints on the millicharge of dark atoms with masses in the keV range that are competitive with existing collider constraints.