Prospects for probing dark matter particles and primordial black holes with the Hongmeng mission using the 21 cm global spectrum at cosmic dawn

Abstract

Probing dark matter particles and primordial black holes remains a pivotal challenge in modern cosmology. Exotic energy injections from dark matter annihilation, decay, and PBH Hawking evaporation can alter the thermal and ionization histories of the early universe, leaving distinctive imprints on the 21 cm global spectrum. We assess the potential of the upcoming space project, the Hongmeng mission, to probe dark matter particles and PBHs using the 21 cm global spectrum. Under ideal conditions with 1000 hours of integration time and negligible foreground residuals, the Hongmeng project can reach sensitivities to dark matter annihilation cross sections and decay lifetimes to $\langle \sigma v \rangle \sim 10^{-28}\,\mathrm{cm^3\,s^{-1}}$ and $\tau \sim 10^{28}\,\mathrm{s}$, respectively, for dark matter particles with a mass of $10\,\mathrm{GeV}$. It can also probe PBHs with masses of $10^{16}\,\mathrm{g}$ and abundances as low as $f_{\mathrm{PBH}} \simeq 10^{-6}$. These results indicate that the Hongmeng mission can improve current constraints on dark matter annihilation, decay, and PBH Hawking radiation by nearly two orders of magnitude. Moreover, the Hongmeng mission surpasses current limits on sub-GeV dark matter probing and enables the probing of Hawking radiation from PBHs with masses above $10^{17}\,\mathrm{g}$, which remain undetectable through conventional cosmological means. Overall, the upcoming Hongmeng project holds great promise for advancing the investigation of both dark matter and PBHs, potentially deepening our understanding of the nature of dark matter.