Speaker
Description
I would like to present a talk on the impact of early Universe energy injection on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), with a focus on spectral distortions and anisotropies, using Axion Quark Nuggets (AQNs) as a concrete dark matter scenario.
In this work, I investigate how interactions between dark matter and baryons can lead to energy injection before recombination, and how this affects key cosmological observables. Using a modified version of the CLASS Boltzmann code, I compute the resulting μ- and y-type spectral distortions, as well as the impact on the ionization history and primary CMB anisotropies.
I will show that while the CMB anisotropy power spectra remain largely unchanged and consistent with current observational constraints, the spectral distortion signal can be significantly enhanced. In particular, the AQN scenario produces a distinctive μ-type distortion that could lie within the sensitivity of upcoming missions.
This combination, minimal impact on anisotropies alongside potentially detectable spectral distortions, provides a clear and testable observational signature. It also illustrates how spectral distortions offer a powerful and complementary probe of early Universe physics beyond what can be inferred from anisotropies alone.
Overall, this talk aims to highlight both the role of spectral distortions as a sensitive cosmological probe and the potential of the AQN framework as a viable and observationally testable dark matter candidate.
This work is available on arXiv: 2512.05401
| Other topic / keywords: | Spectral Distortions |
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