Edges and Endpoints in 21-cm Observations from Resonant Photon Production

Phys Rev Lett. 2021 Jul 2;127(1):011102. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.011102.

Abstract

We introduce a novel class of signatures-spectral edges and end points-in 21-cm measurements resulting from interactions between the standard and dark sectors. Within the context of a kinetically mixed dark photon, we demonstrate how resonant dark photon-to-photon conversions can imprint distinctive spectral features in the observed 21-cm brightness temperature, with implications for current, upcoming, and proposed experiments targeting the cosmic dawn and the dark ages. These signatures open up a qualitatively new way to look for physics beyond the Standard Model using 21-cm observations.