Cosmology of Inelastic Self-Interacting Dark Matter: Linear Evolution and Observational Constraints

Abstract

We study the linear cosmological evolution of inelastic self-interacting dark matter in a two-component dark sector with a small mass splitting, assuming thermal initial conditions for the two species. We derive the coupled background and perturbation equations for inelastic conversion between the two species, considering both power-law and low-velocity saturation cross sections. Exothermic conversion injects kinetic energy into the light component, generating pressure support that suppresses small-scale structure and produces dark acoustic oscillations in the matter power spectrum. The resulting cutoff at scale $k > 1\,h\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ depends on the normalization and velocity dependence of the cross section, the dark matter mass and the mass splitting. Using linear power spectra computed with a modified Boltzmann solver, we apply recast constraints from Lyman-$\alpha$ forest data and high-redshift UV luminosity functions, finding non-monotonic but closed exclusion regions driven by the competition between efficient conversion and rapid depletion of the heavy component. These results show that the internal thermodynamics of a secluded multi-component dark sector can leave observable imprints on structure formation, providing a complementary probe of secluded dark matter.