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S. Babak

Publications and source records attributed to S. Babak.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

GW241011 and GW241110: Exploring Binary Formation and Fundamental Physics with Asymmetric, High-Spin Black Hole Coalescence

We report the observation of gravitational waves from two binary black hole coalescences during the fourth observing run of the LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA detector network, GW241011 and GW241110. The sources of these two signals are characterized by rapid and precisely measured primary spins, non-negligible spin--orbit misalignment, and unequal mass ratios between their constituent black holes. These properties are characteristic of binaries in which the more massive object was itself formed from a previous binary black hole merger, and suggest that the sources of GW241011 and GW241110 may have formed in dense stellar environments in which repeated mergers can take place. As the third loudest gravitational-wave event published to date, with a median network signal-to-noise ratio of $36.0$, GW241011 furthermore yields stringent constraints on the Kerr nature of black holes, the multipolar structure of gravitational-wave generation, and the existence of ultralight bosons within the mass range $10^{-13}$--$10^{-12}$ eV.

astro-ph.HE↗

Directional Search for Persistent Gravitational Waves: Results from the First Part of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's Fourth Observing Run

The angular distribution of gravitational-wave power from persistent sources may exhibit anisotropies arising from the large-scale structure of the Universe. This motivates directional searches for astrophysical and cosmological gravitational-wave backgrounds, as well as continuous-wave emitters. We present results of such a search using data from the first observing run through the first portion of the fourth observing run of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaborations. We apply gravitational-wave radiometer techniques to generate skymaps and search for both narrowband and broadband persistent gravitational-wave sources. Additionally, we use spherical harmonic decomposition to probe spatially extended sources. No evidence of persistent gravitational-wave signals is found, and we set the most stringent constraints to date on such emissions. For narrowband point sources, our sensitivity estimate to effective strain amplitude lies in the range $(0.03 - 8.4) \times 10^{-24}$ across all sky and frequency range $(20 - 160)$ Hz. For targeted sources -- Scorpius X-1, SN 1987A, the Galactic Center, Terzan 5, and NGC 6397 -- we constrain the strain amplitude with best limits ranging from $\sim 1.1 \times 10^{-25}$ to $6.5 \times 10^{-24}$. For persistent broadband sources, we constrain the gravitational-wave flux $F_{α, \hat{n}}^{95\%, \mathrm{UL}}(25\, \mathrm{Hz}) < (0.008 - 5.5) \times 10^{-8}\, \mathrm{erg\, cm^{-2}\, s^{-1}\, Hz^{-1}}$, depending on the sky direction $\hat{n}$ and spectral index $α=0,\,2/3,\,3$. Finally, for extended sources, we place upper limits on the strain angular power spectrum $C_\ell^{1/2} < (0.63 - 17) \times 10^{-10} \,\mathrm{sr}^{-1}$.

gr-qc↗

Search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in the first part of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run

Continuous gravitational waves (CWs) emission from neutron stars carries information about their internal structure and equation of state, and it can provide tests of General Relativity. We present a search for CWs from a set of 45 known pulsars in the first part of the fourth LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA observing run, known as O4a. We conducted a targeted search for each pulsar using three independent analysis methods considering the single-harmonic and the dual-harmonic emission models. We find no evidence of a CW signal in O4a data for both models and set upper limits on the signal amplitude and on the ellipticity, which quantifies the asymmetry in the neutron star mass distribution. For the single-harmonic emission model, 29 targets have the upper limit on the amplitude below the theoretical spin-down limit. The lowest upper limit on the amplitude is $6.4\!\times\!10^{-27}$ for the young energetic pulsar J0537-6910, while the lowest constraint on the ellipticity is $8.8\!\times\!10^{-9}$ for the bright nearby millisecond pulsar J0437-4715. Additionally, for a subset of 16 targets we performed a narrowband search that is more robust regarding the emission model, with no evidence of a signal. We also found no evidence of non-standard polarizations as predicted by the Brans-Dicke theory.

astro-ph.HE↗

GWTC-4.0: Population Properties of Merging Compact Binaries

We detail the population properties of merging compact objects using 158 mergers from the cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog 4.0, which includes three types of binary mergers: binary neutron star, neutron star--black hole binary, and binary black hole mergers. We resolve multiple over- and under-densities in the black hole mass distribution: features persist at primary masses of $10\,M_\odot$ and $35\,M_\odot$ with a possible third feature at $\sim 20\,M_\odot$. These are departures from an otherwise power-law-like continuum that steepens above $35\,M_\odot$. Binary black holes with primary masses near $10\,M_\odot$ are more likely to have less massive secondaries, with a mass ratio distribution peaking at $q = 0.74^{+0.13}_{-0.13}$, potentially a signature of stable mass transfer during binary evolution. Black hole spins are inferred to be non-extremal, with 90\% of black holes having $χ< 0.57$, and preferentially aligned with binary orbits, implying many merging binaries form in isolation. However, we find a significant fraction, 0.24-0.42, of binaries have negative effective inspiral spins, suggesting many could be formed dynamically in gas-free environments. We find evidence for correlation between effective inspiral spin and mass ratio, though it is unclear if this is driven by variation in the mode of the distribution or the width. (Abridged)

astro-ph.HE↗

Tests of General Relativity with Binary Black Holes from the second LIGO-Virgo Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog

Gravitational waves enable tests of general relativity in the highly dynamical and strong-field regime. Using events detected by LIGO-Virgo up to 1 October 2019, we evaluate the consistency of the data with predictions from the theory. We first establish that residuals from the best-fit waveform are consistent with detector noise, and that the low- and high-frequency parts of the signals are in agreement. We then consider parametrized modifications to the waveform by varying post-Newtonian and phenomenological coefficients, improving past constraints by factors of ${\sim}2$; we also find consistency with Kerr black holes when we specifically target signatures of the spin-induced quadrupole moment. Looking for gravitational-wave dispersion, we tighten constraints on Lorentz-violating coefficients by a factor of ${\sim}2.6$ and bound the mass of the graviton to $m_g \leq 3.09 \times 10^{-23} \mathrm{eV}/c^2$ with 90% credibility. We also analyze the properties of the merger remnants by measuring ringdown frequencies and damping times, constraining fractional deviations away from the Kerr frequency to $δ\hat{f}_{220} = 0.03^{+0.38}_{-0.35}$ for the fundamental quadrupolar mode, and $δ\hat{f}_{221} = 0.02^{+0.29}_{-0.33}$ for the first overtone; additionally, we find no evidence for postmerger echoes. Finally, we determine that our data are consistent with tensorial polarizations through a template-independent method. When possible, we assess the validity of general relativity based on collections of events analyzed jointly. We find no evidence for new physics beyond general relativity, for black hole mimickers, or for any unaccounted systematics.

gr-qc↗

GW250114: testing Hawking's area law and the Kerr nature of black holes

The gravitational-wave signal GW250114 was observed by the two LIGO detectors with a network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 80. The signal was emitted by the coalescence of two black holes with near-equal masses $m_1 = 33.6^{+1.2}_{-0.8}\,M_\odot$ and $m_2 = 32.2^{+0.8}_{-1.3}\,M_\odot$, and small spins $χ_{1,2} \leq 0.26$ (90% credibility) and negligible eccentricity $e \leq 0.03$. Post-merger data excluding the peak region are consistent with the dominant quadrupolar $(\ell = |m| = 2)$ mode of a Kerr black hole and its first overtone. We constrain the modes' frequencies to $\pm 30\%$ of the Kerr spectrum, providing a test of the remnant's Kerr nature. We also examine Hawking's area law, also known as the second law of black hole mechanics, which states that the total area of the black hole event horizons cannot decrease with time. A range of analyses that exclude up to 5 of the strongest merger cycles confirm that the remnant area is larger than the sum of the initial areas to high credibility.

gr-qc↗

Upper Limits on the Isotropic Gravitational-Wave Background from the first part of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA's fourth Observing Run

We present results from the search for an isotropic gravitational-wave background using Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo data from O1 through O4a, the first part of the fourth observing run. This background is the accumulated signal from unresolved sources throughout cosmic history and encodes information about the merger history of compact binaries throughout the Universe, as well as exotic physics and potentially primordial processes from the early cosmos. Our cross-correlation analysis reveals no statistically significant background signal, enabling us to constrain several theoretical scenarios. For compact binary coalescences which approximately follow a 2/3 power-law spectrum, we constrain the fractional energy density to $Ω_{\rm GW}(25{\rm Hz})\leq 2.0\times 10^{-9}$ (95% cred.), a factor of 1.7 improvement over previous results. Scale-invariant backgrounds are constrained to $Ω_{\rm GW}(25{\rm Hz})\leq 2.8\times 10^{-9}$, representing a 2.1x sensitivity gain. We also place new limits on gravity theories predicting non-standard polarization modes and confirm that terrestrial magnetic noise sources remain below detection threshold. Combining these spectral limits with population models for GWTC-4, the latest gravitational-wave event catalog, we find our constraints remain above predicted merger backgrounds but are approaching detectability. The joint analysis combining the background limits shown here with the GWTC-4 catalog enables improved inference of the binary black hole merger rate evolution across cosmic time. Employing GWTC-4 inference results and standard modeling choices, we estimate that the total background arising from compact binary coalescences is $Ω_{\rm CBC}(25{\rm Hz})={0.9^{+1.1}_{-0.5}\times 10^{-9}}$ at 90% confidence, where the largest contribution is due to binary black holes only, $Ω_{\rm BBH}(25{\rm Hz})=0.8^{+1.1}_{-0.5}\times 10^{-9}$.

gr-qc↗

All-sky search for long-duration gravitational-wave transients in the first part of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Observing run

We present an all-sky search for long-duration gravitational waves (GWs) from the first part of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA fourth observing run (O4), called O4a and comprising data taken between 24 May 2023 and 16 January 2024. The GW signals targeted by this search are the so-called "long-duration" (> 1 s) transients expected from a variety of astrophysical processes, including non-axisymmetric deformations in magnetars or eccentric binary coalescences. We make minimal assumptions on the emitted GW waveforms in terms of morphologies and durations. Overall, our search targets signals with durations ~1-1000 s and frequency content in the range 16-2048 Hz. In the absence of significant detections, we report the sensitivity limits of our search in terms of root-sum-square signal amplitude (hrss) of reference waveforms. These limits improve upon the results from the third LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run (O3) by about 30% on average. Moreover, this analysis demonstrates substantial progress in our ability to search for long-duration GW signals owing to enhancements in pipeline detection efficiencies. As detector sensitivities continue to advance and observational runs grow longer, unmodeled long-duration searches will increasingly be able to explore a range of compelling astrophysical scenarios involving neutron stars and black holes.

gr-qc↗

Reconciling PTA and JWST and preparing for LISA with POMPOCO: a Parametrisation Of the Massive black hole POpulation for Comparison to Observations

We develop a parametrised model to describe the formation and evolution of massive black holes, designed for comparisons with both electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations. Using an extended Press-Schechter formalism, we generate dark matter halo merger trees. We then seed and evolve massive black holes through parameterised prescriptions. This approach, which avoids solving differential equations, is computationally efficient, enabling us to analyse observational data and infer the parameters of our model in a fully Bayesian framework. We find that observations of the black hole luminosity function are compatible with the nHz gravitational wave signal (likely) measured by PTAs, provided we allow for an increased luminosity function at high redshift ($4-7$), as recently suggested by JWST observations. Our model can simultaneously reproduce the bulk of the $M_*-M_{\rm BH}$ relation at $z-0$, as well as its outliers, something cosmological simulations struggle to do. The inferred model parameters are consistent with expectations from observations and more complex simulations: They favour heavier black hole seeds and short delays between halo and black hole mergers, while requiring supper-Edington accretion episodes lasting a few tens of million years, which in our model are linked to galaxy mergers. We find accretion to be suppressed in the most massive black holes below $z\simeq 2.5$, consistently with the anti-hierarchical growth hypothesis. Finally, our predictions for LISA, although fairly broad, are in agreement with previous models. Our model offers a new perspective on the apparent tensions between the black hole luminosity function and the latest JWST and PTA results. Its flexibility makes it ideal to fully exploit the potential of future gravitational wave observations of massive black hole binaries with LISA.

astro-ph.GA↗

A search using GEO600 for gravitational waves coincident with fast radio bursts from SGR 1935+2154

The magnetar SGR 1935+2154 is the only known Galactic source of fast radio bursts (FRBs). FRBs from SGR 1935+2154 were first detected by CHIME/FRB and STARE2 in 2020 April, after the conclusion of the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaborations' O3 observing run. Here we analyze four periods of gravitational wave (GW) data from the GEO600 detector coincident with four periods of FRB activity detected by CHIME/FRB, as well as X-ray glitches and X-ray bursts detected by NICER and NuSTAR close to the time of one of the FRBs. We do not detect any significant GW emission from any of the events. Instead, using a short-duration GW search (for bursts $\leq$ 1 s) we derive 50\% (90\%) upper limits of $10^{48}$ ($10^{49}$) erg for GWs at 300 Hz and $10^{49}$ ($10^{50}$) erg at 2 kHz, and constrain the GW-to-radio energy ratio to $\leq 10^{14} - 10^{16}$. We also derive upper limits from a long-duration search for bursts with durations between 1 and 10 s. These represent the strictest upper limits on concurrent GW emission from FRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

Swift-BAT GUANO follow-up of gravitational-wave triggers in the third LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run

We present results from a search for X-ray/gamma-ray counterparts of gravitational-wave (GW) candidates from the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) network using the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (Swift-BAT). The search includes 636 GW candidates received in low latency, 86 of which have been confirmed by the offline analysis and included in the third cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalogs (GWTC-3). Targeted searches were carried out on the entire GW sample using the maximum--likelihood NITRATES pipeline on the BAT data made available via the GUANO infrastructure. We do not detect any significant electromagnetic emission that is temporally and spatially coincident with any of the GW candidates. We report flux upper limits in the 15-350 keV band as a function of sky position for all the catalog candidates. For GW candidates where the Swift-BAT false alarm rate is less than 10$^{-3}$ Hz, we compute the GW--BAT joint false alarm rate. Finally, the derived Swift-BAT upper limits are used to infer constraints on the putative electromagnetic emission associated with binary black hole mergers.

astro-ph.HE↗

Search for gravitational waves emitted from SN 2023ixf

We present the results of a search for gravitational-wave transients associated with core-collapse supernova SN 2023ixf, which was observed in the galaxy Messier 101 via optical emission on 2023 May 19th, during the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA 15th Engineering Run. We define a five-day on-source window during which an accompanying gravitational-wave signal may have occurred. No gravitational waves have been identified in data when at least two gravitational-wave observatories were operating, which covered $\sim 14\%$ of this five-day window. We report the search detection efficiency for various possible gravitational-wave emission models. Considering the distance to M101 (6.7 Mpc), we derive constraints on the gravitational-wave emission mechanism of core-collapse supernovae across a broad frequency spectrum, ranging from 50 Hz to 2 kHz where we assume the gravitational-wave emission occurred when coincident data are available in the on-source window. Considering an ellipsoid model for a rotating proto-neutron star, our search is sensitive to gravitational-wave energy $1 \times 10^{-4} M_{\odot} c^2$ and luminosity $2.6 \times 10^{-4} M_{\odot} c^2/s$ for a source emitting at 82 Hz. These constraints are around an order of magnitude more stringent than those obtained so far with gravitational-wave data. The constraint on the ellipticity of the proto-neutron star that is formed is as low as 1.08, at frequencies above 1200 Hz, surpassing past results.

astro-ph.HE↗

The population of merging compact binaries inferred using gravitational waves through GWTC-3

We report on the population properties of compact binary mergers inferred from gravitational-wave observations of these systems during the first three LIGO-Virgo observing runs. The Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog 3 contains signals consistent with three classes of binary mergers: binary black hole, binary neutron star, and neutron star-black hole mergers. We infer the binary neutron star merger rate to be between 10 and 1700 Gpc$^{-3} yr$^{-1}$ and the neutron star-black hole merger rate to be between 7.8 and 140 Gpc$^{-3} yr$^{-1}$, assuming a constant rate density in the comoving frame and taking the union of 90% credible intervals for methods used in this work. We infer the binary black hole merger rate, allowing for evolution with redshift, to be between 17.9 and 44 Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ at a fiducial redshift (z=0.2). The rate of binary black hole mergers is observed to increase with redshift at a rate proportional to $(1+z)^κ$ with $κ=2.9^{+1.7}_{-1.8}$ for $z\lesssim1$. Using both binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole binaries, we obtain a broad, relatively flat neutron star mass distribution extending from $1.2^{+0.1}_{-0.2}$ to $2.0^{+0.3}_{-0.3}\,M_\odot$. We confidently determine that the merger rate as a function of mass sharply declines after the expected maximum neutron star mass, but cannot yet confirm or rule out the existence of a lower mass gap between neutron stars and black holes. We also find the binary black hole mass distribution has localized over- and underdensities relative to a power-law distribution, with peaks emerging at chirp masses of $8.3^{+0.3}_{-0.5}$ and $27.9^{+1.9}_{-1.8}\,M_\odot$. While we continue to find that the mass distribution of a binary's more massive component strongly decreases as a function of primary mass, we observe no evidence of a strongly suppressed merger rate above approximately $60\,M_\odot$ [abridged]

astro-ph.HE↗

Searches for signatures of ultra-light axion dark matter in polarimetry data of the European Pulsar Timing Array

Ultra-light axion-like particles (ALPs) can be a viable solution to the dark matter problem. The scalar field associated with ALPs, coupled to the electromagnetic field, acts as an active birefringent medium, altering the polarisation properties of light through which it propagates. In particular, oscillations of the axionic field induce monochromatic variations of the plane of linearly polarised radiation of astrophysical signals. The radio emission of millisecond pulsars provides an excellent tool to search for such manifestations, given their high fractional linear polarisation and negligible fluctuations of their polarisation properties. We have searched for the evidence of ALPs in the polarimetry measurements of pulsars collected and preprocessed for the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) campaign. Focusing on the twelve brightest sources in linear polarisation, we searched for an astrophysical signal from axions using both frequentist and Bayesian statistical frameworks. For the frequentist analysis, which uses Lomb-Scargle periodograms at its core, no statistically significant signal has been found. The model used for the Bayesian analysis has been adjusted to accommodate multiple deterministic systematics that may be present in the data. A statistically significant signal has been found in the dataset of multiple pulsars with common frequency between $10^{-8}$ Hz and $2\times10^{-8}$ Hz, which can most likely be explained by the residual Faraday rotation in the terrestrial ionosphere. Strong bounds on the coupling constant $g_{aγ}$, in the same ballpark as other searches, have been obtained in the mass range between $6\times10^{-24}$ eV and $5\times10^{-21}$ eV. We conclude by discussing problems that can limit the sensitivity of our search for ultra-light axions in the polarimetry data of pulsars, and possible ways to resolve them.

astro-ph.CO↗

Observation of Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of a $2.5\text{-}4.5~M_\odot$ Compact Object and a Neutron Star

We report the observation of a coalescing compact binary with component masses $2.5\text{-}4.5~M_\odot$ and $1.2\text{-}2.0~M_\odot$ (all measurements quoted at the 90% credible level). The gravitational-wave signal GW230529_181500 was observed during the fourth observing run of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA detector network on 2023 May 29 by the LIGO Livingston Observatory. The primary component of the source has a mass less than $5~M_\odot$ at 99% credibility. We cannot definitively determine from gravitational-wave data alone whether either component of the source is a neutron star or a black hole. However, given existing estimates of the maximum neutron star mass, we find the most probable interpretation of the source to be the coalescence of a neutron star with a black hole that has a mass between the most massive neutron stars and the least massive black holes observed in the Galaxy. We provisionally estimate a merger rate density of $55^{+127}_{-47}~\text{Gpc}^{-3}\,\text{yr}^{-1}$ for compact binary coalescences with properties similar to the source of GW230529_181500; assuming that the source is a neutron star-black hole merger, GW230529_181500-like sources constitute about 60% of the total merger rate inferred for neutron star-black hole coalescences. The discovery of this system implies an increase in the expected rate of neutron star-black hole mergers with electromagnetic counterparts and provides further evidence for compact objects existing within the purported lower mass gap.

astro-ph.HE↗

The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array V. Search for continuous gravitational wave signals

We present the results of a search for continuous gravitational wave signals (CGWs) in the second data release (DR2) of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) collaboration. The most significant candidate event from this search has a gravitational wave frequency of 4-5 nHz. Such a signal could be generated by a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in the local Universe. We present the results of a follow-up analysis of this candidate using both Bayesian and frequentist methods. The Bayesian analysis gives a Bayes factor of 4 in favor of the presence of the CGW over a common uncorrelated noise process, while the frequentist analysis estimates the p-value of the candidate to be 1%, also assuming the presence of common uncorrelated red noise. However, comparing a model that includes both a CGW and a gravitational wave background (GWB) to a GWB only, the Bayes factor in favour of the CGW model is only 0.7. Therefore, we cannot conclusively determine the origin of the observed feature, but we cannot rule it out as a CGW source. We present results of simulations that demonstrate that data containing a weak gravitational wave background can be misinterpreted as data including a CGW and vice versa, providing two plausible explanations of the EPTA DR2 data. Further investigations combining data from all PTA collaborations will be needed to reveal the true origin of this feature.

astro-ph.HE↗

The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array: IV. Implications for massive black holes, dark matter and the early Universe

The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaborations have measured a low-frequency common signal in the combination of their second and first data releases respectively, with the correlation properties of a gravitational wave background (GWB). Such signal may have its origin in a number of physical processes including a cosmic population of inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs); inflation, phase transitions, cosmic strings and tensor mode generation by non-linear evolution of scalar perturbations in the early Universe; oscillations of the Galactic potential in the presence of ultra-light dark matter (ULDM). At the current stage of emerging evidence, it is impossible to discriminate among the different origins. Therefore, in this paper, we consider each process separately, and investigate the implications of the signal under the hypothesis that it is generated by that specific process. We find that the signal is consistent with a cosmic population of inspiralling SMBHBs, and its relatively high amplitude can be used to place constraints on binary merger timescales and the SMBH-host galaxy scaling relations. If this origin is confirmed, this is the first direct evidence that SMBHBs merge in nature, adding an important observational piece to the puzzle of structure formation and galaxy evolution. As for early Universe processes, the measurement would place tight constraints on the cosmic string tension and on the level of turbulence developed by first-order phase transitions. Other processes would require non-standard scenarios, such as a blue-tilted inflationary spectrum or an excess in the primordial spectrum of scalar perturbations at large wavenumbers. Finally, a ULDM origin of the detected signal is disfavoured, which leads to direct constraints on the abundance of ULDM in our Galaxy.

astro-ph.CO↗

Constraints on dark photon dark matter using data from LIGO's and Virgo's third observing run

We present a search for dark photon dark matter that could couple to gravitational-wave interferometers using data from Advanced LIGO and Virgo's third observing run. To perform this analysis, we use two methods, one based on cross-correlation of the strain channels in the two nearly aligned LIGO detectors, and one that looks for excess power in the strain channels of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. The excess power method optimizes the Fourier Transform coherence time as a function of frequency, to account for the expected signal width due to Doppler modulations. We do not find any evidence of dark photon dark matter with a mass between $m_{\rm A} \sim 10^{-14}-10^{-11}$ eV/$c^2$, which corresponds to frequencies between 10-2000 Hz, and therefore provide upper limits on the square of the minimum coupling of dark photons to baryons, i.e. $U(1)_{\rm B}$ dark matter. For the cross-correlation method, the best median constraint on the squared coupling is $\sim2.65\times10^{-46}$ at $m_{\rm A}\sim4.31\times10^{-13}$ eV/$c^2$; for the other analysis, the best constraint is $\sim 2.4\times 10^{-47}$ at $m_{\rm A}\sim 5.7\times 10^{-13}$ eV/$c^2$. These limits improve upon those obtained in direct dark matter detection experiments by a factor of $\sim100$ for $m_{\rm A}\sim [2-4]\times 10^{-13}$ eV/$c^2$, and are, in absolute terms, the most stringent constraint so far in a large mass range $m_A\sim$ $2\times 10^{-13}-8\times 10^{-12}$ eV/$c^2$.

astro-ph.CO↗