state, which may be collisionally excited and deexcites by e+ e-pair emission. By converting its kinetic energy into pairs, such a particle could produce a substantial fraction of the 511 keV line observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory/SPI in the inner Milky Way. Only a small fraction of the dark matter candidates have sufficient energy to excite, and that fraction drops sharply with galactocentric radius, naturally yielding a radial …
We propose a dark matter candidate with an “excited state” 1–2 MeV above the ground state, which may be collisionally excited and deexcites by pair emission. By converting its kinetic energy into pairs, such a particle could produce a substantial fraction of the 511 keV line observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory/SPI in the inner Milky Way. Only a small fraction of the dark matter candidates have sufficient energy to excite, and that fraction drops sharply with galactocentric radius, naturally yielding a radial cutoff, as observed. Even if the scattering probability in the inner kpc is per Hubble time, enough power is available to produce the pairs per second observed in the galactic bulge. We specify the parameters of a pseudo-Dirac fermion designed to explain the positron signal, and find that it annihilates chiefly to and freezes out with the correct relic density. We discuss possible observational consequences of this model.