Galactic dark matter population as the source of neutrino masses

We propose that neutrino masses can be zero in vacuo and may be generated by the local distribution of dark matter through a feeble long range scalar force. We discuss potential phenomenological constraints and implications of this framework. Our model typically implies that the cosmic neutrino background left over from the big bang is mostly absent in our Galactic neighborhood. Hence, a positive detection signal from future proposed experiments, such as PTOLEMY, could in principle falsify our scenario.

Figure 1

Neutrino mass as a function of the Galactic radius for different dark matter density profiles. The red-dashed line represents a cuspy Einasto profile, the blue solid line represents a cuspy NFW profile, and the green dot-dashed line represents a cored Burkert profile. For all the profiles, we require that ${\rho }_X(r_{\odot })=0.3\mathrm{GeV}{\mathrm{cm}}^{-3}$ and $m_X=0.3\mathrm{GeV}$, where $r_{\odot }=8.5\mathrm{kpc}$. With these parameters, we obtain $m_{\nu }\sim 0.1\mathrm{eV}$ in our local Galactic neighborhood.