Blazar-Boosted Dark Matter: Novel Signatures via Elastic and Inelastic Scattering

Abstract: Blazar-Boosted Dark Matter (BBDM) is a novel mechanism whereby dark matter (DM) particles are accelerated to ultrarelativistic energies through interactions with blazar jets. Focusing on a vector portal DM model, we systematically investigate both elastic and inelastic scattering processes between DM and protons. By analyzing multi-messenger data from ground- and space-based observatories, we derive stringent constraints on the DM-proton scattering cross section $\sigma_{\chi p}$. Our results improve upon previous limits from the constant cross section and pure elastic scattering scenarios by several orders of magnitude. The distinctive high-energy gamma ray and neutrino fluxes produced through deep inelastic scattering provide powerful signatures for BBDM indirect detection, enabling constraints that significantly surpass those from traditional direct detection experiments. Notably, our results suggest that DM could be a new source of high-energy neutrinos from blazars, potentially offering an explanation for IceCube's observation of TXS 0506+056.