Perseus X-rays are simple QED emissions of the sulfur atom - not the decay of dark matter !

PITTSBURGH - Feb. 26, 2018 - PRLog -- .
Introduction
In 2014, a mysterious 3.5 keV X-ray emission from the Perseus galaxy was found [1] that could not be explained by standard X-ray wavelengths of atomic elements. Subsequently, the 3.5 keV signal was found in 73 other galaxies suggesting uniformity of the signal throughout the cosmos. Since the X-ray signal is not present in the known X-ray emission lines of the elements, a dark matter explanation based on sterile neutrinos that upon decay emitted the mysterious X-ray line. However, dark matter decay was ruled out based on incompatibility with expected dark matter distributions.

As of 2016, there was no consensus opinion on the physics behind 3.5 keV signal. Of relevance to this PR, charge exchange of bare S ¹⁶⁺ sulfur atoms stripped of all electrons in the heat of the hot galaxy medium was shown [2,3] to produce the 3.5 keV X-ray line upon combining S ¹⁶⁺ with atomic hydrogen as the S ¹⁵⁺ state transitions to the ground state, i.e., S ¹⁶⁺+ H →S ¹⁵⁺+ hν. The bare sulfur atoms were prepared by heating CS2 with an electron beam to a minimum energy of 3494 eV.

Recently, the Hitomi telescope finding that did not show the 3.5 keV X-rays was shown [4] consistent with other measurements when broadened by the dark matter virial velocity. Various dark matter models were proposed to reproduce this physics, i.e., dark matter absorbing and then re-emitting 3.5 keV photons, but more detailed data necessary for confirmation is moot by the loss of Hitomi.

Problem
Dark matter particles absorbing and re-emitting 3.5 keV X-rays suggests atoms have two energy states separated by 3.5 keV. But X-ray lines at 3.5 keV do not appear in X-ray emission of atomic elements. What this means is the 3.5 keV X-ray is produced by another mechanism not necessarily related to dark matter.

Proposal
The 3.5 keV X-rays found in Perseus are produced by simple QED – a far simpler theory than that of Feynman. Simple QED is a consequence of QM that by the Planck law requires the heat capacity of NPs to vanish under high EM confinement. QM stands for quantum mechanics, NPs for nanoparticles, and EM for electromagnetic. Since QM denies the atoms heat capacity, the heat does not increase NP temperature. But NPs have high S/V ratios where the heat is absorbed almost entirely in the NP surface. S/V stands for surface-to-volume. Therefore, heat places internal NP atoms under the high EM confinement necessary by the Planck law for heat capacity to vanish. Heat is conserved by creating non-thermal EM standing photon inside the NP having half-wavelength λ/2 = d, where d is the NP diameter. The speed of light c corrected for the refractive index n of the NP gives the energy E of the standing photon, E = h(c/n)/λ = hc/2nd. For applications of vanishing heat capacity by the Planck law. See: http://www.nanoqed.org/, 2010 – 2018.

Extension
Simple QED was formulated for NPs < 100 nm having EUV energy levels. In the extension to X-rays, the NPs are required to fragment to atoms upon heating in the hot galaxy medium. Thermal vaporization does not occur as temperatures do not increase. The heat Q produces EM radiation that ionizes the NPs and induces Coulomb repulsion that by fragmentation progressively creates smaller clusters until atoms alone are formed as shown in the thumbnail. Like a two energy state atom separated by 3.5 keV, the heat then raises the energy level of the atoms to 3.5 keV levels at which time the X-ray is emitted.

Discussion
In applying simple QED to the 3.5 keV X-ray emission from Perseus, the wavelength λ = hc/E = 0.354 nm. The atom diameter d =λ/2n, but at X-ray frequencies, n = 1 and d = λ/2 = 177 pm with radius 88.7 pm. Of the atomic elements, both krypton an sulfur have radii = 88 pm. Krypton aside, simple QED emission is analgous to the charge exchange experiment [2,3] for bare sulfur atoms with the heat provided by the hot Perseus medium instead of electron beams and does not require collisions with H atoms.

Simple QED suggests dark matter has nothing to do with the 3.5 keV X-rays. In fact, simple QED shows the recession velocities of galaxies are highly overstated by the redshift of galaxy photons upon interacting with NPs of cosmic dust surounding the galaxy. Indeed, if the measured redshift is corrected for the redshift in cosmic dust, there is no need for dark matter to explain an expanding Universe or the rotation curves in spiral galaxies suggesting the Universe is dynamic, but otherwise static and infinite. See https://www.prlog.org/12683727dark-matter-negated-by-scal...

Simple QED energy levels differ from conventional QM levels by dependence on the size of the NP or atom that defines the EM energy of the standing wave.

References
[1]H. Bulbul, et al. "Detection of Unidentified Emission Linein the Stacked X-ray Spectrum of Galaxy Clusters,"ApJ, 789, 13, 2014.
[2] A.Gu, et al. "A Novel scenariao for the possible X-ray line feature at 3.5 keV : Charge eschange with bare sulfur ions," A&A, 584, L11, 2015.
[3] C. Shah, et al., "Laboratory Measurements Compellingly Support Charge-Exchange Mechanism For The 'Dark Matter' – 3.5 Kev X-Ray Line", arXiv:1608.04751v1 [astro-ph.HE] 16 Aug 2016.
[4] J. P. Conlon, et al.,"Consistency of Hitomi, XMM-Newton and Chandra 3.5 keV data from Perseus," arXiv:1608.01684v3 [astro-ph.HE] 2017.