Constraining D-foam via the 21-cm Line

Abstract: We have suggested earlier that D-particles, which are stringy space-time defects predicted in brane-inspired models of the Universe, might constitute a component of dark matter, and that they might contribute to the masses of singlet fermions that could provide another component. Interactions of the quantum-fluctuating D-particles with matter induce vector forces that are mediated by a massless effective U(1) gauge field, the "D-photon", which is distinct from the ordinary photon and has different properties from dark photons. We discuss the form of interactions of D-matter with conventional matter induced by D-photon exchange and calculate their strength, which depends on the density of D-particles. Observations of the hydrogen 21~cm line at redshifts >= 15 can constrain these interactions and the density of D-matter in the early Universe.