Velocity-Dependent Cross Section

Updated 13 October 2025

Velocity-dependent cross section is defined as the probability of two-body interactions varying with relative velocity, crucial for modeling scattering and annihilation processes.
It captures key phenomena such as Sommerfeld enhancement, Breit–Wigner resonance, and partial wave suppression, linking theoretical predictions with experimental and astrophysical observations.
This concept informs constraints from cosmic microwave background, dwarf galaxy studies, and direct detection experiments, guiding research in dark matter and nuclear physics.

A velocity-dependent cross-section is a fundamental quantity in scattering theory, nuclear and particle physics, and cosmology. It describes the probability for a two-body process (e.g., particle collision or annihilation) as a function of the relative velocity between the interacting particles. In many theoretical frameworks and experimental settings, the velocity dependence of scattering or annihilation cross sections critically shapes phenomenological predictions and the interpretation of empirical data. Recent theoretical and observational developments have highlighted that simple, velocity-independent (contact) cross sections often fail to capture the complexity required by both microphysical models and cosmological/astrophysical constraints.

1. Definitions and Theoretical Motivations

A general cross section $\sigma(v)$ quantifies the likelihood of two-particle interactions as a function of their relative velocity $v$ . In the context of dark matter (DM) models, velocity-dependent cross sections naturally arise in scenarios involving light mediators, resonance effects, or non-trivial initial-state angular momentum (e.g., p-wave or d-wave processes). Prototypical forms include:

Sommerfeld enhancement: A light boson mediates a long-range interaction, leading to an enhancement scaling as $S \sim 1/v$ or stronger—up to $S \sim 1/v^2$ in the resonance regime. For attractive interactions, the thermally averaged cross section is parameterized as

$\langle \sigma v \rangle = \frac{\langle \sigma v \rangle_0}{\epsilon + (v/v_0)^n}\,,$

where $n = 1$ (standard Sommerfeld), $n = 2$ (resonant enhancement), and $\epsilon$ is a small cutoff parameter below which the enhancement saturates (Hisano et al., 2011).

Breit–Wigner resonance: An s-channel mediator nearly on resonance leads to

$|M|^2 \propto \frac{1}{[(v^2 + \delta)^2 + \gamma^2]}$

with velocity scaling as $v^{-4}$ at high velocities (far from resonance), transitioning to weaker scaling at low velocities (Hisano et al., 2011).

Power-law parameterizations: In experimental phenomenology, the cross section is frequently modeled as

$\sigma = \sigma_0\, v^n$

with integer or fractional $n$ spanning negative to positive values, motivated by Coulomb-like (milli-charged DM, $n=-4$ ), dipole ( $n=\pm2$ ), or momentum-transfer ( $n>0$ ) physics (Mahdawi et al., 2018, Li et al., 2022).

Velocity dependence alters the astrophysical and cosmological signatures, leading to nontrivial scaling of interaction rates over the diverse kinematic environments of the early Universe, galaxy clusters, dwarf galaxies, and laboratory experiments.

2. Microscopic Origins of Velocity Dependence

Velocity dependence in cross sections is generically attributed to:

Long-range forces: If a force-carrier has mass $m_\phi \ll m_\chi$ (the DM mass), the cross section exhibits Sommerfeld enhancement, with $S \sim \alpha_\chi/v$ for $v\ll\alpha_\chi$ , saturating at $v \sim m_\phi / m_\chi$ . This arises from multiple exchanges in the Born or nonperturbative regime (Hisano et al., 2011).
Resonant effects: For mediators near-threshold ( $m_\phi \simeq 2 m_\chi$ ), the annihilation amplitude is dominated by the resonance, leading to Breit–Wigner enhancement and distinct scaling in different velocity ranges.
Partial wave suppression: If s-wave annihilation is forbidden, the lowest allowed angular momentum yields $\langle \sigma v \rangle \propto v^{2\ell}$ ( $\ell = 1$ for p-wave, $n=2$ ; $\ell=2$ for d-wave, $n=4$ ) (Boucher et al., 2021).
Mediator mass effects: For scattering processes, the propagator structure modifies the momentum and velocity transfer; in the low-mass limit, a Coulomb-like $1/v^4$ scaling applies for milli-charged DM (Mahdawi et al., 2018).
Nucleon–nucleon and electron–atom scattering: In nuclear and condensed matter physics, effective cross sections and energy transfers per collision depend explicitly on incident energy or velocity, especially when screening and collective effects are present (Medvedev et al., 11 May 2024).

3. Astrophysical and Cosmological Constraints

Astrophysical limits on velocity-dependent cross sections are derived from multiple epochs and environments:

Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN): Late-time DM annihilation injects energy capable of altering the light element abundance pattern. Enhanced late-time rates for $n>0$ ( $\langle \sigma v \rangle \propto v^{-n}$ ) can violate observational constraints unless the enhancement saturates at sufficiently large $\epsilon$ (Hisano et al., 2011).
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): Annihilations at recombination affect the ionization history, damping temperature and polarization anisotropies. The CMB is particularly sensitive to models with strong low-velocity enhancements; stringent 2 $\sigma$ upper bounds are set using likelihood analyses with public recombination codes (e.g., RECFAST/CAMB) (Hisano et al., 2011).
Dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs): The local DM velocity in dSphs ( $v \sim 1-10$ km/s) leads to a strong suppression of p-wave ( $n=2$ ) or enhancement for Sommerfeld cases ( $n<0$ ) in annihilation rates, so Fermi-LAT or kinematically-informed gamma-ray constraints become highly model-dependent (Zhao et al., 2016, Zhao et al., 2017, Boucher et al., 2021).
Self-interacting DM (SIDM): The core formation and subsequent gravothermal evolution in galaxies, groups, and clusters tightly constrain the velocity-dependence of the self-scattering cross section. A viable scenario often requires $\sigma/m_\chi \gtrsim 1$ cm $^2$ /g at dwarf velocities, but $\lesssim 0.1$ cm $^2$ /g at cluster-scale velocities—matching the suppression in cross section with increasing velocity characteristic of, e.g., Yukawa or Rutherford potentials (Sagunski et al., 2020, Outmezguine et al., 2022, Fischer et al., 2023, Sabarish et al., 2023).

4. Laboratory and Direct Detection Implications

Experiments constrain velocity-dependent cross section models via:

Direct detection: The recoil spectrum in detectors is modified by $v^n$ dependence. For large positive $n$ , experiments become less sensitive (lower rates), while for $n<0$ , rates are enhanced at low velocities (for low-threshold detectors). Limits on $\sigma_0$ are published for multiple $n$ values, using data from XQC, DAMIC, and CRESST (Mahdawi et al., 2018, Li et al., 2022).
Attenuation effects: At high cross sections, dark matter particles lose energy traversing the atmosphere, overburden, or shields, imposing a sharp "upper-reach" cross section beyond which the experiment is insensitive because particles are stopped before reaching the sensitive volume (Mahdawi et al., 2018, Li et al., 2022).
Thermalization efficiency: The conversion efficiency of nuclear recoil energy to measurable signals (e.g., via lattice defects in semiconductors) introduces additional uncertainty in constraints for low-mass or low-energy regimes (Mahdawi et al., 2018).

Experiments sensitive to dark matter–baryon interactions in the $(v, \sigma)$ plane can exclude or open parameter space, notably for models motivated by the EDGES 21 cm anomaly (favoring $n=-4$ ) (Mahdawi et al., 2018).

5. Modeling and Computational Approaches

Velocity-dependent cross sections necessitate a more sophisticated treatment in astrophysical modeling, transport simulations, and structure formation studies:

J-factor generalization: The astrophysical $J$ -factor for annihilation must be replaced by an effective integral

$J_S(\theta) = \int d\ell \int d^3v_1 \int d^3v_2\, f(r(\ell,\theta),v_1)f(r(\ell,\theta),v_2)\, S(|v_1-v_2|)\,,$

where $S(v)$ encodes the velocity dependence, and $f(r,v)$ is the phase-space distribution (often reconstructed via Eddington inversion) (Boucher et al., 2021).

Gravothermal evolution mapping: Fluids or N-body SIDM simulations with various $\sigma(v)$ can be mapped onto the constant- $\sigma$ case using appropriately defined time-stretching, relying on the universality of the core evolution when normalized to a representative scattering timescale (e.g., at the epoch of minimum central density) (Outmezguine et al., 2022, Yang et al., 2022).
Monte Carlo transport for electrons and ions: Electron scattering on atoms in solids (e.g., in ion track simulations) requires cross sections as functions of $v$ , including dynamically screened potentials and collective responses described via the dynamic structure factor (DSF), which interpolate smoothly between low-energy (phonon-dominated) and high-energy (Rutherford or independent-atom dominated) regimes (Medvedev et al., 11 May 2024).

6. Observational Phenomenology and Future Directions

The finesse in velocity dependence opens or closes windows on new physics:

Cosmic-ray excesses: Velocity dependences, particularly resonant or Sommerfeld types, can provide large annihilation rates in the Milky Way (high $v$ ) while evading constraints in dSphs (low $v$ ), alleviating the tension between the required local boost to explain anomalies (e.g., AMS-02 positron) and strong gamma-ray constraints from dSphs (Zhao et al., 2016, Zhao et al., 2017).
CMB and BBN legacy surveys: Improved modeling of energy injection and spectral distortions—together with future CMB polarization measurements and high-precision light-element abundance measurements—will further tighten permissible parameter space for velocity-dependent scenarios (Hisano et al., 2011).
SIDM characterizations: Rotational curves in low surface brightness galaxies, gravitational lensing profiles in clusters, and time-resolved offsets in merging clusters (e.g., BCG-DM peaks) provide critical data for reconstructing the velocity dependence of $\sigma/m_\chi$ , favoring suppressed interaction strength in high-velocity systems (Sagunski et al., 2020, Fischer et al., 2023, Sabarish et al., 2023).
Laboratory/accelerator experiments: Direct detection efforts with ultra-low thresholds and atmospheric/ground-level experiments continue to probe strongly velocity-dependent interactions, especially for subdominant DM components (with mass fraction $f_\chi \ll 1$ ), broadening the range of accessible models (Mahdawi et al., 2018, Li et al., 2022).

7. Key Mathematical Forms and Model Summary

The following table summarizes canonical velocity dependencies and their associated physical scenarios:

Mechanism	Cross Section Form	Physical Motive	Reference
Contact/S-wave	$\sigma = \sigma_0$	Pointlike, velocity-independent	(Mahdawi et al., 2018, Boucher et al., 2021)
P-wave	$\sigma \propto v^2$	Odd parity, angular momentum L=1	(Zhao et al., 2016, Boucher et al., 2021)
Sommerfeld Enhancement	$\sigma \propto 1/v$ or $1/v^2$	Long-range force, resonance	(Hisano et al., 2011, Boucher et al., 2021)
Breit–Wigner Resonance	$\propto 1/(v^4)$ (off-peak), $1/v^2$ (near sat.)	Resonant s-channel mediator	(Zhao et al., 2016)
Milli-charged DM	$\sigma \propto v^{-4}$	Coulomb-like, light mediator	(Mahdawi et al., 2018, Li et al., 2022)
Dipole DM	$\sigma \propto v^2$	Electric/magnetic dipole moment	(Mahdawi et al., 2018)
Electron-phonon (condensed matter)	Velocity-dependent screening, dynamic structure factor	Collective effects in solids	(Medvedev et al., 11 May 2024)

This diversity is critical to matching particle physics models with multi-scale astrophysical and laboratory data.

In summary, the velocity dependence of the cross section is an essential ingredient in modern theoretical and empirical analyses of scattering, annihilation, and structure formation in particle, nuclear, and astroparticle physics. Its specific functional form encodes information about underlying microphysics, mediates the interplay between astrophysical environments and laboratory searches, and serves as a focus for interpreting—and constraining—new physics across a dynamic landscape of cosmic and terrestrial phenomena.