Astrophysical neutrinos as probes of Dark Matter around AGN

A major challenge in astrophysics and particle physics is to understand the nature of dark matter (DM), which constitutes a significant portion of the universe's mass-energy content. High-energy neutrinos can serve as effective probes for potential neutrino-DM scattering. Specifically, DM spikes around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are theorized to attenuate the neutrino flux from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Recent IceCube observations of four neutrino emitters, namely TXS 0506+056, NGC 1068, PKS 1424+240, and NGC 4151, present new opportunities to detect signs of neutrino-DM interactions that go beyond conventional explanations. This study uses publicly available IceCube data to impose strict constraints on the neutrino-DM scattering cross-section, enhancing our understanding of DM by analyzing data from individual sources and by integrating them in a combined analysis.