Singlet scalar dark matter: Monochromatic gamma rays and metastable vacua

We calculate the pair-annihilation cross section of real scalar singlet dark matter into two monoenergetic photons. We derive constraints on the theory parameter space from the Fermi limits on gamma-ray lines, and we compare with current limits from direct dark matter detection. We show that the new limits, albeit typically relevant only when the dark matter mass is close to half the standard model Higgs mass, rule out regions of the theory parameter space that are otherwise not constrained by other observations or experiments. In particular, the new excluded regions partly overlap with the parameter space where real scalar singlet dark matter might explain the anomalous signals observed by CDMS. We also calculate the lifetime of unstable vacuum configurations in the scalar potential, and show that the gamma-ray limits are quite relevant in regions where the electroweak vacuum is metastable with a lifetime longer than the age of the Universe. © 2010 The American Physical Society.