Constraining Sub-GeV Dark Matter through Proton-Dark Matter Scatterings in Starburst Nuclei

In this contribution, We investigate the possibility of constraining the properties of light Dark Matter (DM) particles exploiting the peculiar nature of Cosmic-Rays (CRs) transport inside Starburst Nuclei (SBNi). Indeed, since CRs are confined at length inside SBNi, the CR transport may be significantly affected by scattering with sub-GeV dark matter. Gamma-ray produced via hadronic collisions can indirectly probe the distortion of the cosmic-ray spectrum. Present gamma-ray data lead to stringent bounds on the cross section between protons and dark matter, showing no hint of distortion.These are competitive with current bounds, but have large room for improvement with the future gamma-ray measurements in the 0.1–10 TeV range from the Cherenkov Telescope Array, which can strengthen the limits by as much as two orders of magnitude