A solution to the S8 tension through neutrino–dark matter interactions

Neutrinos and dark matter (DM) are two of the least understood components of the Universe, yet both play crucial roles in cosmic evolution. Clues about their fundamental properties may emerge from discrepancies in cosmological measurements across different epochs of cosmic history. Possible interactions between them could leave distinctive imprints on cosmological observables, offering a rare window into dark sector physics beyond the standard ΛCDM framework. Here we present compelling evidence that DM–neutrino interactions can resolve the persistent structure growth parameter discrepancy, S8 = σ8 √Ωm/0.3, between early and late Universe observations. By incorporating cosmic shear measurements from current weak lensing surveys, we demonstrate that an interaction strength of u ≈ 10−4 not only provides a coherent explanation for the high-multipole observations from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, but also alleviates the S8 discrepancy. Combining early Universe constraints with DES Y3 cosmic shear data yields a nearly 3σ preference for non-zero DM–neutrino interactions. This strengthens previous observational claims and provides a clear path towards a breakthrough in cosmological research. Our findings challenge the standard ΛCDM paradigm and highlight the potential of future large-scale structure surveys, which can rigorously test this interaction and unveil the fundamental properties of DM.