We use new kinematic data from the ultra-faint Milky Way satellite Segue 1 to model its dark matter distribution and derive upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section. Using gamma-ray flux upper limits from the Fermi satellite and MAGIC, we determine cross-section exclusion regions for dark matter annihilation into a variety of different particles including charged leptons. We show that these exclusion regions are beginning to probe the regions of interest for a dark matter interpretation of the electron and positron fluxes from PAMELA, Fermi, and HESS, and that future observations of Segue 1 have strong prospects for testing such an interpretation. We additionally discuss prospects for detecting annihilation with neutrinos using the IceCube detector, finding that in an optimistic scenario a few neutrino events may be detected. Finally we use the kinematic data to model the Segue 1 dark matter velocity dispersion and constrain Sommerfeld enhanced models.
Segue 2, discovered by Belokurov et al. (2009), is a galaxy with a luminosity of only 900 L_sun. We present Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of 25 members of Segue 2--a threefold increase in spectroscopic sample size. The velocity dispersion is too small to be measured with our data. The upper limit with 90% (95%) confidence is sigma_v < 2.2 (2.6) km/s, the most stringent limit for any galaxy. The corresponding limit on the mass within the 3-D half-light radius (46 pc) is M_1/2 < 1.5 (2.1) x 10^5 M_sun. Segue 2 is the least massive galaxy known. We identify Segue 2 as a galaxy rather than a star clust…
The dwarf galaxy Segue 1 is one of the most promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter. Here we examine what constraints 9 months of Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations of Segue 1 place upon the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM), with the lightest neutralino as the dark matter particle. We use nested sampling to explore the CMSSM parameter space, simultaneously fitting other relevant constraints from accelerator bounds, the relic density, electroweak precision observables, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and B-physics. We include spectral and spa…
We present the first search for signatures of brane-world extra-dimensional dark matter (DM) in the very-high-energy gamma-ray band by scrutinizing observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1 with the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope system. Branons are new degrees of freedom that appear within flexible brane-world models: they are weakly interacting massive particles and natural DM candidates. The ground-based gamma-ray telescopes MAGIC could indirectly detect branon DM in the multi-TeV mass range by observing secondary products of DM annihilation into Stand…
We use observations of ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies to constrain the particle mass of ultra-light dark matter. Potential fluctuations created by wave interference in virialized "fuzzy" dark matter (FDM) halos dynamically heat stellar orbits in UFDs, some of which exhibit velocity dispersions of $\lesssim$ 3 km/s and sizes $\lesssim$ 40 pc. Using simulations of FDM halos, and existing measurements of sizes and stellar radial velocities in Segue 1 and Segue 2 UFDs, we derive a lower limit on the dark matter particle mass of $m_{fdm} > 3\times 10^{-19}$ eV at 99% confidence, marginalized over…
We use a non-detection in $ν= 1.4\,$GHz Green Bank Telescope observations of the ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue I, which could be immersed in a non-negligible halo magnetic field of the Milky Way, to place bounds on particle dark matter properties. We model the galaxy using an Einasto dark matter profile, and compute the expected synchrotron flux from dark matter annihilation as a function of the magnetic field strength $B$, diffusion coefficient $D_0$, and particle mass $m_χ$ for different annihilation channels. The data strongly disfavor annihilations to $e^+e^-$ for $m_χ\lesssim …
We present the results of a comprehensive Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of the ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxy Segue 1. We have obtained velocity measurements for 98.2% of the stars within 67 pc (10 arcmin, or 2.3 half-light radii) of the center of Segue 1 that have colors and magnitudes consistent with membership, down to a magnitude limit of r=21.7. Based on photometric, kinematic, and metallicity information, we identify 71 stars as probable Segue 1 members, including some as far out as 87 pc. After correcting for the influence of binary stars using repeated velocity measurements,…
The Milky Way ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) contain some of the oldest, most metal-poor stars in the Universe. We present [Mg/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], [Ti/Fe], and mean [alpha/Fe], abundance ratios for 61 individual red giant branch stars across 8 UFDs. This is the largest sample of alpha abundances published to date in galaxies with absolute magnitudes M_V > -8, including the first measurements for Segue 1, Canes Venatici II, Ursa Major I, and Leo T. Abundances were determined via medium-resolution Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy and spectral synthesis. The sample spans the metallicity range -3.4 …
Fuzzy dark matter (FDM) is an attractive dark matter candidate motivated by small scale problems in astrophysics and with a rich phenomenology on those scales. We scrutinize the FDM model, more specifically the mass of the FDM particle, through a dynamical analysis for the Galactic ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies. We use a sample of 18 UFDs to place the strongest constraints to date on the mass of the FDM particle, updating on previous bounds using a subset of the sample used here. We find that most of the sample UFDs prefer a FDM particle mass heavier than $10^{-21}\mathrm{eV}$. In particula…
We have used the publicly released Dark Energy Survey data to hunt for new satellites of the Milky Way in the Southern hemisphere. Our search yielded a large number of promising candidates. In this paper, we announce the discovery of 9 new unambiguous ultra-faint objects, whose authenticity can be established with the DES data alone. Based on the morphological properties, three of the new satellites are dwarf galaxies, one of which is located at the very outskirts of the Milky Way, at a distance of 380 kpc. The remaining 6 objects have sizes and luminosities comparable to the Segue~1 satellite…
We investigate dwarf irregular(dIrr) galaxies as a new category of targets for indirect Dark Matter(DM) searches with gamma-rays. In the framework of point-like analysis, dwarf spheroidal(dSph) galaxies are usually considered as one of the best category of targets for indirect DM searches. Nonetheless, as a result of their uncertain kinematics, the DM content and astrophysical J-factors of dSphs are usually affected by significant errors. In this paper, we study a sample of 36 dIrrs as prospective targets of interest. In the framework of the universal rotation curve, the kinematics of dIrr gal…
Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) at low acceleration has been astonishingly powerful at explaining the flat rotation curve of galaxies and the relation between the baryonic content of the galaxies and their observed circular velocity, known as the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relationship (BTFR). It is known that MOND fails at explaining the observed velocity dispersion of the ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) with the justification that UFDs are more prone to tidal disruption in MOND compared to cold dark matter model. We show that: (i) the ratio of tidal to internal acceleration in UFDs is extrem…
We present results from N-body simulations of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) subhalos, which could host ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxies, inside a Milky-Way-like main halo. We find that high-concentration subhalos are driven to gravothermal core collapse, while low-concentration subhalos develop large (kpc-sized) low-density cores, with both effects depending sensitively on the satellite's orbit and the self-interaction cross section over mass $σ/m$. The overall effect for $σ/m \gtrsim 3 \ \rm cm^2/g$ is to increase the range of inner densities, potentially explaining the observed di…
Line-of-sight integrals of the squared density, commonly called the J-factor, are essential for inferring dark matter annihilation signals. The J-factors of dark matter-dominated dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies (dSphs) have typically been derived using Bayesian techniques, which for small data samples implies that a choice of priors constitutes a non-negligible systematic uncertainty. Here we report the development of a new fully frequentist approach to construct the profile likelihood of the J-factor. Using stellar kinematic data from several classical and ultra-faint dSphs, we derive the…
These lecture notes on the particle physics and astrophysics of dark matter (DM) were delivered at TASI 2022 ``Ten Years After the Higgs Discovery: Particle Physics Now and Future." The focus of these lecture notes, aimed at the level of advanced graduate students and beginning postdocs, is on indirect (i.e., astrophysical and cosmological) probes of particle DM models. While DM models and indirect detection are broadly discussed, the examples of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and axions are worked out in detail. The topics covered include: the role of DM in the cosmology and ast…
Even if Dark Matter (DM) is neutral under electromagnetism, it can still interact with the Standard Model (SM) via photon exchange from higher-dimensional operators. Here we classify the general effective operators coupling DM to photons, distinguishing between Dirac/Majorana fermion and complex/real scalar DM. We provide model-independent constraints on these operators from direct and indirect detection. We also constrain various DM-lepton operators, which induce DM-photon interactions via RG running or which typically arise in sensible UV-completions. This provides a simple way to quickly as…
Over the past five years, searches in Sloan Digital Sky Survey data have more than doubled the number of known dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, and have revealed a population of ultra-faint galaxies with luminosities smaller than typical globular clusters, L ~ 1000 Lsun. These systems are the faintest, most dark matter dominated, and most metal poor galaxies in the universe. Completeness corrections suggest that we are poised on the edge of a vast discovery space in galaxy phenomenology, with hundreds more of these extreme galaxies to be discovered as future instruments hunt for the …
We present Magellan/M2FS, VLT/GIRAFFE, and Gemini South/GMOS spectroscopy of the newly discovered Milky Way satellite Reticulum II. Based on the spectra of 25 Ret II member stars selected from Dark Energy Survey imaging, we measure a mean heliocentric velocity of 62.8 +/- 0.5 km/s and a velocity dispersion of 3.3 +/- 0.7 km/s. The mass-to-light ratio of Ret II within its half-light radius is 470 +/- 210 Msun/Lsun, demonstrating that it is a strongly dark matter-dominated system. Despite its spatial proximity to the Magellanic Clouds, the radial velocity of Ret II differs from that of the LMC a…
We predict that there is a population of low-luminosity dwarf galaxies orbiting within the halo of the Milky Way that have surface brightnesses low enough to have escaped detection in star-count surveys. The overall count of stealth galaxies is sensitive to the presence (or lack) of a low-mass threshold in galaxy formation. These systems have luminosities and stellar velocity dispersions that are similar to those of known ultrafaint dwarf galaxies but they have more extended stellar distributions (half light radii greater than about 100 pc) because they inhabit dark subhalos that are slightly …
We present constraints on the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in two ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies, Hercules and Leo IV, based on deep HST/ACS imaging. The Hercules and Leo IV galaxies are extremely low luminosity (M_V = -6.2, -5.5), metal-poor (<[Fe/H]>= -2.4, -2.5) systems that have old stellar populations (> 11 Gyr). Because they have long relaxation times, we can directly measure the low-mass stellar IMF by counting stars below the main-sequence turnoff without correcting for dynamical evolution. Over the stellar mass range probed by our data, 0.52 - 0.77 Msun, the IMF is best fit b…
Semi-analytic Inference of Satellite Densities in the Cold Dark Matter Model Part II. Implications for Dark Matter Indirect Detection Constraints
Leinweber Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校莱因韦伯理论物理研究所）；Theoretical Physics Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室理论物理组）；Department of Physics, Princeton University（普林斯顿大学物理系）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California - Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校物理与天文学系）；Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute（平顿研究所计算天体物理学中心）
We demonstrate how the total luminosity in satellite galaxies is a powerful probe of dark matter halos around central galaxies. The method cross-correlates central galaxies in spectroscopic galaxy samples with fainter galaxies detected in photometric surveys. After background subtraction, the excess galaxies around the central galaxies represent faint satellite galaxies within the dark matter halo. Using abundance matching models, we show that the the total galaxy luminosity, L_sat, scales linearly with host halo mass, making L_sat an excellent proxy for M_h. L_sat is also sensitive to the for…
We present a detailed analysis of the radio synchrotron emission induced by WIMP dark matter annihilations and decays in extragalactic halos. We compute intensity, angular correlation, and source counts and discuss the impact on the expected signals of dark matter clustering, as well as of other astrophysical uncertainties as magnetic fields and spatial diffusion. Bounds on dark matter microscopic properties are then derived, and, depending on the specific set of assumptions, they are competitive with constraints from other indirect dark matter searches. At GHz frequencies, dark matter sources…
Heavy neutrinos have a long history of consideration in the literature, in particular related to their role as solutions to the problems of neutrino mass, baryon asymmetry, and possibly dark matter. Interestingly, recent developments in the Madala hypothesis, a standard model extension designed to explain persistent LHC lepton anomalies, may also necessitate a heavy neutrino. This prospect is exciting as a dark matter model consisting of a TeV-scale leptophilic fermionic particle is also invoked to explain the electron-positron excess observed by the DAMPE experiment. The tantalising similarit…
Recent high-resolution simulations that include Cold Dark Matter (CDM) and baryons have shown that baryonic physics can dramatically alter the dark matter structure of galaxies. These results modify our predictions for observed galaxy evolution and structure. Given these updated expectations, it is timely to re-examine observational constraints on the dark matter model. A few observations are reviewed that may indirectly trace dark matter, and may help confirm or deny possible dark matter models. Warm Dark Matter (WDM) and Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM) are currently the favorite alternat…
Weakly interacting massive dark matter (DM) particles are expected to self-annihilate or decay, generating high-energy photons in these processes. This establishes the possibility for indirect detection of DM by γ-ray telescopes. For probing the secondary products of DM, accurate knowledge about the DM density distribution in potential astrophysical targets is crucial. In this contribution, the prospects for the detection of subhalos in the Galactic DM halo with present and future imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACT) are investigated. The source count distribution and angular power …
The local environment is ideal for searching out compact dark structures via the microlensing and multi-frequency emissions as these objects are expected to be faint and microlensing experiments have already hinted at their possibility. In the case that these objects are composed of Dark Matter (DM) then there are both few limits on their abundance but many consequences of their existence or non-existence on both local and cosmic scales. In this work we examine the possibility of Ultra-Compact Mini-Halos (UCMHs) formed in the early universe. These objects can persist to the present epoch due t…
