We study the variation of the spectrum of the Fermi Bubbles with Galactic latitude. Far from the Galactic plane (|b| > 30 degrees), the observed gamma-ray emission is nearly invariant with latitude, and is consistent with arising from inverse Compton scattering of the interstellar radiation field by cosmic-ray electrons with an approximately power-law spectrum. The same electrons in the presence of microgauss-scale magnetic fields can also generate the the observed microwave "haze". At lower latitudes (b < 20 degrees), in contrast, the spectrum of the emission correlated with the Bubbles possesses a pronounced spectral feature peaking at 1-4 GeV (in E^2 dN/dE) which cannot be generated by any realistic spectrum of electrons. Instead, we conclude that a second (non-inverse-Compton) emission mechanism must be responsible for the bulk of the low-energy, low-latitude emission. This second component is spectrally similar to the excess GeV emission previously reported from the Galactic Center (GC), and also appears spatially consistent with a luminosity per volume falling approximately as r^-2.4, where r is the distance from the GC. We argue that the spectral feature visible in the low-latitude Bubbles is the extended counterpart of the GC excess, now detected out to at least 2-3 kpc from the GC. The spectrum and angular distribution of the signal is consistent with that predicted from ~10 GeV dark matter particles annihilating to leptons, or from ~50 GeV dark matter particles annihilating to quarks, following a distribution similar to the canonical Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile. We also consider millisecond pulsars as a possible astrophysical explanation for the signal, as observed millisecond pulsars possess a spectral cutoff at approximately the required energy. Any such scenario would require a large population of unresolved millisecond pulsars extending at least 2-3 kpc from the GC.
We consider the diffuse gamma ray data from FERMI first year observations and compare them to the gamma ray fluxes predicted by Dark Matter annihilation or decay (both from prompt emission and from Inverse Compton Scattering), for different observation regions of the sky and a range of Dark Matter masses, annihilation/decay channels and Dark Matter galactic profiles. We find that the data exclude large regions of the Dark Matter parameter space not constrained otherwise and discuss possible directions for future improvements. Also, we further constrain Dark Matter interpretations of the e+e- P…
We analyze the recently published Fermi-LAT diffuse gamma-ray measurements in the context of leptonically annihilating or decaying dark matter (DM) with the aim to explain simultaneously the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray and the PAMELA, Fermi and HESS (PFH) anomalous $e^\pm$ data. Five different DM annihilation/decay channels $2e$, $2μ$, $2τ$, $4e$, or $4μ$ (the latter two via an intermediate light particle $ϕ$) are generated with PYTHIA. We calculate both the Galactic and extragalactic prompt and inverse Compton (IC) contributions to the resulting gamma-ray spectra. To find the Galactic IC spec…
Excess Fermi GeV emission around the Galactic Centre has been interpreted as a possible signature of annihilating dark matter. Here we analyse three aspects of this claim: its spectral cutoff, the correlation between the spectral shape of the purported signal and known noise components, and its brightness profile. Experimentally, the correlations that exist between the GeV excess and known sources of noise make it difficult to conclude that a dark matter signal claim can be made without independent direct detection confirmation. As a possible way forward, we introduce three criteria that could…
Recently, a preliminary spectrum from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been presented for the inner galaxy (-30 < l < 30, -5 < b < 5), as well as the galactic center (-1 < l < 1, -1< b < 1). We consider the implications of these data for dark matter annihilation models, especially models capable of producing the cosmic-ray excesses previously observed by PAMELA and Fermi. These local cosmic-ray excesses, when extrapolated to the inner galaxy, imply inverse Compton scattering (ICS) gamma-ray signals largely consistent with the preliminary Fermi gamma-ray spectrum. For specific halos and …
We study the annihilating dark matter contribution to the extra-galactic diffuse gamma-ray background spectrum, motivated by the recent observations of cosmic-ray positron/electron anomalies. The observed diffuse gamma-ray flux provides stringent constraint on dark matter models and we present upper bounds on the annihilation cross section of the dark matter. It is found that for the case of cored dark matter halo profile, the diffuse gamma-rays give more stringent bound compared with gamma-rays from the Galactic center. The Fermi satellite will make the bound stronger.
Recently reported tentative evidence for a gamma-ray line in the Fermi-LAT data is of great potential interest for identifying the nature of dark matter. We compare the implications for decaying and annihilating dark matter taking the constraints from continuum gamma-rays, antiproton flux and morphology of the excess into account. We find that higgsino and wino dark matter are excluded, also for nonthermal production. Generically, the continuum gamma-ray flux severely constrains annihilating dark matter. Consistency of decaying dark matter with the spatial distribution of the Fermi-LAT excess …
Galaxy clusters are the largest virialised objects in the Universe, and as such, have a high dark matter (DM) concentration. This abundance of dark matter makes them promising targets for indirect DM searches. Here we report the details of a search, utilising almost 12~years of Fermi/LAT data, for gamma ray signatures from the pair annihilation of WIMP dark matter in the GeV energy band. From this, we present the constraints on the annihilation cross section for the bb-bar, W+W- and gamma-gamma channels, derived from the non-detection of a characteristic signal from five nearby high galactic l…
Recent studies of radio data put strong constraints on annihilation cross section for dark matter. In this article, we provide the first analysis of using M33 radio data in constraining annihilating dark matter. The resulting constraints of annihilation cross sections for some channels are more stringent than that obtained from 6 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) gamma-ray observations of the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies. In particular, the conservative lower limits of dark matter mass annihilating via $e^+e^-$, $μ^+μ^-$and $τ^+τ^-$ channels are 190 GeV, 120 GeV …
We study the probability for nucleation of quark matter droplets in the dense cold cores of old neutron stars induced by the presence of a self-annihilating dark matter component, $χ$. Using a parameterized form of the equation of state for hadronic and quark phases of ordinary matter, we explore the thermodynamic conditions under which droplet formation is facilitated by the energy injection from $χ$ self-annihilations. We obtain the droplet nucleation time as a function of the dark matter candidate mass, $m_χ$. We discuss further observational consequences.
We consider a dark sector consisting of dark matter that is a Dirac fermion and a scalar mediator. This model has been extensively studied in the past. If the scalar couples to the dark matter in a parity conserving manner then dark matter annihilation to two mediators is dominated by the P-wave channel and hence is suppressed at very low momentum. The indirect detection constraint from the anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background is usually thought to be absent in the model because of this suppression. In this letter we show that dark matter annihilation to bound states occurs through th…
Among the most stringent constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section are those derived from observations of dwarf galaxies by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. As current (e.g., Dark Energy Survey, DES) and future (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, LSST) optical imaging surveys discover more of the Milky Way's ultra-faint satellite galaxies, they may increase Fermi's sensitivity to dark matter annihilations. In this study, we use a semi-analytic model of the Milky Way's satellite population to predict the characteristics of the dwarfs likely to be discovered by DES and LSST, an…
In addition to gamma-rays, dark matter annihilation products can include energetic electrons which inverse Compton scatter with the cosmic microwave background to produce a diffuse extragalactic background of gamma-rays and X-rays. In models in which the dark matter particles annihilate primarily to electrons or muons, the measurements of EGRET and COMPTEL can provide significant constraints on the annihilation cross section. The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope will likely provide an even more stringent test of such scenarios.
Dark matter (DM) annihilations have been widely studied as a possible explanation of excess gamma rays from the galactic center seen by Fermi/LAT. However most such models are in conflict with constraints from dwarf spheroidals. Motivated by this tension, we show that p-wave annihilating dark matter can easily accommodate both sets of observations due to the lower DM velocity dispersion in dwarf galaxies. Explaining the DM relic abundance is then challenging. We outline a scenario in which the usual thermal abundance is obtained through s-wave annihilations of a metastable particle, that event…
Based on three years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) gamma-ray data of the Virgo cluster, evidence for an extended emission associated with dark matter pair annihilation in the b b-bar channel has been reported by Han et al. [1]. After an in depth spatial and temporal analysis, we argue that the tentative evidence for a gamma-ray excess from the Virgo cluster is mainly due to the appearance of a population of previously unresolved gamma-ray point sources in the region of interest. These point sources are not part of the LAT second source catalogue (2FGL), but are found to be above the stan…
In the past decade, some telescopes (e.g. Fermi-LAT, AMS and DAMPE) were launched to detect the signals of annihilating dark matter in our Galaxy. Although some excess of gamma rays, anti-protons and electrons/positrons have been reported and claimed as dark matter signals, the uncertainties of Galactic pulsars' contributions are still too large to confirm the claims. In this letter, we report a possible radio signal of annihilating dark matter manifested in the archival radio continuum spectral data of the Abell 4038 cluster. By assuming the thermal annihilation cross section and comparing th…
In this thorough study we focus on the indirect detection of Dark Matter (DM) through the confrontation of unexplained galactic and extragalactic $γ$-ray signatures for a low mass DM model. For this, we consider a simple Higgs-portal DM model, namely, the inert Higgs doublet model (IHDM) where the Standard Model is extended with an additional complex SU(2)$_L$ doublet scalar. The stability of the DM candidate in this model, i.e., the lightest neutral scalar component of the extra doublet, is ensured by imposing discrete $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. The reduced-$χ^2$ analysis with the theoretical, …
Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are known to be excellent targets for the detection of annihilating dark matter. We present new limits on the annihilation cross section of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) based on the joint analysis of seven Milky Way dwarfs using a frequentist Neyman construction and Pass 7 data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We exclude generic WIMP candidates annihilating into b-bbar with mass less than 40 GeV that reproduce the observed relic abundance. To within 95% systematic errors on the dark matter distribution within the dwarfs, the mass lower limit c…
In the past decade, gamma-ray observations and radio observations put strong constraints on the parameters of dark matter annihilation. In this article, we suggest another robust way to constrain the parameters of dark matter annihilation. We expect that the electrons and positrons produced from dark matter annihilation would scatter with the cosmic microwave background photons and boost the photon energy to $\sim$ keV order. Based on the x-ray data from the Draco dwarf galaxy, the new constraints for some of the annihilation channels are generally tighter than the constraints obtained from 6 …
The Milky Way's dark matter halo is expected to host numerous low-mass subhalos with no detectable associated stellar component. Such subhalos are invisible unless their dark matter annihilates to visible states such as photons. One of the established methods for identifying candidate subhalos is to search for individual unassociated gamma-ray sources with properties consistent with the dark matter expectation. However, robustly ruling out an astrophysical origin for any such candidate is challenging. In this work, we present a complementary approach that harnesses information about the entire…
We reconsider Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation of dark matter (DM) into leptons to explain PAMELA and Fermi electron and positron observations, in light of possible new effects from substructure. There is strong tension between getting a large enough lepton signal while respecting constraints on the fluxes of associated gamma rays. We first show that these constraints become significantly more stringent than in previous studies when the contributions from background e^+ e^- are taken into account, so much so that even cored DM density profiles are ruled out. We then show how DM annihilations w…
In the past few years, some studies claimed that annihilating dark matter with mass $\sim 10-100$ GeV can explain the GeV gamma-ray excess in our Galaxy. However, recent analyses of the Fermi-LAT and radio observational data rule out the possibility of the thermal relic annihilating dark matter with mass $m \le 100$ GeV for some popular annihilation channels. By using the new observed radio data of the Andromeda galaxy, we rule out the existence of $\sim 100-300$ GeV thermal relic annihilating dark matter for ten annihilation channels. The lower limits of annihilating dark matter mass are impr…
The PAMELA, Fermi and HESS experiments (PFH) have shown anomalous excesses in the cosmic positron and electron fluxes. A very exciting possibility is that those excesses are due to annihilating dark matter (DM). In this paper we calculate constraints on leptonically annihilating DM using observational data on diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background and measurements of the optical depth to the last-scattering surface, and compare those with the PFH favored region in the m_{DM} - <σ_A v> plane. Having specified the detailed form of the energy input with PYTHIA Monte Carlo tools we solve the r…
The center of the Milky Way is predicted to be the brightest region of gamma-rays generated by self-annihilating dark matter particles. Excess emission about the Galactic center above predictions made for standard astrophysical processes has been observed in gamma-ray data collected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. It is well described by the square of an NFW dark matter density distribution. Although other interpretations for the excess are plausible, the possibility that it arises from annihilating dark matter is valid. In this paper, we characterize the excess emission as annihilating dar…
PAMELA's observation that the cosmic ray positron fraction increases rapidly with energy implies the presence of primary sources of energetic electron-positron pairs. Of particular interest is the possibility that dark matter annihilations in the halo of the Milky Way provide this anomalous flux of antimatter. The recent measurement of the cosmic ray electron spectrum by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope, however, can be used to constrain the nature of any such dark matter particle. In particular, it has been argued that in order to accommodate the observations of Fermi and provide the PAMEL…
The isotropic diffuse $γ$-ray background (IGRB) has been detected by various experiments and recently the Fermi-LAT Collaboration has precisely measured its spectrum in a wide energy range. The origin of the IGRB is still unclear and we show in this paper the significative improvements that have been done, thanks to the new Fermi-LAT catalogs, to solve this mystery. We demonstrate that the $γ$-ray intensity and spectrum of the IGRB is fully consistent with the unresolved emission from extragalactic point sources, namely Active Galactic Nuclei and Star Forming Galaxies. We show also that the IG…
We derive robust model-independent bounds on DM annihilations and decays from the first year of FERMI gamma-ray observations of the whole sky. These bounds only have a mild dependence on the DM density profile and allow the following DM interpretations of the PAMELA and FERMI electron/positron excesses: primary channels mu+ mu-, mu+ mu-mu+mu- or e+ e- e+ e-. An isothermal-like density profile is needed for annihilating DM. In all such cases, FERMI gamma spectra must contain a significant DM component, that may be probed in the future.
The Fermi Bubbles have been imaged in sub-TeV gamma rays at Fermi-LAT, and, if their origin is hadronic, they might have been seen with low statistics in $\sim 0.1- 1$ PeV neutrinos at IceCube. We discuss the detectability of these objects at the new High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma ray detector. HAWC will view the North Bubble for $\sim 2-3$ hours a day, and will map its spectrum at 0.1-100 TeV. For the hard primary proton spectrum required to explain five events at IceCube, a high significance detection at HAWC will be achieved in less than 30 days. The combination of results at HA…
Recent gamma-ray observations and radio observations put strong constraints on the parameters of dark matter annihilation. In this article, we derive new constraints for six standard model annihilation channels by using the recent radio data of M31 galaxy. The new constraints are generally tighter than the constraints obtained from 6 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope gamma-ray observations of the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies. The conservative lower limits of dark matter mass annihilating via $b\bar{b}$, $μ^+μ^-$ and $τ^+τ^-$ channels are 90 GeV, 90 GeV and 80 GeV respectivel…
The Fermi bubbles are one of the most remarkable features in the gamma-ray sky revealed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The nature of the gamma-ray emission and the origin of the bubbles are still open questions. In this note, we will review some basic features of leptonic and hadronic modes of gamma-ray production. At the moment, gamma rays are our best method to study the bubbles, but in order to resolve the origin of the bubbles multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations will be crucial.
Fermi-LAT reveals two huge gamma-ray bubbles existing in the Galactic Center, called 'Fermi Bubbles'. The existence of two microwave bubbles at the same region are also reported by the observation by WMAP, dubbed 'WMAP haze'. In order to explain these components, It has been argued that the gamma-rays arise from Inverse-Compton scattering of relativistic electrons accelerated by plasma turbulence, and the microwaves are radiated by synchrotron radiation. But no previous research reproduces both the Fermi Bubbles and WMAP haze under typical magnetic fields in the galaxy. We assume that shocks p…
The origin of sub-TeV gamma rays detected by Fermi-LAT from the Fermi bubbles at the Galactic center is still unknown. In a hadronic model, acceleration of protons and/or nuclei and their subsequent interactions with gas in the bubble volume can produce observed gamma rays. Such interactions naturally produce high-energy neutrinos, and detection of those can discriminate between a hadronic and a leptonic origin of gamma rays. Additional constraints on the Fermi bubbles gamma-ray flux in the TeV range from recent HAWC observations restrict hadronic model parameters, which in turn disfavor Fermi…
In order to model the Fermi bubbles we apply the theory of the superbubble (SB). A thermal model and a self-gravitating model are reviewed. We introduce a third model based on the momentum conservation of a thin layer which propagates in a medium with an inverse square dependence for the density. A comparison have been made between the sections of the three models and the section of an observed map of the Fermi bubbles. An analytical law for the SB expansion as function of the time and polar angle is deduced. We derive a new analytical result for the image formation of the Fermi bubbles in an …
Recently the Fermi-LAT data have revealed two gamma-ray emitting bubble-shaped structures at the Galactic center. If the observed gamma rays have hadronic origin (collisions of accelerated protons), the bubbles must emit high energy neutrinos as well. This new, Galactic, neutrino flux should trace the gamma ray emission in spectrum and spatial extent. Its highest energy part, above 20-50 TeV, is observable at a kilometer scale detector in the northern hemisphere, such as the planned KM3NeT, while interesting constraints on it could be obtained by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South p…
Past studies have identified a spatially extended excess of $\sim$1-3 GeV gamma rays from the region surrounding the Galactic Center, consistent with the emission expected from annihilating dark matter. We revisit and scrutinize this signal with the intention of further constraining its characteristics and origin. By applying cuts to the \textit{Fermi} event parameter CTBCORE, we suppress the tails of the point spread function and generate high resolution gamma-ray maps, enabling us to more easily separate the various gamma-ray components. Within these maps, we find the GeV excess to be robust…
We analyze the first two years of data from the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope from the direction of the inner 10 degrees around the Galactic Center with the intention of constraining, or finding evidence of, annihilating dark matter. We find that the morphology and spectrum of the emission between 1.25 degrees and 10 degrees from the Galactic Center is well described by a the processes of decaying pions produced in cosmic ray collisions with gas, and the inverse Compton scattering of cosmic ray electrons in both the disk and bulge of the Inner Galaxy, along with gamma rays from known points …
We analyze 60 months of all sky data from the Fermi-LAT. The Fermi Bubble structures discovered previously are clearly revealed by our analysis. With more data and, consequently, better statistics we can now divide each bubble into constant longitude slices to investigate their gross $γ$-ray spectral morphology. While the detailed spectral behaviour of each slice derived within our analysis is somewhat dependent on the assumed background model, we find, robustly, a relative deficit of the flux at low energies (i.e., hardening) towards the top of the South Bubble. In neither Bubble does the spe…
A recent analysis of the Fermi Large Area Telescope data provided evidence for a high-intensity emission of high-energy gamma rays with a E^-2 spectrum from two large areas, spanning 50° above and below the Galactic centre (the "Fermi bubbles"). A hadronic mechanism was proposed for this gamma-ray emission making the Fermi bubbles promising source candidates of high-energy neutrino emission. In this work Monte Carlo simulations regarding the detectability of high-energy neutrinos from the Fermi bubbles with the future multi-km^3 neutrino telescope KM3NeT in the Mediterranean Sea are presented.…
Galactic center (GC) is expected to be the brightest source of possible dark matter (DM) annihilation signal. Excess gamma-ray emission has been detected by several groups. Both DM and more conventional astrophysical explanations of the excess have been proposed. In this report, we discuss possible effects of modeling the Fermi bubbles at low latitudes on the GC excess. We consider a template of the Fermi bubbles at low latitudes derived by assuming that the spectrum between 1 GeV and 10 GeV at low latitudes is the same as at high latitudes. We argue that the presence of the Fermi bubbles near…
The Fermi Bubbles, which comprise two large and homogeneous regions of spectrally hard gamma-ray emission extending up to $55^{o}$ above and below the Galactic Center, were first noticed in GeV gamma-ray data from the Fermi Telescope in 2010. The mechanism or mechanisms which produce the observed hard spectrum are not understood. Although both hadronic and lep- tonic models can describe the spectrum of the bubbles, the leptonic model can also explain similar structures observed in microwave data from the WMAP and Planck satellites. Recent publications show that the spectrum of the Fermi Bubble…
Predicted by hierarchical structure formation, Milky Way-type galaxies are anticipated to host numerous dark matter subhalos with masses between 10^{10} and a cut-off of 10^{-6} solar masses, or even less. In self-annihilating dark matter scenarios, these objects could be visible in the gamma-ray band as faint and non-variable sources without astrophysical counterpart. In accordance with realistic subhalo models and current observational constraints on self-annihilating dark matter, we predict that about one massive Galactic subhalo may have already been detected in the 11-months catalog of Fe…
Recently, tentative evidence for an excess of gamma rays at energies around 130 GeV has been reported from analyses of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The excess is potentially of great interest, as it could be associated with the pair-annihilation of Galactic dark matter and the subsequent production of monochromatic or internal bremsstrahlung gamma rays. The 130 GeV excess appears when an optimized selection of the target region of interest is employed, a procedure that depends upon the assumed dark matter density profile. For the profiles producing an appreciable signal, the…
Gamma-ray data from Fermi-LAT reveal a bi-lobular structure extending up to 50 degrees above and below the galactic centre, which presumably originated in some form of energy release there less than a few million years ago. It has been argued that the gamma-rays arise from hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic rays which are advected out by a strong wind, or from inverse-Compton scattering of relativistic electrons accelerated at plasma shocks present in the bubbles. We explore the alternative possibility that the relativistic electrons are undergoing stochastic 2nd-order Fermi accelerat…
The nature of the $γ$-ray emission from the \emph{Fermi} bubbles is unknown. Both hadronic and leptonic models have been formulated to explain the peculiar $γ$-ray signal observed by the Fermi-LAT between 0.1-500~GeV. If this emission continues above $\sim$30~TeV, hadronic models of the \emph{Fermi} bubbles would provide a significant contribution to the high-energy neutrino flux detected by the IceCube observatory. Even in models where leptonic $γ$-rays produce the \emph{Fermi} bubbles flux at GeV energies, a hadronic component may be observable at very high energies. The combination of IceCu…
Gamma-ray data from Fermi-LAT show a bi-lobular structure extending up to 50 degrees above and below the Galactic centre, coincident with a possibly related structure in the ROSAT X-ray map which presumably originated in some energy release close to the centre a few million years ago. It has been argued that the gamma-rays arise due to inverse Compton scattering of relativistic electrons accelerated at plasma shocks present in the bubbles. We explore the alternative possibility that the relativistic electrons undergo stochastic 2nd-order Fermi acceleration in the entire volume of the bubbles b…
The origin of the Fermi bubbles recently detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in the inner Galaxy is mysterious. In the companion paper Guo & Mathews (Paper I), we use hydrodynamic simulations to show that they could be produced by a recent powerful AGN jet event. Here we further explore this scenario to study the potential roles of shear viscosity and cosmic ray (CR) diffusion on the morphology and CR distribution of the bubbles. We show that even a relatively low level of viscosity (μ_{visc} >~ 3 g cm^{-1} s^{-1}, or ~0.1% - 1% of Braginskii viscosity in this context) could effect…
The Fermi bubbles, two giant structures above and below the Galactic center (GC), are among the most important discoveries of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Studying their physical origin has been providing valuable insights into cosmic-ray transport, the Galactic magnetic field, and past activity at the GC in the Milky Way galaxy. Despite their importance, the formation mechanism of the bubbles is still elusive. Over the past few years there have been numerous efforts, both observational and theoretical, to uncover the nature of the bubbles. In this article, we present an overview of th…
We study the spatial correlation of astrophysical neutrinos detected by IceCube with the geometry of the two large globular structures located in the center of our Galaxy, known as Fermi Bubbles (FB). Using the Fermi-LAT data collected during 8 years and the upper limits derived by the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatory, we use a hybrid (lepto-hadronic) model to investigate a possible correlation with the high-energy neutrinos in the direction of the Fermi Bubbles. We find that these events are possibly not associated with the Northern Bubble but do not dismiss a possib…
The nature and origin of the Fermi bubbles detected in the inner Galaxy remain elusive. In this paper, we briefly discuss some recent theoretical and observational developments, with a focus on the AGN jet model. Analogous to radio lobes observed in massive galaxies, the Fermi bubbles could be naturally produced by a pair of opposing jets emanating nearly along the Galaxy's rotation axis from the Galactic center. Our two-fluid hydrodynamic simulations reproduce quite well the bubble location and shape, and interface instabilities at the bubble surface could be effectively suppressed by shear v…
With the Fermi-LAT data quite a few research groups have reported a spatially extended GeV $γ$-ray excess surrounding the Galactic Center (GC). The physical origin of such a GeV excess is still unclear and one interesting possibility is the inverse Compton scattering of the electrons/positrons from annihilation of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) particles with the interstellar optical photons. In this work we calculate the morphology of such a kind of $γ$-ray emission. For the annihilation channel of $\barχχ\rightarrow ϕϕ\rightarrow e^{+}e^{-}e^{+}e^{-}$, the inverse Compton scattering (IC…
The origin of the Fermi bubbles, which constitute two gamma-ray emitting lobes above and below the Galactic plane, remains unclear. The possibility that this Fermi bubbles gamma-ray emission originates from hadronic cosmic rays advected by a subsonic Galactic outflow, or breeze, is here explored. The simulation of a breeze solution and subsequent cosmic ray transport is carried out using the hydrodynamical code, PLUTO, in combination with a cosmic ray transport code. The Galactic outflow model obtained is found to be compatible with both inferences of the decelerating outflow velocity profile …
The Fermi bubbles are structures observed in gamma rays at GeV energies, emanating from the central region of our galaxy and extending up to 8.5 kpc above and below the galactic plane. While initial studies showed a flat brightness across the entire structure, more recent work found a brightening at the base. We perform a template-based search for TeV signals from the northern Fermi bubble and just from the base of it in data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatory. We employ a profile likelihood approach to calculate the significance and flux from the search region…
The role of magnetic fields in shaping $γ$-ray emission from the Fermi bubbles
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY（德国电子同步加速器）；Astronomy & Astrophysics Section, School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies（都柏林高等研究院宇宙物理学院天文学与天体物理学系）
We investigate non-thermal emission from the Fermi bubbles on a hadronic model. Cosmic-ray (CR) protons are accelerated at the forward shock of the bubbles. They interact with the background gas in the Galactic halo and create $π^0$-decay gamma-rays and secondary electrons through proton-proton interaction. We follow the evolution of the CR protons and electrons by calculating their distribution functions. We find that the spectrum and the intensity profile of $π^0$-decay gamma-rays are consistent with observations. We predict that the shock front is located far ahead of the gamma-ray boundary…
It has been recently pointed out that the excess of the gamma ray spectrum in the Fermi Bubbles at low latitude can be well explained by the annihilation of dark matter particles. The best-fit candidate corresponds to the annihilation of a dark matter with mass of around $62$ GeV into $b \bar{b}$ with the cross section, $σv \simeq 3.3 \times 10^{-26}$ cm$^3$/s, or the annihilation of a dark matter with mass of around $10$ GeV into a tau lepton pair with the cross section, $σv \simeq 5.6 \times 10^{-27}$ cm$^3$/s. We point out that the Higgs portal dark matter models are perfectly compatible wi…
Recently, the {\it{Fermi}} space telescope has discovered two large $γ$-ray emission regions, the so-called "Fermi bubbles", that extend up to $\sim 50^\circ$ above and below the Galactic center. The $γ$-ray emission from the bubbles are found to follow a hard spectrum with no significant spatial variation in intensity and spectral shape. The origin of the emission is still not clearly understood. Suggested explanations include injection of cosmic-ray nuclei from the Galactic center by high-speed Galactic winds, electron acceleration by multiple shocks and stochastic electron acceleration insi…
The Fermi bubbles are part of a complex region of the Milky Way. This region presents broadband extended non-thermal radiation, apparently coming from a physical structure rooted in the Galactic Centre and with a partly-ordered magnetic field threading it. We explore the possibility of an explosive origin for the Fermi bubble region to explain its morphology, in particular that of the large-scale magnetic fields, and provide context for the broadband non-thermal radiation. We perform 3D magnetohydrodynamical simulations of an explosion from a few million years ago that pushed and sheared a sur…
