Sensitivity Projections for Dark Matter Searches with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
Eric Charles, Miguel Sanchez-Conde, Brandon Anderson, Regina Caputo, Alessandro Cuoco, Mattia Di Mauro, Alex Drlica-Wagner, German Gomez-Vargas, Manuel Meyer, L… 展开作者
Eric Charles, Miguel Sanchez-Conde, Brandon Anderson, Regina Caputo, Alessandro Cuoco, Mattia Di Mauro, Alex Drlica-Wagner, German Gomez-Vargas, Manuel Meyer, Luigi Tibaldo, Matthew Wood, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Stephan Zimmer, Marco Ajello, Andrea Albert, Luca Baldini, Keith Bechtol, Elliott Bloom, Francesco Ceraudo, Johann Cohen-Tanugi, Seth Digel, Jennifer Gaskins, Michael Gustafsson, Nestor Mirabal, Massimiliano Razzano
备注：
Updated with a few additional and corrected references; otherwise, text is identical to previous version. Submitted on behalf of the Fermi-LAT collaboration. Accepted for publication in Physics Reports, 59 pages, 34 figures; corresponding author: Eric Charles (echarles@slac.stanford.edu)
The nature of dark matter is a longstanding enigma of physics; it may consist of particles beyond the Standard Model that are still elusive to experiments. Among indirect search techniques, which look for stable products from the annihilation or decay of dark matter particles, or from axions coupling to high-energy photons, observations of the $γ$-ray sky have come to prominence over the last few years, because of the excellent sensitivity of the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission. The LAT energy range from 20 MeV to above 300 GeV is particularly well suited for searching for products of the interactions of dark matter particles. In this report we describe methods used to search for evidence of dark matter with the LAT, and review the status of searches performed with up to six years of LAT data. We also discuss the factors that determine the sensitivities of these searches, including the magnitudes of the signals and the relevant backgrounds, considering both statistical and systematic uncertainties. We project the expected sensitivities of each search method for 10 and 15 years of LAT data taking. In particular, we find that the sensitivity of searches targeting dwarf galaxies, which provide the best limits currently, will improve faster than the square root of observing time. Current LAT limits for dwarf galaxies using six years of data reach the thermal relic level for masses up to 120 GeV for the $b\bar{b}$ annihilation channel for reasonable dark matter density profiles. With projected discoveries of additional dwarfs, these limits could extend to about 250 GeV. With as much as 15 years of LAT data these searches would be sensitive to dark matter annihilations at the thermal relic cross section for masses to greater than 400 GeV (200 GeV) in the $b\bar{b}$ ($τ^+ τ^-$) annihilation channels.
In this review the current status of several searches for particle dark matter with the Fermi Large Area Telescope instrument is presented. In particular, the current limits on the weakly interacting massive particles, obtained from the analyses of gamma-rays and cosmic-ray electron/positron data, will be illustrated.
The Large Area Telescope on board the \textit{Fermi} satellite (\textit{Fermi}-LAT) detected more than 1.6 million cosmic-ray electrons/positrons with energies above 60 GeV during its first year of operation. The arrival directions of these events were searched for anisotropies of angular scale extending from $\sim$ 10 $^\circ$ up to 90$^\circ$, and of minimum energy extending from 60 GeV up to 480 GeV. Two independent techniques were used to search for anisotropies, both resulting in null results. Upper limits on the degree of the anisotropy were set that depended on the analyzed energy range…
We present a summary of the Fermi Pulsar Search Consortium (PSC), an international collaboration of radio astronomers and members of the Large Area Telescope (LAT) collaboration, whose goal is to organize radio follow-up observations of Fermi pulsars and pulsar candidates among the LAT gamma-ray source population. The PSC includes pulsar observers with expertise using the world's largest radio telescopes that together cover the full sky. We have performed very deep observations of all 35 pulsars discovered in blind frequency searches of the LAT data, resulting in the discovery of radio pulsati…
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite is the first gamma-ray instrument to discover pulsars directly via their gamma-ray emission. Roughly one third of the 117 gamma-ray pulsars detected by the LAT in its first three years were discovered in blind searches of gamma-ray data and most of these are undetectable with current radio telescopes. I review some of the key LAT results and highlight the specific challenges faced in gamma-ray (compared to radio) searches, most of which stem from the long, sparse data sets and the broad, energy-dependent point-spread function (PSF) of the L…
The search for Dark Matter (DM) has great potential to reveal physics beyond the Standard Model. As such, searches for evidence of DM particles are being carried out using a wide range of techniques, such as direct searches for DM particles, searches for DM produced with colliders, and indirect searches for the Standard Model annihilation products of DM. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are excellent targets for indirect Dark Matter searches due to their relatively high DM content and negligible expected astrophysical background. A collaboration was formed to maximise the sensitivity of DM se…
Blind Searches of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data have resulted in the discovery of 24 gamma-ray pulsars in the first year of survey operations, most of which remain undetected in radio, despite deep radio follow-up searches. I summarize the latest Fermi LAT blind search efforts and results, including the discovery of a new Geminga-like pulsar, PSR J0734-1559. Finally, I discuss some of the challenges faced in carrying out these searches into the future, as well as the prospects for finding additional pulsars among the large number of LAT unassociated sources.
The Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey (GRAMS) project is a proposed next-generation balloon/satellite mission targeting both MeV gamma-ray observations and antimatter-based dark matter searches. A cost-effective, large-scale Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detector technology will allow GRAMS to have a significantly improved sensitivity to MeV gamma rays while extensively probing dark matter parameter space via antimatter measurements.
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on Fermi has detected ~150 gamma-ray pulsars, about a third of which were discovered in blind searches of the $γ$-ray data. Because the angular resolution of the LAT is relatively poor and blind searches for pulsars (especially millisecond pulsars, MSPs) are very sensitive to an error in the position, one must typically scan large numbers of locations. Identifying plausible X-ray counterparts of a putative pulsar drastically reduces the number of trials, thus improving the sensitivity of pulsar blind searches with the LAT. I discuss our ongoing program of Swift, …
The dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are some of the most dark-matter-dominated objects known. Due to their proximity, high dark matter content, and lack of astrophysical backgrounds, dwarf spheroidal galaxies are widely considered to be among the most promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter via gamma rays. Here we report on gamma-ray observations of Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies based on 6 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data processed with the new Pass 8 reconstruction and event-level analysis. None of the dwarf galaxies are signifi…
Pulsars are rapidly-rotating, highly-magnetized neutron stars emitting radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are more than 1800 known radio pulsars, until recently, only seven were observed to pulse in gamma rays and these were all discovered at other wavelengths. The Fermi Large Area Telescope makes it possible to pinpoint neutron stars through their gamma-ray pulsations. We report the detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches using the LAT. Most of these pulsars are coincident with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, and many are associated …
Pulsar searches of Fermi-LAT gamma-ray sources with the MWA
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University（国际射电天文中心，科廷大学）；Australian SKA Regional Centre (AusSRC), Curtin University（澳大利亚SKA区域中心，科廷大学）；Manly Astrophysics（曼利天体物理学）；Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS（波尔多天体物理实验室，波尔多大学，法国国家科学研究中心）
Here we report the results of searching millisecond pulsar (MSP) candidates from the Fermi LAT second source catalog (2FGL). Seven unassociated $γ-$ray sources in this catalog are identified as promising MSP candidates based on their $γ$-ray properties. Through the X-ray analysis, we have detected possible X-ray counterparts, localized to an arcsecond accuracy. We have systematically estimated their X-ray fluxes and compared with the corresponding $γ$-ray fluxes. The X-ray to $γ$-ray flux ratios for 2FGL J1653.6-0159 and 2FGL J1946.4-5402 are comparable with the typical value for pulsars. For …
We have discovered six radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in a search with the Arecibo telescope of 34 unidentified gamma-ray sources from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) 4-year point source catalog. Among the 34 sources, we also detected two MSPs previously discovered elsewhere. Each source was observed at a center frequency of 327 MHz, typically at three epochs with individual integration times of 15 minutes. The new MSP spin periods range from 1.99 to 4.66 ms. Five of the six pulsars are in interacting compact binaries (period < 8.1 hr), while the sixth is a more typical neutron star-whi…
The astrophysical sources responsible for ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) continue to be one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. We present a comprehensive search for correlations between high-energy ($\gtrapprox 1$ GeV) gamma-ray events from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and UHECRs ($\gtrapprox 60$ EeV) detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory. We perform two separate searches. First, we conduct a standard cross-correlation analysis between the arrival directions of 148 UHECRs and 360 gamma-ray sources in the Second Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT…
The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, successfully launched on June 11th, 2008, is the next generation satellite experiment for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. The main instrument, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), with a wide field of view (> 2 sr), a large effective area (> 8000 cm2 at 1 GeV), sub-arcminute source localization, a large energy range (20 MeV - 300 GeV) and a good energy resolution (close to 8% at 1 GeV), has excellent potential to either discover or to constrain a Dark Matter signal. The Fermi LAT team pursues complementary searches for signatures of particle Dark Matter i…
Axion Like Particles (ALPs), postulated to solve the strong-CP problem, are predicted to couple with photons in the presence of magnetic fields, which may lead to a significant change in the observed spectra of gamma-ray sources such as AGNs. Here we simultaneously consider in the same framework both the photon/axion mixing that takes place in the gamma-ray source and that one expected to occur in the intergalactic magnetic fields. We show that photon/axion mixing could explain recent puzzles regarding the observed spectra of distant gamma-ray sources as well as the recently published lower li…
The launch of the gamma-ray telescope Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) started a pivotal period in indirect detection of dark matter. By outperforming expectations, for the first time a robust and stringent test of the paradigm of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) is within reach. In this paper, we discuss astrophysical targets for WIMP detection and the challenges they present, review the analysis tools which have been employed to tackle these challenges, and summarize the status of constraints on and the claimed detections in the WIMP parameter space. Methods and results wil…
We explore the interplay between lines in the gamma-ray spectrum and LHC searches involving missing energy and photons. As an example, we consider a singlet Dirac fermion dark matter with the mediator for Fermi gamma-ray line at 130 GeV. A new chiral or local U(1) symmetry makes weak-scale dark matter natural and provides the axion or Z' gauge boson as the mediator connecting between dark matter and electroweak gauge bosons. In these models, the mediator particle can be produced in association with a monophoton at colliders and it produces large missing energy through the decays into a DM pair…
During a core-collapse supernova (SN), axion-like particles (ALPs) could be produced through the Primakoff process and subsequently convert into gamma rays in the magnetic field of the Milky Way. Using a sample of well studied extragalactic SNe at optical wavelengths, we estimate the time of the core collapse and search for a coincident gamma-ray burst with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Under the assumption that at least one SN was contained within the LAT field of view, we exclude photon-ALP couplings within a factor of $\sim$5 of previous limits from SN1987A. With the increasing numb…
GW170817 is the only gravitational-wave (GW) event, for which a confirmed γ-ray counterpart, GRB 170817A, has been detected. Here we present a method to search for another type of γ-ray signal, a γ-ray burst precursor, associated with a compact binary merger. If emitted shortly before the coalescence, a high-energy electromagnetic (EM) flash travels through a highly dynamical and relativistic environment, created by the two compact objects orbiting each other. Thus, the EM signal arriving at an Earth observer could present a somewhat predictable time-dependent modulation. We describe a targete…
We introduce a new type of gamma-ray spectral feature, which we denominate gamma-ray triangle. This spectral feature arises in scenarios where dark matter self-annihilates via a chiral interaction into two Dirac fermions, which subsequently decay in flight into another fermion and a photon. The resulting photon spectrum resembles a sharp triangle and can be readily searched for in the gamma-ray sky. Using data from the Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. instruments, we find no evidence for such spectral feature and therefore set strong upper bounds on the corresponding annihilation cross section. A concre…
The search for the a Standard Model Higgs boson at the LHC is reaching a critical stage as the possible mass range for the particle has become extremely narrow and some signal at a mass of about 125 GeV is starting to emerge. We study the implications of these LHC Higgs searches for Higgs portal models of dark matter in a rather model independent way. Their impact on the cosmological relic density and on the direct detection rates are studied in the context of generic scalar, vector and fermionic thermal dark matter particles. Assuming a sufficiently small invisible Higgs decay branching ratio…
Cold dark matter subhalos are expected to populate galaxies in numbers. If dark matter self-annihilates, these objects turn into prime targets for indirect searches, in particular with gamma-ray telescopes. Incidentally, the Fermi-LAT catalog already contains many unidentified sources that might be associated with subhalos. In this paper, we determine the probability for subhalos to be identified as gamma-ray pointlike sources from their predicted distribution properties. We use a semi-analytical model for the Galactic subhalo population, which, in contrast to cosmological simulations, can be …
Can we learn about New Physics with astronomical and astro-particle data? Since its launch in 2008, the Large Area Telescope, onboard of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, has detected the largest amount of gamma rays in the 20 MeV - 300 GeV energy range and electrons + positrons in the 7 GeV- 1 TeV range. These impressive statistics allow one to perform a very sensitive indirect experimental search for dark matter. We will present the latest results on these searches and the comparison with LHC searches.
Cosmological and astrophysical observations suggest that 85\% of the total matter of the Universe is made of Dark Matter (DM). However, its nature remains one of the most challenging and fundamental open questions of particle physics. Assuming particle DM, this exotic form of matter cannot consist of Standard Model (SM) particles. Many models have been developed to attempt unraveling the nature of DM such as Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), the most favored particle candidates. WIMP annihilations and decay could produce SM particles which in turn hadronize and decay to give SM sec…
