Structure Formation Models Weaken Limits on WIMP Dark Matter from Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
Shin'ichiro Ando, Alex Geringer-Sameth, Nagisa Hiroshima, Sebastian Hoof, Roberto Trotta, Matthew G. Walker
备注：
8 pages, 4 figures; with supplementary material (20 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables); revised version accepted for publication in Physical Review D Rapid Communications
Dwarf spheroidal galaxies that form in halo substructures provide stringent constraints on dark matter annihilation. Many ultrafaint dwarfs discovered with modern surveys contribute significantly to these constraints. At present, because of the lack of abundant stellar kinematic data for the ultrafaints, non-informative prior assumptions are usually made for the parameters of the density profiles. Based on semi-analytic models of dark matter subhalos and their connection to satellite galaxies, we present more informative and realistic satellite priors. We show that our satellite priors lead to constraints on the annihilation rate that are between a factor of 2 and a factor of 7 weaker than under non-informative priors. As a result, the thermal relic cross section can at best only be excluded (with 95% probability) for dark matter masses of $\lesssim 40$ GeV from dwarf spheroidal data, assuming annihilation into $b\bar{b}$.
Dark matter is a key piece of the current cosmological scenario, with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) a leading dark matter candidate. WIMPs have not been detected in their conventional parameter space (100 GeV $\lesssim M_χ \lesssim$ 100 TeV), a mass range accessible with current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. As ultraheavy dark matter (UHDM; $M_χ \gtrsim$ 100 TeV) has been suggested as an under-explored alternative to the WIMP paradigm, we search for an indirect dark matter annihilation signal in a higher mass range (up to 30 PeV) with the VERITAS gamma-ray observator…
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…
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) have long reigned as one of the leading classes of dark matter candidates. The observed dark matter abundance can be naturally obtained by freezeout of weak-scale dark matter annihilations in the early universe. This "thermal WIMP" scenario makes direct predictions for the total annihilation cross section that can be tested in present-day experiments. While the dark matter mass constraint can be as high as $m_χ\gtrsim100$ GeV for particular annihilation channels, the constraint on the total cross section has not been determined. We construct the fir…
One of the most pressing questions for modern physics is the nature of dark matter (DM). Several efforts have been made to model this elusive kind of matter. The largest fraction of DM cannot be made of any of the known particles of the Standard Model (SM). We focus on brane world theory as a prospective framework for DM candidates beyond the SM of particle physics. The new degrees of freedom that appear in flexible brane world models, corresponding to brane fluctuations, are called branons. They behave as weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are one of the most favored candidat…
We report on the observations of 14 dwarf spheroidal galaxies with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope taken during the first 11 months of survey mode operations. The Fermi telescope provides a new opportunity to test particle dark matter models through the expected gamma-ray emission produced by pair annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies, the largest galactic substructures predicted by the cold dark matter scenario, are attractive targets for such indirect searches for dark matter because they are nearby and among the most extreme …
WIMP Dark Matter Searches in Reticulum II Using MeerKAT
Wits Centre for Astrophysics (Wits CfA) and School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand（威特沃特斯兰德大学天体物理中心与物理学院）；INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari（意大利国家天体物理研究所卡利亚里天文台）；Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Torino（都灵大学物理系）；Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino（意大利国家核物理研究所都灵分部）；INAF — Istituto di Radioastronomia（意大利国家天体物理研究所射电天文研究所）；Centre for Radio Astronomy Techniques and Technologies (RATT), Department of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University（罗德斯大学物理与电子学院射电天文技术与方法中心）；South African Radio Astronomy Observatory（南非射电天文观测台）
We present deep radio observations of four nearby dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies, designed to detect extended synchrotron emission resulting from weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter annihilations in their halos. Models by Colafrancesco et al. (CPU07) predict the existence of angularly large, smoothly distributed radio halos in such systems, that stem from electron and positron annihilation products spiraling in a turbulent magnetic field. We map a total of 40.5 deg^2 around the Draco, Ursa Major II, Coma Berenices, and Willman 1 dSphs with the GBT at 1.4 GHz to detect this…
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The secluded dark matter resides within a hidden sector and self-annihilates into lighter mediators which subsequently decay to the Standard Model (SM) particles. Depending on the coupling strength of the mediator to the SM, the hidden sector can be kinetically decoupled from the SM bath when the temperature drops below the mediator's mass, and the dark matter annihilation cross section at freeze-out is thus possible to be boosted above the conventional value of weak interacting massive particles. We present a comprehensive study on thermodynamic evolution of the hidden sector from the first p…
The recently discovered S1 stream passes through the Solar neighbourhood on a low inclination, counter-rotating orbit. The progenitor of S1 is a dwarf galaxy with a total mass comparable to the present-day Fornax dwarf spheroidal, so the stream is expected to have a significant DM component. We compute the effects of the S1 stream on WIMP and axion detectors as a function of the density of its unmeasured dark component. In WIMP detectors the S1 stream supplies more high energy nuclear recoils so will marginally improve DM detection prospects. We find that even if S1 comprises less than 10% of …
Radio observations of the Ursa Major II dwarf spheroidal galaxy obtained using the Green Bank Telescope are used to place bounds on WIMP dark matter properties. Dark matter annihilation releases energy in the form of charged particles which emit synchrotron radiation in the magnetic field of the dwarf galaxy. We compute the expected synchrotron radiation intensity from WIMP annihilation to various primary channels. The predicted synchrotron radiation is sensitive to the distribution of dark matter in the halo, the diffusion coefficient D_0, the magnetic field strength B, the particle mass m_χ,…
String/M theory compactifications with low energy supersymmetry tend to predict that dark matter has two components: axions and WIMPs \cite{1004.5138,1204.2795}. In accord with this, we show that the tentative 130 GeV gamma-line signal reported in \cite{1204.2797} can be interpreted as arising from the annihilation of 145 GeV mass, Wino-like WIMPs into a Z-boson and a photon. In this context, the signal implies a second component of dark matter which we interpret as being composed of axions - the relative Wino/Axion abundances being approximately equal. Further predictions are implied: signals…
Indirect dark matter searches with ground-based gamma-ray observatories provide an alternative for identifying the particle nature of dark matter that is complementary to that of direct search or accelerator production experiments. We present the results of observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies Draco, Ursa Minor, Bootes 1, and Willman 1 conducted by VERITAS. These galaxies are nearby dark matter dominated objects located at a typical distance of several tens of kiloparsecs for which there are good measurements of the dark matter density profile from stellar velocity measurements. Since…
We performed a deep search for radio synchrotron emissions induced by weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) annihilation or decay in six dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies of the Local Group. Observations were conducted with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at 16 cm wavelength, with an rms sensitivity better than 0.05 mJy/beam in each field. In this work, we first discuss the uncertainties associated with the modeling of the expected signal, such as the shape of the dark matter (DM) profile and the dSph magnetic properties. We then investigate the possibility that point-source…
Branons are new degrees of freedom that appear in flexible brane-world models corresponding to brane fluctuations. These new fields can behave as standard weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with a significant associated thermal relic density. We analyze the present constraints from their spontaneous annihilations into photons for EGRET, Fermi-LAT and MAGIC, and the prospects for detection in future Cherenkov telescopes. In particular, we focus on possible signals coming from the Galactic Center and different dwarf spheroidals, such as Draco, Sagittarius, Canis Major and SEGUE 1. We c…
The requirement of electroweak naturalness in supersymmetric (SUSY) models of particle physics necessitates light higgsinos not too far from the weak scale characterized by m(weak)~ m(W,Z,h)~100 GeV. On the other hand, LHC Higgs mass measurements and sparticle mass limits point to a SUSY breaking scale in the multi-TeV regime. Under such conditions, the lightest SUSY particle is expected to be a mainly higgsino-like neutralino with non-negligible gaugino components (required by naturalness). The computed thermal WIMP abundance in natural SUSY models is then found to be typically a factor 5-20 …
We have built a lepton-specific next-to-minimal two-Higgs-doublet-portal vector dark matter model. The vector dark matter in the hidden sector does not directly couple to the visible sector, but instead annihilates into the hidden Higgs bosons which decay through a small coupling into the CP-odd Higgs bosons. In this model, the Galactic center gamma-ray excess is mainly due to the 2-step cascade annihilation with $τ$'s in the final state. The obtained mass of the CP-odd Higgs $A$ in the Galactic center excess fit can explain the muon $g-2$ anomaly at the 2$σ$ level without violating the string…
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…
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 $m_χ\lesssim …
Recent results from direct and indirect searches for dark matter (DM) have motivated the study of particle physics models that can provide weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in the mass range 1-50 GeV. Viable candidates for light WIMP DM must fulfil stringent constraints. On the one hand, the observation at the LHC of a Higgs boson with Standard Model properties set an upper bound on the coupling of light DM particles to the Higgs, thereby making it difficult to reproduce the correct relic abundance. On the other hand, the recent results from direct searches in the CDMSlite, SuperCDM…
Dark matter (DM) particles are predicted by several well motivated models to yield Standard Model particles through self-annihilation that can potentially be detected by astrophysical observations. In particular, the production of charged particles from DM annihilation in astrophysical systems that contain magnetic fields yields radio emission through synchrotron radiation and X-ray emission through inverse Compton scattering of ambient photons. We introduce RX-DMFIT, a tool used for calculating the expected secondary emission from DM annihilation. RX-DMFIT includes a wide range of customizabl…
Recent N-Body simulations are in favor of the presence of a co-rotating Dark Disk that might contribute significantly (10%-50%) to the local Dark Matter density. Such substructure could have dramatic effect on directional detection. Indeed, in the case of a null lag velocity, one expects an isotropic WIMP velocity distribution arising from the Dark Disk contribution, which might weaken the strong angular signature expected in directional detection. For a wide range of Dark Disk parameters, we evaluate in this Letter the effect of such dark component on the discovery potential of upcoming direc…
We present a model for the structure of the particle phase space average density ($P^2SAD$) in galactic haloes, introduced recently as a novel measure of the clustering of dark matter. Our model is based on the stable clustering hypothesis in phase space, the spherical collapse model, and tidal disruption of substructures, which is calibrated against the Aquarius simulations. Using this model, we can predict the behaviour of $P^2SAD$ in the numerically unresolved regime, down to the decoupling mass limit of generic WIMP models. This prediction can be used to estimate signals sensitive to the s…
