10 research outputs found
Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter, Electrons and Gamma Ray Telescopes
Kaluza-Klein dark matter particles can annihilate efficiently into
electron-positron pairs, providing a discrete feature (a sharp edge) in the
cosmic spectrum at an energy equal to the particle's mass (typically
several hundred GeV to one TeV). Although this feature is probably beyond the
reach of satellite or balloon-based cosmic ray experiments (those that
distinguish the charge and mass of the primary particle), gamma ray telescopes
may provide an alternative detection method. Designed to observe very
high-energy gamma-rays, ACTs also observe the diffuse flux of electron-induced
electromagnetic showers. The GLAST satellite, designed for gamma ray astronomy,
will also observe any high energy showers (several hundred GeV and above) in
its calorimeter. We show that high-significance detections of an
electron-positron feature from Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilations are
possible with GLAST, and also with ACTs such as HESS, VERITAS or MAGIC.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
The Role of Antimatter Searches in the Hunt for Supersymmetric Dark Matter
We analyze the antimatter yield of supersymmetric (SUSY) models with large
neutralino annihilation cross sections. We introduce three benchmark scenarios,
respectively featuring bino, wino and higgsino-like lightest neutralinos, and
we study in detail the resulting antimatter spectral features. We carry out a
systematic and transparent comparison between current and future prospects for
direct detection, neutrino telescopes and antimatter searches. We demonstrate
that often, in the models we consider, antimatter searches are the only
detection channel which already constrains the SUSY parameter space.
Particularly large antiprotons fluxes are expected for wino-like lightest
neutralinos, while significant antideuteron fluxes result from resonantly
annihilating binos. We introduce a simple and general recipe which allows to
assess the visibility of a given SUSY model at future antimatter search
facilities. We provide evidence that upcoming space-based experiments, like
PAMELA or AMS, are going to be, in many cases, the unique open road towards
dark matter discovery.Comment: 34 pages, 18 figures; V2: misprints in the labels of fig. 2,3 and 5
correcte
Direct versus indirect detection in mSUGRA with self-consistent halo models
We perform a detailed analysis of the detection prospects of neutralino dark
matter in the mSUGRA framework. We focus on models with a thermal relic
density, estimated with high accuracy using the DarkSUSY package, in the range
favored by current precision cosmological measurements. Direct and indirect
detection rates are computed implementing two models for the dark matter halo,
tracing opposite regimes for the phase of baryon infall, with fully consistent
density profiles and velocity distribution functions. This has allowed, for the
first time, a fully consistent comparison between direct and indirect detection
prospects. We discuss all relevant regimes in the mSUGRA parameter space,
underlining relevant effects, and providing the basis for extending the
discussion to alternative frameworks. In general, we find that direct detection
and searches for antideuterons in the cosmic rays seems to be the most
promising ways to search for neutralinos in these scenarios.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure
Have Atmospheric Cerenkov Telescopes Observed Dark Matter?
Two ground-based experiments have recently independently detected TeV
-rays from the direction of the Galactic center. The observations made
by the VERITAS and CANGAROO collaborations are unexpected, although not
impossible to interpret in terms of astrophysical sources. Here we examine in
detail whether the observed -rays may arise from the more exotic
alternative of annihilations of dark matter particles clustered in the center
of the Galaxy.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
Upper Bounds on the Neutrino-Nucleon Inelastic Cross Section
Extraterrestrial neutrinos can initiate deeply developing air showers, and
those that traverse the atmosphere unscathed may produce cascades in the ice or
water. Up to now, no such events have been observed. This can be translated
into upper limits on the diffuse neutrino flux. On the other hand, the
observation of cosmic rays with primary energies > 10^{10} GeV suggests that
there is a guaranteed flux of cosmogenic neutrinos, arising from the decay of
charged pions (and their muon daughters) produced in proton interactions with
the cosmic microwave background. In this work, armed with these cosmogenic
neutrinos and the increased exposure of neutrino telescopes we bring up-to-date
model-independent upper bounds on the neutrino-nucleon inelastic cross section.
Uncertainties in the cosmogenic neutrino flux are discussed and taken into
account in our analysis. The prospects for improving these bounds with the
Pierre Auger Observatory are also estimated. The unprecedented statistics to be
collected by this experiment in 6 yr of operation will probe the
neutrino-nucleon inelastic cross section at the level of Standard Model
predictions.Comment: To be published in JCA
Fitting the Gamma-Ray Spectrum from Dark Matter with DMFIT: GLAST and the Galactic Center Region
We study the potential of GLAST to unveil particle dark matter properties
with gamma-ray observations of the Galactic center region. We present full
GLAST simulations including all gamma-ray sources known to date in a region of
4 degrees around the Galactic center, in addition to the diffuse gamma-ray
background and to the dark matter signal. We introduce DMFIT, a tool that
allows one to fit gamma-ray emission from pair-annihilation of generic particle
dark matter models and to extract information on the mass, normalization and
annihilation branching ratios into Standard Model final states. We assess the
impact and systematic effects of background modeling and theoretical priors on
the reconstruction of dark matter particle properties. Our detailed simulations
demonstrate that for some well motivated supersymmetric dark matter setups with
one year of GLAST data it will be possible not only to significantly detect a
dark matter signal over background, but also to estimate the dark matter mass
and its dominant pair-annihilation mode.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures, submitted to JCA
Adiabatic compression and indirect detection of supersymmetric dark matter
Recent developments in the modelling of the dark matter distribution in our
Galaxy point out the necessity to consider some physical processes to satisfy
observational data. In particular, models with adiabatic compression, which
include the effect of the baryonic gas in the halo, increase significantly the
dark matter density in the central region of the Milky Way. On the other hand,
the non-universality in scalar and gaugino sectors of supergravity models can
also increase significantly the neutralino annihilation cross section. We show
that the combination of both effects gives rise to a gamma-ray flux arising
from the Galactic Center largely reachable by future experiments like GLAST. We
also analyse in this framework the EGRET excess data above 1 GeV, as well as
the recent data from CANGAROO and HESS. The analysis has been carried out
imposing the most recent experimental constraints, such as the lower bound on
the Higgs mass, the \bsg branching ratio, and the muon . In addition, the
recently improved upper bound on has also been taken
into account. The astrophysical (WMAP) bounds on the dark matter density have
also been imposed on the theoretical computation of the relic neutralino
density through thermal production.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, final version to appear in JCA
Gamma rays from Dark Matter Annihilation in the Central Region of the Galaxy
In this article, we review the prospects for the Fermi satellite (formerly
known as GLAST) to detect gamma rays from dark matter annihilations in the
Central Region of the Milky Way, in particular on the light of the recent
astrophysical observations and discoveries of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov
Telescopes. While the existence of significant backgrounds in this part of the
sky limits Fermi's discovery potential to some degree, this can be mitigated by
exploiting the peculiar energy spectrum and angular distribution of the dark
matter annihilation signal relative to those of astrophysical backgrounds.Comment: v3: corrected typos, content unchange
High-energy Neutrino Astronomy: The Cosmic Ray Connection
This is a review of neutrino astronomy anchored to the observational fact
that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of
and eV, respectively.
Although the discovery of cosmic rays dates back close to a century, we do
not know how and where they are accelerated. Basic elementary-particle physics
dictates a universal upper limit on their energy of eV, the
so-called Greisen-Kuzmin-Zatsepin cutoff; however, particles in excess of this
energy have been observed by all experiments, adding one more puzzle to the
cosmic ray mystery. Mystery is fertile ground for progress: we will review the
facts as well as the speculations about the sources including gamma ray bursts,
blazars and top-down scenarios.
The important conclusion is that, independently of the specific blueprint of
the source, it takes a kilometer-scale neutrino observatory to detect the
neutrino beam associated with the highest energy cosmic rays and gamma rays. We
also briefly review the ongoing efforts to commission such instrumentation.Comment: 83 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Reports on Progress in Physic