Separating astrophysical sources from indirect dark matter signals

Indirect searches for products of dark matter annihilation and decay face the challenge of identifying an uncertain and subdominant signal in the presence of uncertain backgrounds. Two valuable approaches to this problem are (1) using analysis methods which take advantage of different features in the energy spectrum and angular distribution of the signal and backgrounds, and (2) more accurate characterization of backgrounds, which allows for more robust identification of possible signals. These two approaches are complementary and can be significantly strengthened when used together. I review the status of indirect searches with gamma rays using two promising targets, the Inner Galaxy and the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background. For both targets, uncertainties in the properties of backgrounds is a major limitation to the sensitivity of indirect searches. I then highlight approaches which can enhance the sensitivity of indirect searches using these targets.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Contributed to the National Academy of Sciences' Dark Matter Sackler Colloquiu

Robust identification of isotropic diffuse gamma rays from Galactic dark matter

Dark matter annihilation in Galactic substructure will produce diffuse gamma-ray emission of remarkably constant intensity across the sky, making it difficult to disentangle this Galactic dark matter signal from the extragalactic gamma-ray background. We show that if Galactic dark matter contributes a modest fraction of the measured emission in an energy range accessible to the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, the energy dependence of the angular power spectrum of the total measured emission could be used to confidently identify gamma rays from Galactic dark matter substructure.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, added 1 reference, published in PR

Signatures of LCDM substructure in tidal debris

In the past decade, surveys of the stellar component of the Galaxy have revealed a number of streams from tidally disrupted dwarf galaxies and globular clusters. Simulations of hierarchical structure formation in LCDM cosmologies predict that the dark matter halo of a galaxy like the Milky Way contains hundreds of subhalos with masses of ~10^8 solar masses and greater, and it has been suggested that the existence of coherent tidal streams is incompatible with the expected abundance of substructure. We investigate the effects of dark matter substructure on tidal streams by simulating the disruption of a self-gravitating satellite on a wide range of orbits in different host models both with and without substructure. We find that the halo shape and the specific orbital path more strongly determine the overall degree of disruption of the satellite than does the presence or absence of substructure, i.e., the changes in the large-scale properties of the tidal debris due to substructure are small compared to variations in the debris from different orbits in a smooth potential. Substructure typically leads to an increase in the degree of clumpiness of the tidal debris in sky projection, and in some cases a more compact distribution in line-of-sight velocity. Substructure also leads to differences in the location of sections of debris compared to the results of the smooth halo model, which may have important implications for the interpretation of observed tidal streams. A unique signature of the presence of substructure in the halo which may be detectable by upcoming surveys is identified. We conclude, however, that predicted levels of substructure are consistent with a detection of a coherent tidal stream from a dwarf galaxy.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Matches accepted versio

Novel Techniques for Decomposing Diffuse Backgrounds

The total anisotropy of a diffuse background composed of two or more sources, such as the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT)-measured gamma-ray background, is set by the anisotropy of each source population and the contribution of each population to the total intensity. The total anisotropy as a function of energy (the anisotropy energy spectrum) will modulate as the relative contributions of the sources change, implying that the anisotropy energy spectrum also encodes the intensity spectrum of each source class. We develop techniques, applicable to any such diffuse background, for unraveling the intensity spectrum of each component source population given a measurement of the total intensity spectrum and the total anisotropy energy spectrum, without introducing a priori assumptions about the spectra of the source classes. We demonstrate the potential of these methods by applying them to example scenarios for the composition of the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray background consistent with current data and feasible within 10 yr of observation

Fermi-LAT gamma-ray anisotropy and intensity explained by unresolved Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei

Radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to contribute substantially to both the intensity and anisotropy of the isotropic gamma-ray background (IGRB). In turn, the measured properties of the IGRB can be used to constrain the characteristics of proposed contributing source classes. We consider individual subclasses of radio-loud AGN, including low-, intermediate-, and high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects, flat-spectrum radio quasars, and misaligned AGN. Using updated models of the gamma-ray luminosity functions of these populations, we evaluate the energy-dependent contribution of each source class to the intensity and anisotropy of the IGRB. We find that collectively radio-loud AGN can account for the entirety of the IGRB intensity and anisotropy as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Misaligned AGN provide the bulk of the measured intensity but a negligible contribution to the anisotropy, while high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects provide the dominant contribution to the anisotropy. In anticipation of upcoming measurements with the Fermi-LAT and the forthcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array, we predict the anisotropy in the broader energy range that will be accessible to future observations.Comment: 27 pages, 29 figures. This version matches the published version, minor changes onl

Sensitivity of CTA to dark matter signals from the Galactic Center

The Galactic Center is one of the most promising targets for indirect detection of dark matter with gamma rays. We investigate the sensitivity of the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to dark matter annihilation and decay in the Galactic Center. As the inner density profile of the Milky Way's dark matter halo is uncertain, we study the impact of the slope of the Galactic density profile, inwards of the Sun, on the prospects for detecting a dark matter signal with CTA. Adopting the Ring Method to define the signal and background regions in an ON-OFF analysis approach, we find that the sensitivity achieved by CTA to annihilation signals is strongly dependent on the inner profile slope, whereas the dependence is more mild in the case of dark matter decay. Surprisingly, we find that the optimal choice of signal and background regions is virtually independent of the assumed density profile. For the fiducial case of a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, we find that CTA will be able to probe annihilation cross-sections well below the canonical thermal relic value for dark matter masses from a few tens of GeV up to similar to 5 TeV for annihilation to T^+T^- and will achieve only a slightly weaker sensitivity for annihilation to bb or µ^+µ^-. CTA will improve significantly on current sensitivity to annihilation signals for dark matter masses above similar to 100 GeV, covering parameter space that is complementary to that probed by searches with the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The interpretation of apparent excesses in the measured cosmic-ray electron and positron spectra as signals of dark matter decay will also be testable with CTA observations of the Galactic Center. We demonstrate that both for annihilation and for decay, including spectral information for hard channels (such as µ^+µ^- and Ƭ^+T^- leads to enhanced sensitivity for dark matter masses above m_(DM) similar to 200 GeV

New Sensitivity to Solar WIMP Annihilation using Low-Energy Neutrinos

Dark matter particles captured by the Sun through scattering may annihilate and produce neutrinos, which escape. Current searches are for the few high-energy neutrinos produced in the prompt decays of some final states. We show that interactions in the solar medium lead to a large number of pions for nearly all final states. Positive pions and muons decay at rest, producing low-energy neutrinos with known spectra, including nuebar through neutrino mixing. We demonstrate that Super-Kamiokande can thereby provide a new probe of the spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross section. Compared to other methods, the sensitivity is competitive and the uncertainties are complementary.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure