Abstract.A commonly encountered obstacle in indirect searches for galactic dark matter is how to disentangle possible signals from astrophysical backgrounds. Given that such signals are most likely subdominant, the search for pronounced spectral features plays a key role for indirect detection experiments; monochromatic gamma-ray lines or similar features related to internal bremsstrahlung, in particular, provide smoking gun signatures. We perform a dedicated search for the latter in the data taken by the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope during its first 43 months. To this end, we use a new adaptive procedure to select optimal target regions that takes into account both standard and contracted dark matter profiles. The behaviour of our statistical method is tested by a subsampling analysis of the full sky data and found to reproduce the theoretical expectations very well. The limits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section that we derive are stronger than what can be obtained from the observation of dwarf galaxies and, at least for the model considered here, collider searches. While these limits are still not quite strong enough to probe annihilation rates expected for thermally produced dark matter, future prospects to do so are very good. In fact, we already find a weak indication, with a significance of 3.1σ (4.3σ) when (not) taking into account the look-elsewhere effect, for an internal bremsstrahlung-like signal that would correspond to a dark matter mass of ∼150 GeV; the same signal is also well fitted by a gamma-ray line at around 130 GeV. Although this would be a fascinating possibility, we caution that a much more dedicated analysis and additional data will be necessary to rule out or confirm this option.

We show that simplified models used to describe the interactions of dark matter with Standard Model particles do not in general respect gauge invariance and that perturbative unitarity may be violated in large regions of the parameter space. The modifications necessary to cure these inconsistencies may imply a much richer phenomenology and lead to stringent constraints on the model. We illustrate these observations by considering the simplified model of a fermionic dark matter particle and a vector mediator. Imposing gauge invariance then leads to strong constraints from dilepton resonance searches and electroweak precision tests. Furthermore, the new states required to restore perturbative unitarity can mix with Standard Model states and mediate interactions between the dark and the visible sector, leading to new experimental signatures such as invisible Higgs decays. The resulting constraints are typically stronger than the 'classic' constraints on DM simplified models such as monojet searches and make it difficult to avoid thermal overproduction of dark matter.

Chemical equilibrium is a commonly made assumption in the freeze-out calculation of coannihilating dark matter. We explore the possible failure of this assumption and find a new conversion-driven freeze-out mechanism. Considering a representative simplified model inspired by supersymmetry with a neutralino- and sbottom-like particle we find regions in parameter space with very small couplings accommodating the measured relic density. In this region freeze-out takes place out of chemical equilibrium and dark matter self-annihilation is thoroughly inefficient. The relic density is governed primarily by the size of the conversion terms in the Boltzmann equations. Due to the small dark matter coupling the parameter region is immune to direct detection but predicts an interesting signature of disappearing tracks or displaced vertices at the LHC. Unlike freeze-in or superWIMP scenarios, conversion-driven freeze-out is not sensitive to the initial conditions at the end of reheating.Comment: 12 pages + references, 10 figures; v2: Discussion of kinetic equilibrium extended, matches published versio

Three main strategies are being pursued to search for non-gravitational dark matter signals: direct detection, indirect detection and collider searches. Interestingly, experiments have reached sensitivities in these three search strategies which may allow detection in the near future. In order to take full benefit of the wealth of experimental data, and in order to confirm a possible dark matter signal, it is necessary to specify the nature of the dark matter particle and of the mediator to the Standard Model. In this paper, we focus on a simplified model where the dark matter particle is a Majorana fermion that couples to a light Standard Model fermion via a Yukawa coupling with a scalar mediator. We review the observational signatures of this model and we discuss the complementarity among the various search strategies, with emphasis in the well motivated scenario where the dark matter particles are produced in the early Universe via thermal freeze-out.