Substructure boosts to dark matter annihilation from Sommerfeld enhancement

Bovy, Jo

doi:10.1103/physrevd.79.083539

Cited by 54 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 172 publications

(271 reference statements)

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“…Such astrophysical enhancements, combined with particle physics enhancements, have been proposed as an explanation for the cosmic ray lepton anomalies [43,52,53]. Finally, decaying dark matter models have also been suggested to explain the lepton excesses and are good alternatives to annihilating dark matter models [54][55][56][57][58].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

VERITAS deep observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1

Aliu¹,

Archambault²,

Arlen³

et al. 2012

Phys. Rev. D

104

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The VERITAS array of Cherenkov telescopes has carried out a deep observational program on the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1. We report on the results of nearly 48 hours of good quality selected data, taken between January 2010 and May 2011. No significant γ-ray emission is detected at the nominal position of Segue 1, and upper limits on the integrated flux are derived. According to recent studies, Segue 1 is the most dark matter-dominated dwarf spheroidal galaxy currently known. We derive stringent bounds on various annihilating and decaying dark matter particle models. The upper limits on the velocity-weighted annihilation cross-section are σv 95% CL < ∼ 10 −23 cm 3 s −1 , improving our limits from previous observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies by at least a factor of two for dark matter particle masses m χ > ∼ 300 GeV. The lower limits on the decay lifetime are at the level of τ 95% CL > ∼ 10 24 s. Finally, we address the interpretation of the cosmic ray lepton anomalies measured by ATIC and PAMELA in terms of dark matter annihilation, and show that the VERITAS observations of Segue 1 disfavor such a scenario.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

VERITAS deep observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1

Aliu¹,

Archambault²,

Arlen³

et al. 2012

Phys. Rev. D

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…[12,41]). For the purposes of this work, we follow the description of [17] and mention that the enhancement S(σ vel ) to the s-wave contribution to the annihilation rate is given by:…”

Section: Sommerfeld Enhancementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[10][11][12]40]), restricting it to the case where the interaction between WIMPs prior to annihilation is mediated by a scalar boson of mass m φ through a Yukawa potential with coupling constant α c (e.g. [41]). This case encompasses the large majority of the models that are typically used in the literature to account for the Sommerfeld enhancement, including the most common of these where S ∝ 1/σ vel (the so-called "1/v" boost).…”

Section: Sommerfeld Enhancementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cosmic X-ray and gamma-ray background from dark matter annihilation

et al. 2011

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The extragalactic background light (EBL) observed at multiple wavelengths is a promising tool to probe the nature of dark matter. This radiation might contain a significant contribution from gamma-rays produced promptly by dark matter particle annihilation in the many halos and subhalos within our past-light cone. Additionally, the electrons and positrons produced in the annihilation give energy to the cosmic microwave photons to populate the EBL with X-rays and gamma-rays.To study these signals, we create full-sky maps of the expected radiation from both of these contributions using the high-resolution Millennium-II simulation of cosmic structure formation. Our method also accounts for a possible enhancement of the annihilation rate by a Sommerfeld mechanism due to a Yukawa interaction between the dark matter particles prior to annihilation. We use upper limits on the contributions of unknown sources to the EBL to constrain the intrinsic properties of dark matter using a model-independent approach that can be employed as a template to test different particle physics models. These upper limits are based on observational measurements spanning eight orders of magnitude in energy (from soft X-rays measured by the CHANDRA satellite to gamma-rays measured by the Fermi satellite), and on expectations for the contributions from non-blazar active galactic nuclei, blazars and star forming galaxies. To exemplify this approach, we analyze a set of benchmark Sommerfeld-enhanced models that give the correct abundance of dark matter, satisfy constraints from the cosmic microwave background, and fit the cosmic ray spectra measured by PAMELA and Fermi without any contribution from local substructure. We find that these models are in conflict with the EBL constraints unless the contribution of unresolved substructure is small and the dark matter annihilation signal dominates the EBL. We conclude that provided the collisionless cold dark matter paradigm is accurate, even for conservative estimates of the contribution from unresolved substructure and astrophysical backgrounds, the EBL is at least as sensitive a probe of these types of scenarios as the cosmic microwave background. More generally, our results disfavor an explanation of the positron excess measured by the PAMELA satellite based only on dark matter annihilation in the smooth Galactic dark matter halo.PACS numbers: 95.35.+d,95.85.Nv,95.85.Pw

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“…C) Thanks to the Sommerfeld enhancement (see [25,159,160], and then [161,162,166]), a non-perturbative effect which modifies the annihilation cross section in the regime of small relative velocity of the annihilating particles and in presence of an effectively long-range force between them. Indeed this well known quantum mechanical effect, first discussed by Sommerfeld in the context of positronium…”

Section: Tools For Enhancementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirect searches for dark matter

2012

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Abstract. I review in a schematic way the current status of indirect searches for Dark Matter: I list the main relevant experimental results of the recent years and I discuss the excitements and disappointments that their phenomenological interpretations in terms of almost-standard annihilating Dark Matter have brought along. I then try to individuate the main directions which have emerged from the recent very intense model-building activity. In passing, I list the main sources of uncertainties that affect this kind of searches.

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Substructure boosts to dark matter annihilation from Sommerfeld enhancement

Cited by 54 publications

References 172 publications

VERITAS deep observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1

VERITAS deep observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1

Cosmic X-ray and gamma-ray background from dark matter annihilation

Indirect searches for dark matter

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