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Title: Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals

Abstract

We investigate the sensitivity of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) for indirectly detecting weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) through the {gamma}-ray signal that their pair annihilation produces. WIMPs are among the favorite candidates for explaining the compelling evidence that about 80% of the mass in the Universe is non-baryonic dark matter (DM). They are serendipitously motivated by various extensions of the standard model of particle physics such as supersymmetry and universal extra dimensions (UED). With its unprecedented sensitivity and its very large energy range (20 MeV to more than 300 GeV) the main instrument on board the GLAST satellite, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), will open a new window of discovery. As our estimates show, the LAT will be able to detect an indirect DM signature for a large class of WIMP models given a cuspy profile for the DM distribution. Using the current state of the art Monte Carlo and event reconstruction software developed within the LAT collaboration, we present preliminary sensitivity studies for several possible sources inside and outside the Galaxy. We also discuss the potential of the LAT to detect UED via the electron/positron channel. Diffuse background modeling and other background issues that will bemore » important in setting limits or seeing a signal are presented.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2]; ; ; ;  [3];  [4];  [5]; ;  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];
  1. Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)
  2. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France)
  3. Physics Department, Stockholm University, Albanova, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden)
  4. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
  5. Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
  6. INFN Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, Roma (Italy)
  7. CRESST and AstroParticle Physics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
  8. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
  9. LPTA, University of Montpellier, CNRS/IN2P3, Montpellier (France)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22156683
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2008; Journal Issue: 07; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ANNIHILATION; COMPUTER CODES; ELECTRONS; GALAXIES; GAMMA RADIATION; GEV RANGE; MEV RANGE; MONTE CARLO METHOD; NONLUMINOUS MATTER; POSITRONS; SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS; STANDARD MODEL; TELESCOPES

Citation Formats

Baltz, E A, Berenji, B, Bloom, E, Chiang, J, Cohen-Tanugi, J, Edmonds, Y, Godfrey, G, Bertone, G, Bergstroem, L, Bringmann, T, Conrad, J, Edsjoe, J, Hughes, R E, Johnson, R P, Lionetto, A, Morselli, A, Moiseev, A A, Moskalenko, I V, Nuss, E, Ormes, J F, E-mail: conrad@physto.se, and others, and. Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals. United States: N. p., 2008. Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2008/07/013.
Baltz, E A, Berenji, B, Bloom, E, Chiang, J, Cohen-Tanugi, J, Edmonds, Y, Godfrey, G, Bertone, G, Bergstroem, L, Bringmann, T, Conrad, J, Edsjoe, J, Hughes, R E, Johnson, R P, Lionetto, A, Morselli, A, Moiseev, A A, Moskalenko, I V, Nuss, E, Ormes, J F, E-mail: conrad@physto.se, & others, and. Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2008/07/013
Baltz, E A, Berenji, B, Bloom, E, Chiang, J, Cohen-Tanugi, J, Edmonds, Y, Godfrey, G, Bertone, G, Bergstroem, L, Bringmann, T, Conrad, J, Edsjoe, J, Hughes, R E, Johnson, R P, Lionetto, A, Morselli, A, Moiseev, A A, Moskalenko, I V, Nuss, E, Ormes, J F, E-mail: conrad@physto.se, and others, and. 2008. "Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2008/07/013.
@article{osti_22156683,
title = {Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals},
author = {Baltz, E A and Berenji, B and Bloom, E and Chiang, J and Cohen-Tanugi, J and Edmonds, Y and Godfrey, G and Bertone, G and Bergstroem, L and Bringmann, T and Conrad, J and Edsjoe, J and Hughes, R E and Johnson, R P and Lionetto, A and Morselli, A and Moiseev, A A and Moskalenko, I V and Nuss, E and Ormes, J F, E-mail: conrad@physto.se and others, and},
abstractNote = {We investigate the sensitivity of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) for indirectly detecting weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) through the {gamma}-ray signal that their pair annihilation produces. WIMPs are among the favorite candidates for explaining the compelling evidence that about 80% of the mass in the Universe is non-baryonic dark matter (DM). They are serendipitously motivated by various extensions of the standard model of particle physics such as supersymmetry and universal extra dimensions (UED). With its unprecedented sensitivity and its very large energy range (20 MeV to more than 300 GeV) the main instrument on board the GLAST satellite, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), will open a new window of discovery. As our estimates show, the LAT will be able to detect an indirect DM signature for a large class of WIMP models given a cuspy profile for the DM distribution. Using the current state of the art Monte Carlo and event reconstruction software developed within the LAT collaboration, we present preliminary sensitivity studies for several possible sources inside and outside the Galaxy. We also discuss the potential of the LAT to detect UED via the electron/positron channel. Diffuse background modeling and other background issues that will be important in setting limits or seeing a signal are presented.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2008/07/013},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22156683}, journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
issn = {1475-7516},
number = 07,
volume = 2008,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008},
month = {Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008}
}

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Non-Abelian Dark Sectors and Their Collider Signatures
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