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Title: Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches

Abstract

We study the implications of galaxy formation on dark matter direct detection using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies simulated within the EAGLE and APOSTLE projects. We identify Milky Way analogues that satisfy observational constraints on the Milky Way rotation curve and total stellar mass. We then extract the dark matter density and velocity distribution in the Solar neighbourhood for this set of Milky Way analogues, and use them to analyse the results of current direct detection experiments. For most Milky Way analogues, the event rates in direct detection experiments obtained from the best fit Maxwellian distribution (with peak speed of 223–289 km/s) are similar to those obtained directly from the simulations. As a consequence, the allowed regions and exclusion limits set by direct detection experiments in the dark matter mass and spin-independent cross section plane shift by a few GeV compared to the Standard Halo Model, at low dark matter masses. For each dark matter mass, the halo-to-halo variation of the local dark matter density results in an overall shift of the allowed regions and exclusion limits for the cross section. However, the compatibility of the possible hints for a dark matter signal from DAMA and CDMS-Simore » and null results from LUX and SuperCDMS is not improved.« less

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]; ; ;  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1090 GL Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  2. Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
  3. Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF (United Kingdom)
  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2 (Canada)
  5. Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22667570
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2016; Journal Issue: 05; 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; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; COMPATIBILITY; CROSS SECTIONS; DENSITY; DETECTION; DIRECT CURRENT; DISTRIBUTION; GEV RANGE; HYDRODYNAMICS; MASS; MILKY WAY; NONLUMINOUS MATTER; RESOLUTION; ROTATION; SIMULATION; SPIN; VELOCITY

Citation Formats

Bozorgnia, Nassim, Calore, Francesca, Lovell, Mark, Bertone, Gianfranco, Schaller, Matthieu, Frenk, Carlos S., Theuns, Tom, Crain, Robert A., Navarro, Julio F., and Schaye, Joop. Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/024.
Bozorgnia, Nassim, Calore, Francesca, Lovell, Mark, Bertone, Gianfranco, Schaller, Matthieu, Frenk, Carlos S., Theuns, Tom, Crain, Robert A., Navarro, Julio F., & Schaye, Joop. Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/024
Bozorgnia, Nassim, Calore, Francesca, Lovell, Mark, Bertone, Gianfranco, Schaller, Matthieu, Frenk, Carlos S., Theuns, Tom, Crain, Robert A., Navarro, Julio F., and Schaye, Joop. 2016. "Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/024.
@article{osti_22667570,
title = {Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter direct searches},
author = {Bozorgnia, Nassim and Calore, Francesca and Lovell, Mark and Bertone, Gianfranco and Schaller, Matthieu and Frenk, Carlos S. and Theuns, Tom and Crain, Robert A. and Navarro, Julio F. and Schaye, Joop},
abstractNote = {We study the implications of galaxy formation on dark matter direct detection using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies simulated within the EAGLE and APOSTLE projects. We identify Milky Way analogues that satisfy observational constraints on the Milky Way rotation curve and total stellar mass. We then extract the dark matter density and velocity distribution in the Solar neighbourhood for this set of Milky Way analogues, and use them to analyse the results of current direct detection experiments. For most Milky Way analogues, the event rates in direct detection experiments obtained from the best fit Maxwellian distribution (with peak speed of 223–289 km/s) are similar to those obtained directly from the simulations. As a consequence, the allowed regions and exclusion limits set by direct detection experiments in the dark matter mass and spin-independent cross section plane shift by a few GeV compared to the Standard Halo Model, at low dark matter masses. For each dark matter mass, the halo-to-halo variation of the local dark matter density results in an overall shift of the allowed regions and exclusion limits for the cross section. However, the compatibility of the possible hints for a dark matter signal from DAMA and CDMS-Si and null results from LUX and SuperCDMS is not improved.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/024},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22667570}, journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
issn = {1475-7516},
number = 05,
volume = 2016,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}