Searching For Dark Matter Annihilation In The Smith High-Velocity Cloud
Abstract
Recent observations suggest that some high-velocity clouds may be confined by massive dark matter halos. In particular, the proximity and proposed dark matter content of the Smith Cloud make it a tempting target for the indirect detection of dark matter annihilation. We argue that the Smith Cloud may be a better target than some Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies and use γ-ray observations from the Fermi Large Area Telescope to search for a dark matter annihilation signal. No significant γ-ray excess is found coincident with the Smith Cloud, and we set strong limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section assuming a spatially extended dark matter profile consistent with dynamical modeling of the Smith Cloud. Notably, these limits exclude the canonical thermal relic cross section (~3 × 10-26 cm3 s-1) for dark matter masses . 30 GeV annihilating via the b¯b or τ⁺τ⁻ channels for certain assumptions of the dark matter density profile; however, uncertainties in the dark matter content of the Smith Cloud may significantly weaken these constraints.
- Authors:
-
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Pontificia Univ. Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile); Inst. Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Rome (Italy)
- Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD (United States); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
- Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Kavli Inst. for Cosmological Physics (KICP)
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1356466
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 790; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
- Publisher:
- Institute of Physics (IOP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; Gamma Rays
Citation Formats
Drlica-Wagner, Alex, Gómez-Vargas, Germán A., Hewitt, John W., Linden, Tim, and Tibaldo, Luigi. Searching For Dark Matter Annihilation In The Smith High-Velocity Cloud. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/790/1/24.
Drlica-Wagner, Alex, Gómez-Vargas, Germán A., Hewitt, John W., Linden, Tim, & Tibaldo, Luigi. Searching For Dark Matter Annihilation In The Smith High-Velocity Cloud. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/790/1/24
Drlica-Wagner, Alex, Gómez-Vargas, Germán A., Hewitt, John W., Linden, Tim, and Tibaldo, Luigi. Fri .
"Searching For Dark Matter Annihilation In The Smith High-Velocity Cloud". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/790/1/24. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1356466.
@article{osti_1356466,
title = {Searching For Dark Matter Annihilation In The Smith High-Velocity Cloud},
author = {Drlica-Wagner, Alex and Gómez-Vargas, Germán A. and Hewitt, John W. and Linden, Tim and Tibaldo, Luigi},
abstractNote = {Recent observations suggest that some high-velocity clouds may be confined by massive dark matter halos. In particular, the proximity and proposed dark matter content of the Smith Cloud make it a tempting target for the indirect detection of dark matter annihilation. We argue that the Smith Cloud may be a better target than some Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies and use γ-ray observations from the Fermi Large Area Telescope to search for a dark matter annihilation signal. No significant γ-ray excess is found coincident with the Smith Cloud, and we set strong limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section assuming a spatially extended dark matter profile consistent with dynamical modeling of the Smith Cloud. Notably, these limits exclude the canonical thermal relic cross section (~3 × 10-26 cm3 s-1) for dark matter masses . 30 GeV annihilating via the b¯b or τ⁺τ⁻ channels for certain assumptions of the dark matter density profile; however, uncertainties in the dark matter content of the Smith Cloud may significantly weaken these constraints.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/790/1/24},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
number = 1,
volume = 790,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 27 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Fri Jun 27 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}
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