DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Is the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 a dark matter subhalo?

Abstract

In a previous study, we pointed out that the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 shows evidence of being spatially extended. If a gamma-ray source without detectable emission at other wavelengths were unambiguously determined to be spatially extended, it could not be explained by known astrophysics, and would constitute a smoking gun for dark matter particles annihilating in a nearby subhalo. With this prospect in mind, we scrutinize the gamma-ray emission from this source, finding that it prefers a spatially extended profile over that of a single point-like source with 5.1σ statistical significance. We also use a large sample of active galactic nuclei and other known gamma-rays sources as a control group, confirming, as expected, that statistically significant extension is rare among such objects. We argue that the most likely (non-dark matter) explanation for this apparent extension is a pair of bright gamma-ray sources that serendipitously lie very close to each other, and estimate that there is a chance probability of ~2% that such a pair would exist somewhere on the sky. In the case of 3FGL J2212.5+0703, we test an alternative model that includes a second gamma-ray point source at the position of the radio source BZQ J2212+0646, and find that the addition of this source alongside a point source at the position of 3FGL J2212.5+0703 yields a fit of comparable quality to that obtained for a single extended source. If 3FGL J2212.5+0703 is a dark matter subhalo, it would imply that dark matter particles have a mass of ~18–33 GeV and an annihilation cross section on the order of σv ~ 10–26 cm(3)/s (for the representative case of annihilations to $$b\bar{b}$$), similar to the values required to generate the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
  2. Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
  3. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
OSTI Identifier:
1254642
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-PUB-15-411-A; INT-PUB-16-005; arXiv:1602.07303
Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516; 1423260; TRN: US1601724
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-07CH11359
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2016; Journal Issue: 05; Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS

Citation Formats

Bertoni, Bridget, Hooper, Dan, and Linden, Tim. Is the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 a dark matter subhalo?. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/049.
Bertoni, Bridget, Hooper, Dan, & Linden, Tim. Is the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 a dark matter subhalo?. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/049
Bertoni, Bridget, Hooper, Dan, and Linden, Tim. Mon . "Is the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 a dark matter subhalo?". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/049. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1254642.
@article{osti_1254642,
title = {Is the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 a dark matter subhalo?},
author = {Bertoni, Bridget and Hooper, Dan and Linden, Tim},
abstractNote = {In a previous study, we pointed out that the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 shows evidence of being spatially extended. If a gamma-ray source without detectable emission at other wavelengths were unambiguously determined to be spatially extended, it could not be explained by known astrophysics, and would constitute a smoking gun for dark matter particles annihilating in a nearby subhalo. With this prospect in mind, we scrutinize the gamma-ray emission from this source, finding that it prefers a spatially extended profile over that of a single point-like source with 5.1σ statistical significance. We also use a large sample of active galactic nuclei and other known gamma-rays sources as a control group, confirming, as expected, that statistically significant extension is rare among such objects. We argue that the most likely (non-dark matter) explanation for this apparent extension is a pair of bright gamma-ray sources that serendipitously lie very close to each other, and estimate that there is a chance probability of ~2% that such a pair would exist somewhere on the sky. In the case of 3FGL J2212.5+0703, we test an alternative model that includes a second gamma-ray point source at the position of the radio source BZQ J2212+0646, and find that the addition of this source alongside a point source at the position of 3FGL J2212.5+0703 yields a fit of comparable quality to that obtained for a single extended source. If 3FGL J2212.5+0703 is a dark matter subhalo, it would imply that dark matter particles have a mass of ~18–33 GeV and an annihilation cross section on the order of σv ~ 10–26 cm(3)/s (for the representative case of annihilations to $b\bar{b}$), similar to the values required to generate the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2016/05/049},
journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
number = 05,
volume = 2016,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon May 23 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Mon May 23 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

Works referenced in this record:

FERMI -LAT OBSERVATIONS OF HIGH-ENERGY γ -RAY EMISSION TOWARD THE GALACTIC CENTER
journal, February 2016


The characterization of the gamma-ray signal from the central Milky Way: A case for annihilating dark matter
journal, June 2016


Background model systematics for the Fermi GeV excess
journal, March 2015

  • Calore, Francesca; Cholis, Ilias; Weniger, Christoph
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 03
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2015/03/038

Astrophysical and dark matter interpretations of extended gamma-ray emission from the Galactic Center
journal, July 2014


Two emission mechanisms in the Fermi Bubbles: A possible signal of annihilating dark matter
journal, September 2013


Dark matter and pulsar model constraints from Galactic Center Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations
journal, October 2013


Origin of the gamma rays from the Galactic Center
journal, December 2011


Dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Center as seen by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope
journal, March 2011


Challenges in explaining the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess with millisecond pulsars
journal, June 2015


Evidence for Unresolved γ -Ray Point Sources in the Inner Galaxy
journal, February 2016


Strong Support for the Millisecond Pulsar Origin of the Galactic Center GeV Excess
journal, February 2016


Millisecond pulsars and the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess: the importance of luminosity function and secondary emission
journal, February 2015

  • Petrović, Jovana; Serpico, Pasquale D.; Zaharijas, Gabrijela
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 02
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2015/02/023

Galactic Center gamma-ray ``excess'' from an active past of the Galactic Centre?
journal, October 2014

  • Petrović, Jovana; Serpico, Pasquale Dario; Zaharijaš, Gabrijela
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2014, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2014/10/052

The Galactic Center GeV excess from a series of leptonic cosmic-ray outbursts
journal, December 2015

  • Cholis, Ilias; Evoli, Carmelo; Calore, Francesca
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2015/12/005

Cosmic ray protons in the inner Galaxy and the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess
journal, July 2014


SEARCH FOR GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM DES DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY CANDIDATES WITH FERMI -LAT DATA
journal, August 2015


Comprehensive search for dark matter annihilation in dwarf galaxies
journal, April 2015

  • Geringer-Sameth, Alex; Koushiappas, Savvas M.; Walker, Matthew G.
  • Physical Review D, Vol. 91, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.083535

Eight new Milky way Companions Discovered in First-Year dark Energy Survey data
journal, June 2015


Beasts of the Southern Wild: Discovery of nine Ultra Faint Satellites in the Vicinity of the Magellanic Clouds
journal, May 2015

  • Koposov, Sergey E.; Belokurov, Vasily; Torrealba, Gabriel
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 805, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/805/2/130

Indication of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Newly Discovered Dwarf Galaxy Reticulum II
journal, August 2015


On The gamma-ray emission from Reticulum II and other dwarf galaxies
journal, September 2015


Eight Ultra-Faint Galaxy Candidates Discovered in year two of the dark Energy Survey
journal, November 2015


The Dark Matter Annihilation Signal from Galactic Substructure: Predictions for GLAST
journal, October 2008

  • Kuhlen, Michael; Diemand, Jürg; Madau, Piero
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 686, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/590337

Dark matter annihilation in substructures revised
journal, March 2008


Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals
journal, July 2008


Prospects for detecting supersymmetric dark matter in the Galactic halo
journal, November 2008

  • Springel, V.; White, S. D. M.; Frenk, C. S.
  • Nature, Vol. 456, Issue 7218
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature07411

Examining The Fermi-LAT Third Source Catalog in search of dark matter subhalos
journal, December 2015

  • Bertoni, Bridget; Hooper, Dan; Linden, Tim
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2015/12/035

Fermi’s sibyl: mining the gamma-ray sky for dark matter subhaloes: Mining for dark matter
journal, June 2012

  • Mirabal, N.; Frías-Martinez, V.; Hassan, T.
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, Vol. 424, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2012.01287.x

Unidentified sources in the Fermi-LAT second source catalog: the case for DM subhalos
journal, November 2012


Nature of the unidentified TeV source HESS J1614-518 revealed by Suzaku and XMM-Newton observations
conference, January 2012

  • Sakai, Michito; Yajima, Yukie; Matsumoto, Hironori
  • SUZAKU 2011: Exploring the X-ray Universe: Suzaku and Beyond, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.3696201

A Closer Look at the Unidentified TeV Source HESS J1614—518
conference, January 2008

  • Rowell, G.; Horns, D.; Fukui, Y.
  • HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY: Proceedings of the 4th International Meeting on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.3076650

The most complete and detailed X-ray view of the SNR Puppis A
journal, June 2013


The Field of the TeV Source HESS J1804−216 in X‐Rays and Other Wavelengths
journal, November 2007

  • Kargaltsev, O.; Pavlov, G. G.; Garmire, G. P.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 670, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/521520

OH (1720 MHz) MASERS: A MULTIWAVELENGTH STUDY OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE W51C SUPERNOVA REMNANT AND THE W51B STAR FORMING REGION
journal, June 2013


X-ray and radio observations of the γ Cygni supernova remnant G78.2+2.1
journal, October 2013

  • Leahy, D. A.; Green, K.; Ranasinghe, S.
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 436, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stt1596

Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the Chandra Era
conference, January 2008

  • Kargaltsev, O.; Pavlov, G. G.; Bassa, C.
  • 40 YEARS OF PULSARS: Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.2900138

Discovery of new X-ray sources near the unidentified gamma-ray source HESS J1841-055
journal, June 2015


SUZAKU OBSERVATION OF THE FERMI CYGNUS COCOON: THE SEARCH FOR A SIGNATURE OF YOUNG COSMIC-RAY ELECTRONS
journal, April 2015


FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE FIRST SOURCE CATALOG
journal, May 2010

  • Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 188, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/188/2/405

FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE SECOND SOURCE CATALOG
journal, March 2012

  • Nolan, P. L.; Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 199, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/199/2/31

New Associations of Gamma-Ray Sources from the Fermi Second Source Catalog
journal, February 2015

  • Schinzel, Frank K.; Petrov, Leonid; Taylor, Gregory B.
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 217, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/217/1/4

The Aquarius Project: the subhaloes of galactic haloes
journal, December 2008


An introduction to PYTHIA 8.2
journal, June 2015

  • Sjöstrand, Torbjörn; Ask, Stefan; Christiansen, Jesper R.
  • Computer Physics Communications, Vol. 191
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cpc.2015.01.024

The Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos
journal, May 1996

  • Navarro, Julio F.; Frenk, Carlos S.; White, Simon D. M.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 462
  • DOI: 10.1086/177173

A Universal Density Profile from Hierarchical Clustering
journal, December 1997

  • Navarro, Julio F.; Frenk, Carlos S.; White, Simon D. M.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 490, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/304888

The flattening of the concentration–mass relation towards low halo masses and its implications for the annihilation signal boost
journal, June 2014

  • Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.; Prada, Francisco
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 442, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stu1014

The Shapes, Orientation, and Alignment of Galactic Dark Matter Subhalos
journal, December 2007

  • Kuhlen, Michael; Diemand, Jurg; Madau, Piero
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 671, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/522878

The shape of dark matter subhaloes in the Aquarius simulations
journal, February 2014

  • Vera-Ciro, Carlos A.; Sales, Laura V.; Helmi, Amina
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 439, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stu153

Roma-BZCAT: a multifrequency catalogue of blazars
journal, December 2008


CRATES: An All‐Sky Survey of Flat‐Spectrum Radio Sources
journal, July 2007

  • Healey, Stephen E.; Romani, Roger W.; Taylor, Gregory B.
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 171, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/513742

CGRaBS: An All‐Sky Survey of Gamma‐Ray Blazar Candidates
journal, March 2008

  • Healey, Stephen E.; Romani, Roger W.; Cotter, Garret
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 175, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/523302

A tale of tails: Dark matter interpretations of the Fermi GeV excess in light of background model systematics
journal, March 2015


The Structure and Evolution of Cold Dark Matter Halos
journal, February 2011


Searching for Dark Matter Annihilation from Milky Way Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with Six Years of Fermi Large Area Telescope Data
journal, November 2015


A new Milky way halo star Cluster in the Southern Galactic sky
journal, April 2013


A Hero’S dark Horse: Discovery of an Ultra-Faint Milky way Satellite in Pegasus
journal, May 2015


Nature of the Unidentified TeV Source HESS J1614−518, Revealed by Suzaku and XMM-Newton Observations
journal, November 2011

  • Sakai, Michito; Yajima, Yukie; Matsumoto, Hironori
  • Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, Vol. 63, Issue sp3
  • DOI: 10.1093/pasj/63.sp3.s879

The structure and evolution of cold dark matter halos
text, January 2011


Indication of Gamma-ray Emission from the Newly Discovered Dwarf Galaxy Reticulum II
text, January 2018


All-Sky Survey of Flat-Spectrum Radio Sources
dataset, January 2007


Indication of Gamma-ray Emission from the Newly Discovered Dwarf Galaxy Reticulum II
text, January 2015

  • Geringer-Sameth, Alex; Walker, Matthew; Koushiappas, Savvas M.
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • DOI: 10.1184/r1/6506966

The shapes, orientation, and alignment of Galactic dark matter subhalos
text, January 2007


Dark Matter Annihilation in Substructures Revised
text, January 2007


CGRaBS: An All-Sky Survey of Gamma-Ray Blazar Candidates
text, January 2007


Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the Chandra Era
text, January 2008


Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to Dark Matter annihilation signals
text, January 2008


Search for Dark Matter Satellites using the FERMI-LAT
text, January 2012


The most complete and detailed X-ray view of the SNR Puppis A
text, January 2013


Astrophysical and Dark Matter Interpretations of Extended Gamma-Ray Emission from the Galactic Center
text, January 2014


The Sensitivity of HAWC to High-Mass Dark Matter Annihilations
text, January 2014


Background model systematics for the Fermi GeV excess
text, January 2014


A Comprehensive Search for Dark Matter Annihilation in Dwarf Galaxies
text, January 2014


Search for Gamma-Ray Emission from DES Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Candidates with Fermi-LAT Data
text, January 2015


Discovery of new X-ray sources near the unidentified gamma-ray source HESS J1841-055
text, January 2015


The Galactic Center GeV Excess from a Series of Leptonic Cosmic-Ray Outbursts
text, January 2015


Eight Ultra-faint Galaxy Candidates Discovered in Year Two of the Dark Energy Survey
text, January 2015


Six New Millisecond Pulsars from Arecibo Searches of Fermi Gamma-Ray Sources
text, January 2016


The Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos
text, January 1995


Dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Center as seen by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope
journal, March 2011


Millisecond pulsars and the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess: the importance of luminosity function and secondary emission
journal, February 2015

  • Petrović, Jovana; Serpico, Pasquale D.; Zaharijas, Gabrijela
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 02
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2015/02/023

Detectability of neutralino clumps via atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes
journal, October 2002


The Structure and Evolution of Cold Dark Matter Halos
journal, February 2011


The shapes, orientation, and alignment of Galactic dark matter subhalos
text, January 2007


Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the Chandra Era
text, January 2008


The Aquarius Project: the subhalos of galactic halos
text, January 2008


Works referencing / citing this record:

Dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies and indirect detection: a review
journal, March 2018


Gamma rays from dark matter subhalos revisited: refining the predictions and constraints
journal, April 2017


Halometry from astrometry
journal, July 2018

  • Tilburg, Ken Van; Taki, Anna-Maria; Weiner, Neal
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2018, Issue 07
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/041

Unidentified gamma-ray sources as targets for indirect dark matter detection with the Fermi -Large Area Telescope
journal, July 2019

  • Coronado-Blázquez, Javier; Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.; Domínguez, Alberto
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2019, Issue 07
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2019/07/020

Spectral and spatial analysis of the dark matter subhalo candidates among Fermi Large Area Telescope unidentified sources
journal, November 2019

  • Coronado-Blázquez, Javier; Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.; Mauro, Mattia Di
  • Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2019, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2019/11/045

A Gaia DR2 search for dwarf galaxies towards Fermi-LAT sources: implications for annihilating dark matter
journal, July 2018

  • Ciucă, Ioana; Kawata, Daisuke; Ando, Shin’ichiro
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 480, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty1994

Realistic estimation for the detectability of dark matter subhalos using Fermi-LAT catalogs
journal, September 2017


Search for line-like signals in the all-sky Fermi-LAT data
journal, June 2019


Detactability of Dark Matter Subhalos by Means of the GAMMA-400 Telescope
journal, May 2018


Multimessenger Multi-TeV Dark Matter
journal, April 2019


γ-ray and ν Searches for Dark-Matter Subhalos in the Milky Way with a Baryonic Potential
journal, May 2019


Constraints to Dark Matter Annihilation from High-Latitude HAWC Unidentified Sources
journal, December 2019


Halometry from Astrometry
text, January 2018


Unidentified Gamma-ray Sources as Targets for Indirect Dark Matter Detection with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope
text, January 2019


Spectral and spatial analysis of the dark matter subhalo candidates among Fermi Large Area Telescope unidentified sources
text, January 2019


Constraints to dark matter annihilation from high-latitude HAWC unidentified sources
text, January 2020