Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter
Abstract
Several classes of astrophysical sources contribute to the approximately isotropic gamma-ray background measured by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. In this paper, we use Fermi's catalog of gamma-ray sources (along with corresponding source catalogs at infrared and radio wavelengths) to build and constrain a model for the contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background from astrophysical sources, including radio galaxies, star-forming galaxies, and blazars. We then combine our model with Fermi's measurement of the gamma-ray background to derive constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section, including contributions from both extragalactic and galactic halos and subhalos. The resulting constraints are competitive with the strongest current constraints from the Galactic Center and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. As Fermi continues to measure the gamma-ray emission from a greater number of astrophysical sources, it will become possible to more tightly constrain the astrophysical contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background. We project that with 10 years of data, Fermi's measurement of this background combined with the improved constraints on the astrophysical source contributions will yield a sensitivity to dark matter annihilations that exceeds the strongest current constraints by a factor of ~ 5 - 10.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1155850
- Report Number(s):
- MCTP-13-40; FERMILAB-PUB-13-546-A
Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516; arXiv eprint number arXiv:1312.0608
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11359
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 2014; Journal Issue: 02; Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
- Publisher:
- Institute of Physics (IOP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Citation Formats
Cholis, Ilias, Hooper, Dan, and McDermott, Samuel D. Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2014/02/014.
Cholis, Ilias, Hooper, Dan, & McDermott, Samuel D. Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2014/02/014
Cholis, Ilias, Hooper, Dan, and McDermott, Samuel D. 2014.
"Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2014/02/014. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1155850.
@article{osti_1155850,
title = {Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter},
author = {Cholis, Ilias and Hooper, Dan and McDermott, Samuel D.},
abstractNote = {Several classes of astrophysical sources contribute to the approximately isotropic gamma-ray background measured by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. In this paper, we use Fermi's catalog of gamma-ray sources (along with corresponding source catalogs at infrared and radio wavelengths) to build and constrain a model for the contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background from astrophysical sources, including radio galaxies, star-forming galaxies, and blazars. We then combine our model with Fermi's measurement of the gamma-ray background to derive constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section, including contributions from both extragalactic and galactic halos and subhalos. The resulting constraints are competitive with the strongest current constraints from the Galactic Center and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. As Fermi continues to measure the gamma-ray emission from a greater number of astrophysical sources, it will become possible to more tightly constrain the astrophysical contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background. We project that with 10 years of data, Fermi's measurement of this background combined with the improved constraints on the astrophysical source contributions will yield a sensitivity to dark matter annihilations that exceeds the strongest current constraints by a factor of ~ 5 - 10.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2014/02/014},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1155850},
journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
issn = {1475-7516},
number = 02,
volume = 2014,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}