No Arabic abstract
We calculate the effective $J$-factors, which determine the strength of indirect detection signals from dark matter annihilation, for 25 dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). We consider several well-motivated assumptions for the relative velocity dependence of the dark matter annihilation cross section: $sigma_A v$: $s$-wave (velocity independent), $p$-wave ($sigma_A v propto v^2$), $d$-wave ($sigma_A v propto v^4$), and Sommerfeld-enhancement in the Coulomb limit ($sigma_A v propto 1/v$). As a result we provide the largest and most updated sample of J-factors for velocity-dependent annihilation models. For each scenario, we use Fermi-LAT gamma-ray data to constrain the annihilation cross section. Due to the assumptions made in our gamma-ray data analysis, our bounds are comparable to previous bounds on both the $p$-wave and Sommerfeld-enhanced cross sections using dSphs. Our bounds on the $d$-wave cross section are the first such bounds using indirect detection data.
We determine the dark matter pair-wise relative velocity distribution in a set of Milky Way-like halos in the Auriga and APOSTLE simulations. Focusing on the smooth halo component, the relative velocity distribution is well-described by a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution over nearly all radii in the halo. We explore the implications for velocity-dependent dark matter annihilation, focusing on four models which scale as different powers of the relative velocity: Sommerfeld, s-wave, p-wave, and d-wave models. We show that the J-factors scale as the moments of the relative velocity distribution, and that the halo-to-halo scatter is largest for d-wave, and smallest for Sommerfeld models. The J-factor is strongly correlated with the dark matter density in the halo, and is very weakly correlated with the velocity dispersion. This implies that if the dark matter density in the Milky Way can be robustly determined, one can accurately predict the dark matter annihilation signal, without the need to identify the dark matter velocity distribution in the Galaxy.
For models in which dark matter annihilation is Sommerfeld-enhanced, the annihilation cross section increases at low relative velocities. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) have low characteristic dark matter particle velocities and are thus ideal candidates to study such models. In this paper we model the dark matter phase space of dSphs as isotropic and spherically-symmetric, and determine the $J$-factors for several of the most important targets for indirect dark matter searches. For Navarro-Frenk-White density profiles, we quantify the scatter in the $J$-factor arising from the astrophysical uncertainty in the dark matter potential. We show that, in Sommerfeld-enhanced models, the ordering of the most promising dSphs may be different relative to the standard case of velocity-independent cross sections. This result can have important implications for derived upper limits on the annihilation cross section, or on possible signals, from dSphs.
We have found that the high velocity dispersions of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) can be well explained by Milky Way (MW) tidal shocks, which reproduce precisely the gravitational acceleration previously attributed to dark matter (DM). Here we summarize the main results of Hammer et al. (2019) who studied the main scaling relations of dSphs and show how dark-matter free galaxies in departure from equilibrium reproduce them well, while they appear to be challenging for the DM model. These results are consistent with our most recent knowledge about dSph past histories, including their orbits, their past star formation history and their progenitors, which are likely tiny dwarf irregular galaxies.
The nature of Milky Way dwarf spheroidals (MW dSphs) has been questioned, in particular whether they are dominated by dark matter (DM). Here we investigate an alternative scenario, for which tidal shocks are exerted by the MW to DM-free dSphs after a first infall of their gas-rich progenitors, and for which theoretical calculations have been verified by pure N-body simulations. Whether or not the dSphs are on their first infall cannot be resolved on the sole basis of their star formation history. In fact, gas removal may cause complex gravitational instabilities and near-pericenter passages can give rise to tidal disruptive processes. Advanced precision with the Gaia satellite in determining both their past orbital motions and the MW velocity curve is, however, providing crucial results. First, tidal shocks explain why DM-free dSphs are found preferentially near their pericenter, where they are in a destructive process, while their chance to be long-lived satellites is associated with a very low probability P~ 2 10^-7, which is at odds with the current DM-dominated dSph scenario. Second, most dSph binding energies are consistent with a first infall. Third, the MW tidal shocks that predict the observed dSph velocity dispersions are themselves predicted in amplitude by the most accurate MW velocity curve. Fourth, tidal shocks accurately predict the forces or accelerations exerted at half-light radius of dSphs, including the MW and the Magellanic System gravitational attractions. The above is suggestive of dSphs that are DM-free and tidally shocked near their pericenters, which may provoke a significant quake in our understanding of near-field cosmology.
We present the effective $J$-factors for the Milky Way for scenarios in which dark matter annihilation is p-wave or d-wave suppressed. We find that the velocity suppression of dark matter annihilation can have a sizable effect on the morphology of a potential dark matter annihilation signal in the Galactic Center. The gamma-ray flux from the innermost region of the Galactic Center is in particular suppressed. We find that for dark matter density profiles with steep inner slopes, the morphology of the Inner Galaxy gamma-ray emission in p-wave models can be made similar to the morphology in standard s-wave models. This similarity may suggest that model discrimination between s-wave and p-wave is challenging, for example, when fitting the Galactic Center excess. However, we show that it is difficult to simultaneously match s- and p-wave morphologies at both large and small angular scales. The $J$-factors we calculate may be implemented with astrophysical foreground models to self-consistently determine the morphology of the excess with velocity-suppressed dark matter annihilation.