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Register a new userEGRET Excess of Diffuse Galactic Gamma Rays as Tracer of Dark Matter
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The public data from the EGRET space telescope on diffuse Galactic gamma rays in the energy range from 0.1 to 10 GeV are reanalyzed with the purpose of searching for signals of Dark Matter annihilation (DMA). The analysis confirms the previously observed excess for energies above 1 GeV in comparison with the expectations from conventional Galactic models. In addition, the excess was found to show all the key features of a signal from Dark Matter Annihilation (DMA): a) the excess is observable in all sky directions and has the same shape everywhere, thus pointing to a common source; b) the shape corresponds to the expected spectrum of the annihilation of non-relativistic massive particles into - among others - neutral $pi^0$ mesons, which decay into photons. From the energy spectrum of the excess we deduce a WIMP mass between 50 and 100 GeV, while from the intensity of the excess in all sky directions the shape of the halo could be reconstructed. The DM halo is consistent with an almost spherical isothermal profile with substructure in the Galactic plane in the form of toroidal rings at 4 and 14 kpc from the center. These rings lead to a peculiar shape of the rotation curve, in agreement with the data, which proves that the EGRET excess traces the Dark Matter.
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Elsaesser and Mannheim fit a contribution of Dark Matter Annihilation (DMA) to the extragalactic contribution of the galactic diffuse gamma ray flux, as deduced from the EGRET data by Strong, Moskalenko and Reimer.They find a WIMP mass of 515{+110}{-75} GeV and quote a systematic error of 30%. However, they do not include large systematic uncertainties from the fact that the determination of the extragalactic flux (EGF) requires a model for the subtraction of the Galactic flux from the data.The data used were obtained with a model without Galactic DM, so one expects additional uncertainty in the region where DMA contributes. Including a Galactic DMA contribution reduces the significance and the WIMP mass. The latter then becomes compatible with the Galactic excess of diffuse gamma rays, which posseses all the properties of DMA with a much higher significance than the extragalactic excess.
The diffuse galactic EGRET gamma ray data show a clear excess for energies above 1 GeV in comparison with the expectations from conventional galactic models. The excess is seen with the same spectrum in all sky directions, as expected for Dark Matter (DM) annihilation. This hypothesis is investigated in detail. The energy spectrum of the excess is used to limit the WIMP mass to the 50-100 GeV range, while the sky maps are used to determine the halo structure, which is consistent with a triaxial isothermal halo with additional enhancement of Dark Matter in the disc. The latter is strongly correlated with the ring of stars around our galaxy at a distance of 14 kpc, thought to originate from the tidal disruption of a dwarf galaxy. It is shown that this ring of DM with a mass of $approx 2cdot 10^{11} M_odot$ causes the mysterious change of slope in the rotation curve at $R=1.1R_0$ and the large local surface density of the disc. The total mass of the halo is determined to be $3cdot 10^{12} M_odot$. A cuspy profile is definitely excluded to describe the gamma ray data. These signals of Dark Matter Annihilation are compatible with Supersymmetry for boost factors of 20 upwards and have a statistical significance of more than $10sigma$ in comparison with the conventional galactic model. The latter combined with all features mentioned above provides an intriguing hint that the EGRET excess is indeed a signal from Dark Matter Annihilation.
Recently it was shown that the excess of diffuse Galactic gamma rays above 1 GeV traces the Dark Matter halo, as proven by reconstructing the peculiar shape of the rotation curve of our Galaxy from the gamma ray excess. This can be interpreted as a Dark Matter annihilation signal. In this paper we investigate if this interpretation is consistent with Supersymmetry. It is found that the EGRET excess combined with all electroweak constraints is fully consistent with the minimal mSUGRA model for scalars in the TeV range and gauginos below 500 GeV.
The perspective of the detectability of Galactic dark matter subhaloes on the Fermi satellite is investigated in this work. Under the assumptions that dark matter annihilation accounts for the GeV excess of the Galactic diffuse $gamma$-rays discovered by EGRET and the $gamma$-ray flux is dominated by the contribution from subhaloes of dark matter, we calculate the expected number of dark matter subhaloes that Fermi may detect. We show that Fermi may detect a few tens to several hundred subhaloes in 1-year all sky survey. Since EGRET observation is taken as a normalization, this prediction is independent of the particle physics property of dark matter. The uncertainties of the prediction are discussed in detail. We find that the major uncertainty comes from the mass function of subhaloes, i.e., whether the subhaloes are point like (high-mass rich) or diffuse like (low-mass rich). Other uncertainties like the background estimation and the observational errors will contribute a factor of $2sim 3$.
The details of what constitutes the majority of the mass that makes up dark matter in the Universe remains one of the prime puzzles of cosmology and particle physics today - eighty years after the first observational indications. Today, it is widely accepted that dark matter exists and that it is very likely composed of elementary particles - that are weakly interacting and massive (WIMPs for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). As important as dark matter is in our understanding of cosmology, the detection of these particles has so far been elusive. Their primary properties such as mass and interaction cross sections are still unknown. Indirect detection searches for the products of WIMP annihilation or decay. This is generally done through observations of gamma-ray photons or cosmic rays. Instruments such as the Fermi-LAT, H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS, combined with the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will provide important and complementary constraints to other search techniques. Given the expected sensitivities of all search techniques, we are at a stage where the WIMP scenario is facing stringent tests and it can be expected that WIMPs will be either be detected or the scenario will be so severely constrained that it will have to be re-thought. In this sense we are on the Threshold of Discovery. In this article, I will give a general overview over the current status and the future expectations for indirect searches for dark matter (WIMP) particles.
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