Constraining the dark matter annihilation cross-section with Cherenkov telescope observations of dwarf galaxies |
| |
| Authors: | Lidia Pieri Massimiliano Lattanzi Joseph Silk |
| |
| Institution: | Instiitute d'Astrophysique de Paris, 48 bis bd Arago, 75014 Paris, France;Physics Department, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH;ICRA and Dip. di Fisica, Universitàdi Roma 'La Sapienza', P.le Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Rome, Italy |
| |
| Abstract: | The presence of dark matter in the halo of our Galaxy could be revealed through indirect detection of its annihilation products. Dark matter annihilation is one possible interpretation of the recently measured excesses in positron and electron fluxes, provided that boost factors of the order of 103 or more are taken into account. Such boost factors are actually achievable through the velocity-dependent Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation cross-section. Here, we study the expected γ-ray flux from two local dwarf galaxies for which Cherenkov telescope measurements are available, namely Draco and Sagittarius. We use recent stellar kinematical measurements to model the dark matter haloes of the dwarfs and the results of numerical simulations to model the presence of an associated population of subhaloes. We incorporate the Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation cross-section. We compare our predictions with the observations of Draco and Sagittarius performed by MAGIC and HESS, respectively, and derive exclusion limits on the effective annihilation cross-section. We also study the sensitivities of Fermi and of the future Cherenkov telescope array to cross-section enhancements. We find that the boost factor due to the Sommerfeld enhancement is already constrained by the MAGIC and HESS data, with enhancements greater than ～104 being excluded. |
| |
| Keywords: | Galaxy: halo Galaxy: structure galaxies: dwarf dark matter gamma-rays: observations gamma-rays: theory |
|
|
