2011/10/30 by M. Vivier, Vivier, Matthieu
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1110.6615
openalex publication_date 2011/10/30 · openalex created_date 2022/09/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In the cosmological paradigm, cold Dark Matter (DM) dominates the mass\ncontent of the Universe and is present at every scale. Candidates for DM\ninclude many extensions of the standard model, with a weakly interacting\nmassive particle (WIMP) in the mass range from 50 GeV to greater than 10 TeV.\nThe self-annihilation of WIMPs in astrophysical regions of high DM density can\nproduce secondary particles, including very high energy (VHE) gamma rays, with\nenergies up to the dark matter particle mass. The VERITAS array of Cherenkov\ntelescopes, designed for the detection of VHE gamma rays in the 100 GeV-10 TeV\nenergy range, is an appropriate instrument for the detection of DM and is\ncomplementary to Fermi-LAT. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) of the Local\nGroup are potentially the best targets to search for the annihilation signature\nof DM due to their proximity and large DM content. We report on the latest\nVERITAS observations of dSphs and discuss the results in the framework of WIMP\nmodels.\n