2003/11/30 by Dan Hooper, Francesc Ferrer, Céline Boehm +7 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.93.161302
published as Phys.Rev.Lett. 93 (2004) 161302 · 4 pages, no figures. Version accepted by Physical Review Letters
openalex publication_date 2004/10/13 · arxiv created 2004/11/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The observed 511 keV emission from the galactic bulge could be due to very light (MeV) annihilating dark matter particles. To distinguish this hypothesis from conventional astrophysical sources, we study dwarf spheroidals in the region observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory/SPI such as Sagittarius. As these galaxies have comparatively few stars, the prospects for 511 keV emission from standard astrophysical scenarios are minimal. The dwarf spheroidals do, however, contain copious amounts of dark matter. The observation of 511 keV emission from Sagittarius should be a "smoking gun" for MeV dark matter.