Stringent constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section from the region of the Galactic Center

2012/09/30 by Dan Hooper, Chris Kelso, Farinaldo S. Queiroz · 161 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Annihilation #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Baryonic dark matter #Cosmology #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark energy #Dark matter #Dark matter halo #Dwarf galaxy problem #Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope #Galactic Center #Galactic halo #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy rotation curve #Gravitational microlensing #Halo #Hot dark matter #Light dark matter #Milky Way #Particle physics #Physics #Scalar field dark matter #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.HE #hep-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2013.04.007

published in Astroparticle Physics 46, 55-70 (Elsevier BV) · 20 pages, 14 figures

arxiv created 2013/05/03 · openalex publication_date 2013/05/09 · arxiv updated 2015/06/11 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

For any realistic halo profile, the Galactic Center is predicted to be the brightest source of gamma-rays from dark matter annihilations. Due in large part to uncertainties associated with the dark matter distribution and astrophysical backgrounds, however, the most commonly applied constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section have been derived from other regions, such as dwarf spheroidal galaxies. In this article, we study Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope data from the direction of the inner Galaxy and derive stringent upper limits on the dark matter's annihilation cross section. Even for the very conservative case of a dark matter distribution with a significant (~kpc) constant-density core, normalized to the minimum density needed to accommodate rotation curve and microlensing measurements, we find that the Galactic Center constraint is approximately as stringent as those derived from dwarf galaxies (which were derived under the assumption of an NFW distribution). For NFW or Einasto profiles (again, normalized to the minimum allowed density), the Galactic Center constraints are typically stronger than those from dwarfs.

Citations

• Cusps in cold dark matter haloes
• Secular bar formation in galaxies with a significant amount of dark matter
• The Aquarius Project: the subhaloes of galactic haloes
• Observation of Gamma Rays from the Galactic Center with the MAGIC Telescope
• The HiDistribution of the Milky Way

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