2010/11/12 by Torsten Bringmann
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Computer science #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark matter #Gamma ray #Physics #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1142/9789814329033_0072
13 pages, 4 figures, World Science proceedings style. Based on an invited talk given at the ICATPP conference on cosmic rays for particle and astroparticle physics, Como, Italy, 7-8 Oct 2010
arxiv created 2010/11/12 · openalex publication_date 2011/06/01 · arxiv updated 2017/08/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A leading hypothesis for the nature of the elusive dark matter are thermally produced, weakly interacting massive particles that arise in many theories beyond the standard model of particle physics. Their self-annihilation in astrophysical regions of high density provides a potential means of indirectly detecting dark matter through the annihilation products, which nicely complements direct and collider searches. Here, I review the case of gamma rays which are particularly promising in this respect: distinct and unambiguous spectral signatures would not only allow a clear discrimination from astrophysical backgrounds but also to extract important properties of the dark matter particles; powerful observational facilities like the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope or upcoming large, ground-based Cherenkov telescope arrays will be able to probe a considerable part of the underlying, e.g. supersymmetric, parameter space. I conclude with a more detailed comparison of indirect and direct dark matter searches, showing that these two approaches are, indeed, complementary.