Observations of Milky Way Dwarf Spheroidal galaxies with the Fermi-LAT detector and constraints on Dark Matter models

Abstract

We report on the observations of 14 dwarf spheroidal galaxies with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope taken during the first 11 months of survey mode operations. The Fermi telescope provides a new opportunity to test particle dark matter models through the expected gamma-ray emission produced by pair annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies, the largest galactic substructures predicted by the cold dark matter scenario, are attractive targets for such indirect searches for dark matter because they are nearby and among the most extreme dark matter dominated environments. No significant gamma-ray emission was detected above 100 MeV from the candidate dwarf galaxies. We determine upper limits to the gamma-ray flux assuming both power-law spectra and representative spectra from WIMP annihilation. The resulting integral flux above 100 MeV is constrained to be at a level below around 10^-9 photons cm^-2 s^-1. Using recent stellar kinematic data, the gamma-ray flux limits are combined with improved determinations of the dark matter density profile in 8 of the 14 candidate dwarfs to place limits on the pair annihilation cross-section of WIMPs in several widely studied extensions of the standard model. With the present data, we are able to rule out large parts of the parameter space where the thermal relic density is below the observed cosmological dark matter density and WIMPs (neutralinos here) are dominantly produced non-thermally, e.g. in models where supersymmetry breaking occurs via anomaly mediation. The gamma-ray limits presented here also constrain some WIMP models proposed to explain the Fermi and PAMELA e^+e^- data, including low-mass wino-like neutralinos and models with TeV masses pair-annihilating into muon-antimuon pairs. (Abridged)

25 pages, 4 figures, accepted to ApJ, Corresponding authors: J. Cohen-Tanugi, C. Farnier, T.E. Jeltema, E. Nuss, and S. Profumo

References in corpus (28)

• Observation of an anomalous positron abundance in the cosmic radiation
• A Theory of Dark Matter
• The Kinematics of the Ultra-Faint Milky Way Satellites: Solving the Missing Satellite Problem
• Measurement of the Cosmic Ray e+ plus e- spectrum from 20 GeV to 1 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Cats and Dogs, Hair and A Hero: A Quintet of New Milky Way Companions
• Dark Matter and Collider Phenomenology of Universal Extra Dimensions
• Velocity Dispersion Profiles of Seven Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Stellar Velocities in the Carina, Fornax, Sculptor and Sextans dSph Galaxies: Data from the Magellan/MMFS Survey
• On possible interpretations of the high energy electron-positron spectrum measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Precise constraints on the dark matter content of Milky Way dwarf galaxies for gamma-ray experiments
• The Cold Dark Matter Halos of Local Group Dwarf Spheroidals
• Dark matter interpretation of recent electron and positron data
• Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to Dark Matter annihilation signals
• The Most Dark Matter Dominated Galaxies: Predicted Gamma-ray Signals from the Faintest Milky Way Dwarfs
• Probing interaction and spatial curvature in the holographic dark energy model
• Detecting dark matter WIMPs in the Draco dwarf: a multi-wavelength perspective
• Fitting the Gamma-Ray Spectrum from Dark Matter with DMFIT: GLAST and the Galactic Center Region
• Exploring Halo Substructure with Giant Stars: The Dynamics and Metallicity of the Dwarf Spheroidal in Bootes
• A spectroscopic confirmation of the Bootes II dwarf spheroidal
• Indirect Dark Matter Detection from Dwarf Satellites: Joint Expectations from Astrophysics and Supersymmetry
• Bounds on Cross-sections and Lifetimes for Dark Matter Annihilation and Decay into Charged Leptons from Gamma-ray Observations of Dwarf Galaxies
• PAMELA Satellite Data as a Signal of Non-Thermal Wino LSP Dark Matter
• Detection of the energetic pulsar PSR B1509-58 and its pulsar wind nebula in MSH 15-52 using the Fermi-Large Area Telescope
• Lifetime of a massive particle in a de Sitter universe
• Upper limit for gamma-ray emission above 140 GeV from the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Draco
• The Origin of Segue 1
• Searching for Dark Matter with X-ray Observations of Local Dwarf Galaxies
• A Search for Dark Matter Annihilation with the Whipple 10m Telescope

Cited by in corpus (221)

• Too big to fail? The puzzling darkness of massive Milky Way subhaloes
• The Waning of the WIMP? A Review of Models, Searches, and Constraints
• Dark Matter Annihilation in The Galactic Center As Seen by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope
• Cuspy No More: How Outflows Affect the Central Dark Matter and Baryon Distribution in Lambda CDM Galaxies
• Update on scalar singlet dark matter
• Constraining Dark Matter Models from a Combined Analysis of Milky Way Satellites with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Searching for Dark Matter Annihilation in Recently Discovered Milky Way Satellites with Fermi-LAT
• Dark Matter Constraints from Observations of 25 Milky Way Satellite Galaxies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• A Tentative Gamma-Ray Line from Dark Matter Annihilation at the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• LEP Shines Light on Dark Matter
• Fermi LAT Search for Internal Bremsstrahlung Signatures from Dark Matter Annihilation
• A Tale of Tails: Dark Matter Interpretations of the Fermi GeV Excess in Light of Background Model Systematics
• Exclusion of canonical WIMPs by the joint analysis of Milky Way dwarfs with Fermi
• Search for a Dark Matter annihilation signal from the Galactic Center halo with H.E.S.S
• Fermi LAT Search for Dark Matter in Gamma-ray Lines and the Inclusive Photon Spectrum
• Scalar Simplified Models for Dark Matter
• Dark Matter through the Higgs portal
• Gamma Ray Signals from Dark Matter: Concepts, Status and Prospects
• Diffuse gamma ray constraints on annihilating or decaying Dark Matter after Fermi
• Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation in Clusters of Galaxies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Search for Gamma-Ray Emission from DES Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Candidates with Fermi-LAT Data
• Constraints on Cosmological Dark Matter Annihilation from the Fermi-LAT Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Measurement
• The velocity width function of galaxies from the 40% ALFALFA survey: shedding light on the cold dark matter overabundance problem
• Search for Dark Matter Satellites using the FERMI-LAT
• Implications of CoGeNT and DAMA for Light WIMP Dark Matter
• Indication of Gamma-ray Emission from the Newly Discovered Dwarf Galaxy Reticulum II
• Dark Matter and Fundamental Physics with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
• A light scalar WIMP through the Higgs portal and CoGeNT
• Constraining Dark Sectors at Colliders: Beyond the Effective Theory Approach
• Sensitivity Projections for Dark Matter Searches with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Where will supersymmetric dark matter first be seen?
• Dark matter searches with Cherenkov telescopes: nearby dwarf galaxies or local galaxy clusters?
• Search for Dark Matter from the Galactic Halo with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
• Dark Matter in the Milky Way's Dwarf Spheroidal Satellites
• Searches for Dark Matter annihilation signatures in the Segue 1 satellite galaxy with the MAGIC-I telescope
• VERITAS Deep Observations of the Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Segue 1
• H.E.S.S. constraints on Dark Matter annihilations towards the Sculptor and Carina Dwarf Galaxies
• A Robust Determination of Milky Way Satellite Properties using Hierarchical Mass Modeling
• The core size of the Fornax dwarf Spheroidal
• Dark matter profiles and annihilation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: prospectives for present and future gamma-ray observatories - I. The classical dSphs
• Constrained Supersymmetry after two years of LHC data: a global view with Fittino
• Probing Dark Matter Decay and Annihilation with Fermi LAT Observations of Nearby Galaxy Clusters
• A Global Analysis of Dark Matter Signals from 27 Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies using 11 Years of Fermi-LAT Observations
• Singlet Scalar Dark Matter: monochromatic gamma rays and metastable vacua
• Updated cosmic-ray and radio constraints on light dark matter: Implications for the GeV gamma-ray excess at the Galactic center
• Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter from Fermi Observations of Nearby Galaxies and Clusters
• The 125 GeV Higgs in the NMSSM in light of LHC results and astrophysics constraints
• Indirect Searches for Dark Matter: a status review
• Signatures of Majorana dark matter with t-channel mediators
• Multimessenger constraints on the dark matter interpretation of the Fermi-LAT Galactic center excess
• A Hidden Dark Matter Sector, Dark Radiation, and the CMB
• Where do the AMS-02 anti-helium events come from?
• Pulsar interpretation for the AMS-02 result
• Strong moduli stabilization and phenomenology
• Fermi-LAT constraints on dark matter annihilation cross section from observations of the Fornax cluster
• Simple J-Factors and D-Factors for Indirect Dark Matter Detection
• VERITAS Search for VHE Gamma-ray Emission from Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Deep XMM Observations of Draco rule out at the 99% Confidence Level a Dark Matter Decay Origin for the 3.5 keV Line
• Strong constraints on thermal relic dark matter from Fermi-LAT observations of the Galactic Center
• The ZZ' kinetic mixing in the light of the recent direct and indirect dark matter searches
• Indirect Detection Analysis: Wino Dark Matter Case Study
• Dark Matter in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies and Indirect Detection: A Review
• Scaling Relations for Dark Matter Annihilation and Decay Profiles in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Extra U(1) as natural source of a monochromatic gamma ray line
• Constraints on particle dark matter from cosmic-ray antiprotons
• Phenomenology of Dark Matter from A4 Flavor Symmetry
• Creation of the CMB spectrum: precise analytic solutions for the blackbody photosphere
• White Dwarf Pulsars as Possible Cosmic Ray Electron-Positron Factories
• Cosmological constraints on dark matter models with velocity-dependent annihilation cross section
• Dark Matter Subhalos In the Fermi First Source Catalog
• Indirect Dark Matter Detection Limits from the Ultra-Faint Milky Way Satellite Segue 1
• Constraints on WIMP Annihilation for Contracted Dark Matter in the Inner Galaxy with the Fermi-LAT
• Extracting limits on Dark Matter annihilation from gamma-ray observations towards dwarf spheroidal galaxies
• The Impact of Recent Advances in Laboratory Astrophysics on our Understanding of the Cosmos
• Implications of the Fermi-LAT diffuse gamma-ray measurements on annihilating or decaying Dark Matter
• Dark matter line search using a joint analysis of dwarf galaxies with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
• A description of the Galactic Center excess in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model
• A Deep Search for Extended Radio Continuum Emission From Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies: Implications for Particle Dark Matter
• Illuminating the 130 GeV Gamma Line with Continuum Photons
• Complementarity of direct dark matter detection and indirect detection through gamma-rays
• Dark matter substructure modelling and sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to Galactic dark halos
• Geometric Compatibility of IceCube TeV-PeV Neutrino Excess and its Galactic Dark Matter Origin
• Dark matter searches with cosmic antideuterons: status and perspectives
• Direct millicharged dark matter cannot explain EDGES
• On the Adiabatic Solution to the Polonyi/Moduli Problem
• WIMP searches with gamma rays in the Fermi era: challenges, methods and results
• The 95.4 GeV di-photon excess at ATLAS and CMS
• Conservative Constraints on Dark Matter from the Fermi-LAT Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Background Spectrum
• The Real Gauge Singlet Scalar Extension of Standard Model: A Possible Candidate of Cold Dark Matter
• The Sensitivity of HAWC to High-Mass Dark Matter Annihilations
• Dark matter in the classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies: a robust constraint on the astrophysical factor for gamma-ray flux calculations
• Searching for Secluded Dark Matter with H.E.S.S., Fermi-LAT, and Planck
• Analytical Solutions to the Mass-Anisotropy Degeneracy with Higher Order Jeans Analysis: A General Method
• Constraining dark matter annihilation with the isotropic $\gamma$-ray background: updated limits and future potential
• Light mixed sneutrinos as thermal dark matter
• Extra U(1), effective operators, anomalies and dark matter
• CoGeNT, DAMA, and Light Neutralino Dark Matter
• Dark matter subhaloes as gamma-ray sources and candidates in the first Fermi-LAT catalogue
• Dark Matter Indirect Signatures
• Bayesian Implications of Current LHC Supersymmetry and Dark Matter Detection Searches for the Constrained MSSM
• Mapping Extragalactic Dark Matter Annihilation with Galaxy Surveys: A Systematic Study of Stacked Group Searches
• Current and Future Constraints on Dark Matter from Prompt and Inverse-Compton Photon Emission in the Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-ray Background
• Very light right-handed sneutrino dark matter in the NMSSM
• Annihilating Asymmetric Dark Matter
• Dark Matter Detection in Focus Point Supersymmetry
• Revisiting light neutralino scenarios in the MSSM
• Annihilation vs. Decay: Constraining dark matter properties from a gamma-ray detection
• Realistic estimation for the detectability of dark matter sub-halos with Fermi-LAT
• Local Group dSph radio survey with ATCA (III): Constraints on Particle Dark Matter
• Search for dark matter in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV with missing transverse momentum and vector boson tagged jets
• Detection of branon dark matter with gamma ray telescopes
• gamma-rays from annihilating dark matter in galaxy clusters: stacking vs single source analysis
• Constraints on Light WIMP candidates from the Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission
• Dark Matter as a Guide Toward a Light Gluino at the LHC
• Optimized analysis method for indirect dark matter searches with Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes
• Reliability of Monte Carlo event generators for gamma ray dark matter searches
• The Smith Cloud and its dark matter halo: Survival of a Galactic disc passage
• Model-independent constraints on dark matter annihilation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies
• Constraint on the velocity dependent dark matter annihilation cross section from Fermi-LAT observations of dwarf galaxies
• Confronting Galactic and Extragalactic $\gamma$-ray observed by Fermi-LAT with Annihilating Dark Matter in Inert Higgs Doublet Model
• A generic method to constrain the dark matter model parameters from Fermi observations of dwarf spheroids
• Strong Optimized Conservative Fermi-LAT Constraints on Dark Matter Models from the Inclusive Photon Spectrum
• Indirect Detection Constraints on s and t Channel Simplified Models of Dark Matter
• Astrophysical limits on light NMSSM neutralinos
• Spectral Study of the HESS J1745-290 Gamma-Ray Source as Dark Matter Signal
• Neutrino signals from ultracompact minihalos and constraints on the primordial curvature perturbation
• Gamma rays from the Galactic Centre region: a review
• Indirect dark matter searches as a probe of degenerate particle spectra
• Impact of axisymmetric mass models for dwarf spheroidal galaxies on indirect dark matter searches
• The Quest for Supersymmetry: Early LHC Results versus Direct and Indirect Neutralino Dark Matter Searches
• Fermi-LAT Sensitivity to Dark Matter Annihilation in Via Lactea II Substructure
• Closing up on Dark Sectors at Colliders: from 14 to 100 TeV
• Complementarity of Indirect and Accelerator Dark Matter Searches
• Probing neutralino dark matter in the MSSM & the NMSSM with directional detection
• Loop-induced photon spectral lines from neutralino annihilation in the NMSSM
• Diffuse gamma-ray constraints on dark matter revisited. I: the impact of subhalos
• The detectability of dark matter annihilation with Fermi using the anisotropy energy spectrum of the gamma-ray background
• Constraints on the dark matter annihilation from Fermi-LAT observation of M31
• A Search for Dark Matter Lines at the Galactic Center with 14 Years of Fermi Data
• Radio emission from dark matter annihilation in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• The Morphology of the Galactic Dark Matter Synchrotron Emission with Self-Consistent Cosmic Ray Diffusion Models
• Constraint on the velocity dependent dark matter annihilation cross section from gamma-ray and kinematic observations of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies
• The Higgs boson in the MSSM in light of the LHC
• Gamma-Ray Dark Matter Searches in Milky Way Satellites -- A Comparative Review of Data Analysis Methods and Current Results
• Dark Matter decay and annihilation in the Local Universe: CLUES from Fermi
• Giant Low Surface Brightness Galaxies : Evolution in Isolation
• Prospects for a Dark Matter annihilation signal towards the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy with ground based Cherenkov telescopes
• Galactic-Centre Gamma Rays in CMSSM Dark Matter Scenarios
• Are Lines From Unassociated Gamma-Ray Sources Evidence For Dark Matter Annihilation?
• Regenerating WIMPs in the light of direct and indirect detection
• Search for dark matter signals with Fermi-LAT observation of globular clusters NGC 6388 and M 15
• Gamma-ray anisotropies from dark matter in the Milky Way: the role of the radial distribution
• Impact of internal bremsstrahlung on the detection of gamma-rays from neutralinos
• Searching for Dark Matter Annihilation in the Smith High-Velocity Cloud
• Closing in on Supersymmetric Electroweak Baryogenesis with Dark Matter Searches and the Large Hadron Collider
• Multi-messenger constraints on dark matter annihilation into electron-positron pairs
• Lower Limits on the Strengths of Gamma Ray Lines from WIMP Dark Matter Annihilation
• TeV Dark Matter Searches in the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sky
• Charge Asymmetric Cosmic Rays as a probe of Flavor Violating Asymmetric Dark Matter
• Cosmic Ray-Dark Matter Scattering: a New Signature of (Asymmetric) Dark Matter in the Gamma Ray Sky
• Swift observation of Segue 1: constraints on sterile neutrino parameters in the darkest galaxy
• A Robust Approach to Constraining Dark Matter from Gamma-Ray Data
• A decade of dark matter searches with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes
• No WIMP Mini-Spikes in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• More on the Hypercharge Portal into the Dark Sector
• Prospect for dark matter signatures from dwarf galaxies by LHAASO
• Decaying Dark Matter in Supersymmetric Model and Cosmic-Ray Observations
• MADHAT: Model-Agnostic Dark Halo Analysis Tool
• Dark Matter Identification with Gamma Rays from Dwarf Galaxies
• Seen and unseen tidal caustics in the Andromeda galaxy
• Constraints on dark matter annihilation from the FAST observation of the Coma Berenices dwarf galaxy
• Testing the dark matter subhalo hypothesis of the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703
• Gamma-rays From Warm WIMP Dark Matter Annihilation
• Cosmic Ray Anomalies from the MSSM?
• Overcoming Gamma Ray Constraints with Annihilating Dark Matter in Milky Way Subhalos
• Searching for Dark Matter Signals from Local Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies at Low Radio Frequencies in the GLEAM Survey
• Extragalactic and galactic gamma-rays and neutrinos from annihilating dark matter
• Dark Matter Detection with Hard X-ray Telescopes
• Prospecting bipartite Dark Matter through Gravitational Waves
• Dilaton dominance relaxes LHC and cosmological constraints in supersymmetric models
• New dark matter analysis of Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxies with MADHATv2
• Constraining Axion-Like Particles Dark Matter in Coma Berenices with FAST
• Searching for Gamma-Ray Emission from Reticulum II by Fermi-LAT
• On the DM interpretation of the origin of non-thermal phenomena in galaxy clusters
• Constraints on dark matter and astrophysics from tomographic $\gamma$-ray cross-correlations
• Gamma-ray and Synchrotron Radiation from Dark Matter annihilations in Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxies
• Dependence of accessible dark matter annihilation cross-sections on the density profiles of dwarf spheroidal galaxies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
• Analysis of Fermi-LAT data from Tucana-II: Possible constraints on the Dark Matter models with an intriguing hint of a signal
• Cosmic ray backgrounds for dark matter indirect detection
• Dark Matter in Leptophilic Higgs Models After the LHC Run-I
• Semi-empirical catalog of early-type galaxy-halo systems: dark matter density profiles, halo contraction and dark matter annihilation strength
• Searches for Particle Dark Matter with gamma-rays
• Multiwavelength analysis of low surface brightness galaxies to study possible dark matter signature
• Searching for velocity-dependent dark matter annihilation signals from extragalactic halos
• A light scalar WIMP through the Higgs portal?
• Constraining Dark Matter Signal from a Combined Analysis of Milky Way Satellites with the Fermi-LAT
• Collider limits on dark matter
• Indirect Search for Dark Matter from the center of the Milky Way with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope
• The Velocity-Dependent $J$-factor of the Milky Way Halo: Does What Happens in the Galactic Bulge Stay in the Galactic Bulge?
• Glow in the Dark Matter: Observing galactic halos with scattered light
• MIMAC potential discovery and exclusion of neutralinos in the MSSM and NMSSM
• XENON1T Takes a Razor to a Dark $E_6$-Inspired Model
• Indirect detection of Dark matter with gamma-rays - status and perspectives
• Experimental status of particle and astroparticle searches for supersymmetry
• On the use of X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes for identifying the origin of electrons and positrons observed by ATIC, Fermi, and PAMELA
• Weyl-Invariant Gravity and the Nature of Dark Matter
• Indirect Dark Matter Searches and Models
• Optimal observing strategies for velocity-suppressed dark matter annihilation
• Cosmic Ray Electron and Positron Excesses from a Fourth Generation Heavy Majorana Neutrino
• Kinetically-Enhanced Anomaly Mediation
• The gamma-ray spectral feature from Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilation and its observability
• Spherical harmonics analysis of Fermi gamma-ray data and the Galactic dark matter halo
• Search for dark matter in compact hydrogen clouds
• Search for dark matter with IACTs and the Cherenkov Telescope Array
• The Price of a Dark Matter Annihilation Interpretation of AMS-02 Data
• New estimate for the contribution of the Geminga pulsar to the positron excess
• A new probe of dark matter-baryon interactions in compact stellar systems
• Searching for dark matter annihilating into light long-lived mediators from stars inside dwarf spheroidal galaxies
• Physics and astrophysics with gamma-ray telescopes
• Extragalactic Searches for Dark Matter Annihilation
• Testing astroparticle physics with the Fermi Large Area Telescope