Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter

Abstract

Several classes of astrophysical sources contribute to the approximately isotropic gamma-ray background measured by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. In this paper, we use Fermi's catalog of gamma-ray sources (along with corresponding source catalogs at infrared and radio wavelengths) to build and constrain a model for the contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background from astrophysical sources, including radio galaxies, star-forming galaxies, and blazars. We then combine our model with Fermi's measurement of the gamma-ray background to derive constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section, including contributions from both extragalactic and galactic halos and subhalos. The resulting constraints are competitive with the strongest current constraints from the Galactic Center and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. As Fermi continues to measure the gamma-ray emission from a greater number of astrophysical sources, it will become possible to more tightly constrain the astrophysical contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background. We project that with 10 years of data, Fermi's measurement of this background combined with the improved constraints on the astrophysical source contributions will yield a sensitivity to dark matter annihilations that exceeds the strongest current constraints by a factor of ~ 5 - 10.

15 pages, 17 figures

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Cited by in corpus (35)

• The Origin of the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background and Implications for Dark-Matter Annihilation
• Limits on Dark Matter Annihilation Signals from the Fermi LAT 4-year Measurement of the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background
• A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics
• The nature of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Background
• Composition of the Fermi-LAT isotropic gamma-ray background intensity: Emission from extragalactic point sources and dark matter annihilations
• Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter from the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background
• Indications of Negative Evolution for the Sources of the Highest Energy Cosmic Rays
• Leptophilic Dark Matter and the Anomalous Magnetic Moment of the Muon
• Indirect Detection Analysis: Wino Dark Matter Case Study
• Diffuse gamma-ray emission from galactic pulsars
• The Return of the Templates: Revisiting the Galactic Center Excess with Multi-Messenger Observations
• On The Gamma-Ray Emission From Reticulum II and Other Dwarf Galaxies
• Robust Constraints and Novel Gamma-Ray Signatures of Dark Matter That Interacts Strongly With Nucleons
• Cross-Correlation of Cosmic Shear and Extragalactic Gamma-ray Background: Constraints on the Dark Matter Annihilation Cross-Section
• Tomography of the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray diffuse extragalactic signal via cross-correlations with galaxy catalogs
• A Case for Radio Galaxies as the Sources of IceCube's Astrophysical Neutrino Flux
• Unveiling the Gamma-ray Source Count Distribution Below the Fermi Detection Limit with Photon Statistics
• Active Galactic Nuclei and the Origin of IceCube's Diffuse Neutrino Flux
• Fermi-LAT Observations of Gamma-Ray Emission Towards the Outer Halo of M31
• Star-Forming Galaxies Significantly Contribute to the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background
• Galactic dark matter search via phenomenological astrophysics modeling
• Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation/Decay from the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background
• Radio Galaxies Dominate the High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Background
• Where do IceCube neutrinos come from? Hints from the diffuse gamma-ray flux
• Revisiting AGN as the Source of IceCube's Diffuse Neutrino Flux
• Confronting Galactic and Extragalactic $\gamma$-ray observed by Fermi-LAT with Annihilating Dark Matter in Inert Higgs Doublet Model
• Strong Optimized Conservative Fermi-LAT Constraints on Dark Matter Models from the Inclusive Photon Spectrum
• Simplified Dark Matter Models Confront the Gamma Ray Excess
• Fermi-LAT gamma-ray anisotropy and intensity explained by unresolved Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei
• Analyzing the Gamma-ray Sky with Wavelets
• Improving the Sensitivity of Gamma-Ray Telescopes to Dark Matter Annihilation in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Wavelet-Based Techniques for the Gamma-Ray Sky
• High-Energy Gamma Rays and Neutrinos from Nearby Radio Galaxies
• Addressing $\gamma$-ray emissions from dark matter annihilations in 45 milky way satellite galaxies and in extragalactic sources with particle dark matter models
• Gamma-Rays from Star Forming Activity Appear to Outshine Misaligned Active Galactic Nuclei