The Potential of the Dwarf Galaxy Triangulum II for Dark Matter Indirect Detection

Abstract

The recently discovered object Triangulum II appears to be an ultra faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy which may be one of the most dark matter dominated objects yet known. In this work we try to estimate the potential of this object for studies of the indirect detection of self-annihilating dark matter by obtaining its astrophysical J-factor. We perform a basic estimate of the velocity gradient to look for signs of the halo being tidally disrupted but show that the observed value is statistically compatible with zero velocity gradient. We solve the spherical Jeans equation using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) engine GreAT and the Jeans analysis part of the CLUMPY package. We find the results point towards a very large J-factor, appearing to make Triangulum II one of the best targets in the search for dark matter. However we stress that the very small number of line of sight velocities currently available for this object make follow up studies essential.

More stars used and text improved, results essentially unchanged. Matches version accepted in MNRAS, 7 figures, 7 pages

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• Searches for gamma-ray lines and `pure WIMP' spectra from Dark Matter annihilations in dwarf galaxies with H.E.S.S
• Breaking Beta: A comparison of mass modelling methods for spherical systems
• Constraint on the velocity dependent dark matter annihilation cross section from gamma-ray and kinematic observations of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies
• $\gamma$-ray and $\nu$ searches for dark matter subhalos in the Milky Way with a baryonic potential
• An excess of excesses examined via dark matter radio emissions from galaxies
• Gamma-ray and Synchrotron Radiation from Dark Matter annihilations in Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxies
• Constraints on dark matter models from the observation of Triangulum-II with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• MONDian predictions for Newtonian M/L ratios for ultrafaint dSphs
• The quest for dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array