Prospects for measuring dark matter microphysics with observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies

Abstract

Dark matter annihilation in dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies near the Milky Way has the potential to produce a detectable signature in gamma-rays. The amplitude of this signal depends on the dark matter density in a dSph, the dark matter particle mass, the number of photons produced in an annihilation, and the possibly velocity-dependent dark matter annihilation cross section. We argue that if the amplitude of the annihilation signal from multiple dSphs can be measured, it is possible to determine the velocity-dependence of the annihilation cross section. However, we show that doing so will require improved constraints on the dSph density profiles, including control of possible sources of systematic uncertainty. Making reasonable assumptions about future improvements, we make forecasts for the ability of current and future experiments -- including Fermi, CTA and AMEGO -- to constrain the dark matter annihilation velocity dependence.

arXiv comment16 pages main text, 5 pages appendices, 10 figures; matches version accepted by JCAP

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• $J$-factors for Velocity-dependent Dark Matter
• Classification of gamma-ray targets for velocity-dependent and subhalo-boosted dark-matter annihilation
• Constraining Dark Matter Microphysics with the Annihilation Signal from Subhalos