Pre-launch estimates for GLAST sensitivity to dark matter annihilation signals

We investigate the sensitivity of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) for indirectly detecting weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) through the {gamma}-ray signal that their pair annihilation produces. WIMPs are among the favorite candidates for explaining the compelling evidenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics 2008-07, Vol.2008 (7)
Main Authors: Baltz, E A, Berenji, B, Bloom, E, Chiang, J, Cohen-Tanugi, J, Edmonds, Y, Godfrey, G, Bertone, G, Bergstroem, L, Bringmann, T, Conrad, J, Edsjoe, J, Hughes, R E, Johnson, R P, Lionetto, A, Morselli, A, Moiseev, A A, Moskalenko, I V, Nuss, E, Ormes, J F, others, and
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANNIHILATION
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
COMPUTER CODES
ELECTRONS
GALAXIES
GAMMA RADIATION
GEV RANGE
MEV RANGE
MONTE CARLO METHOD
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
POSITRONS
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
STANDARD MODEL
TELESCOPES
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Summary:We investigate the sensitivity of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) for indirectly detecting weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) through the {gamma}-ray signal that their pair annihilation produces. WIMPs are among the favorite candidates for explaining the compelling evidence that about 80% of the mass in the Universe is non-baryonic dark matter (DM). They are serendipitously motivated by various extensions of the standard model of particle physics such as supersymmetry and universal extra dimensions (UED). With its unprecedented sensitivity and its very large energy range (20 MeV to more than 300 GeV) the main instrument on board the GLAST satellite, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), will open a new window of discovery. As our estimates show, the LAT will be able to detect an indirect DM signature for a large class of WIMP models given a cuspy profile for the DM distribution. Using the current state of the art Monte Carlo and event reconstruction software developed within the LAT collaboration, we present preliminary sensitivity studies for several possible sources inside and outside the Galaxy. We also discuss the potential of the LAT to detect UED via the electron/positron channel. Diffuse background modeling and other background issues that will be important in setting limits or seeing a signal are presented.
ISSN:1475-7516
1475-7516