Strong Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation in Ursa Major III/UNIONS 1

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Crnogorčević, Milena, Linden, Tim
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Crnogorčević, Milena
Linden, Tim
author_facet Crnogorčević, Milena
Linden, Tim
contents Very recent work has identified a new satellite galaxy, Ursa Major III/UNIONS I, which is the faintest such system ever observed. Dynamical considerations indicate that if the system is in equilibrium, it is likely to be highly dark matter dominated. This, in combination with its proximity, predicts that it may be the preeminent dwarf spheroidal galaxy target for dark matter indirect detection searches. We utilize 15 years of Fermi-LAT data to search for $γ$-ray emission from Ursa Major III. Finding no excess, we set strong constraints on dark matter annihilation. Intriguingly, if the high J-factor of Ursa Major III is confirmed, standard thermal dark matter annihilation to $b\bar{b}$ final states would be ruled out for dark matter masses up to 4 TeV. The discovery of Ursa Major III, combined with recent tentative measurements of other high J-factor systems, suggests the exciting possibility that near-future data could produce transformative constraints on thermal dark matter.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_14611
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strong Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation in Ursa Major III/UNIONS 1
Crnogorčević, Milena
Linden, Tim
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Very recent work has identified a new satellite galaxy, Ursa Major III/UNIONS I, which is the faintest such system ever observed. Dynamical considerations indicate that if the system is in equilibrium, it is likely to be highly dark matter dominated. This, in combination with its proximity, predicts that it may be the preeminent dwarf spheroidal galaxy target for dark matter indirect detection searches. We utilize 15 years of Fermi-LAT data to search for $γ$-ray emission from Ursa Major III. Finding no excess, we set strong constraints on dark matter annihilation. Intriguingly, if the high J-factor of Ursa Major III is confirmed, standard thermal dark matter annihilation to $b\bar{b}$ final states would be ruled out for dark matter masses up to 4 TeV. The discovery of Ursa Major III, combined with recent tentative measurements of other high J-factor systems, suggests the exciting possibility that near-future data could produce transformative constraints on thermal dark matter.
title Strong Constraints on Dark Matter Annihilation in Ursa Major III/UNIONS 1
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.14611