1. Search for Ultraheavy Dark Matter from Observations of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with VERITAS
- Author
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A. Acharyya, A. Archer, P. Bangale, J. T. Bartkoske, P. Batista, M. Baumgart, W. Benbow, J. H. Buckley, A. Falcone, Q. Feng, J. P. Finley, G. M. Foote, L. Fortson, A. Furniss, G. Gallagher, W. F. Hanlon, O. Hervet, J. Hoang, J. Holder, T. B. Humensky, W. Jin, P. Kaaret, M. Kertzman, M. Kherlakian, D. Kieda, T. K. Kleiner, N. Korzoun, F. Krennrich, M. J. Lang, M. Lundy, G. Maier, C. E McGrath, P. Moriarty, S. O’Brien, R. A. Ong, K. Pfrang, M. Pohl, E. Pueschel, J. Quinn, K. Ragan, P. T. Reynolds, E. Roache, N. L. Rodd, J. L. Ryan, I. Sadeh, L. Saha, M. Santander, G. H. Sembroski, R. Shang, M. Splettstoesser, D. Tak, J. V. Tucci, V. V. Vassiliev, and D. A. Williams
- Subjects
Dark matter ,High energy astrophysics ,Gamma-ray astronomy ,Dwarf spheroidal galaxies ,Astrophysics ,QB460-466 - Abstract
Dark matter is a key piece of the current cosmological scenario, with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) a leading dark matter candidate. WIMPs have not been detected in their conventional parameter space (100 GeV ≲ M _χ ≲ 100 TeV), a mass range accessible with current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. As ultraheavy dark matter (UHDM; M _χ ≳ 100 TeV) has been suggested as an underexplored alternative to the WIMP paradigm, we search for an indirect dark matter annihilation signal in a higher mass range (up to 30 PeV) with the VERITAS γ -ray observatory. With 216 hr of observations of four dwarf spheroidal galaxies, we perform an unbinned likelihood analysis. We find no evidence of a γ -ray signal from UHDM annihilation above the background fluctuation for any individual dwarf galaxy nor for a joint-fit analysis, and consequently constrain the velocity-weighted annihilation cross section of UHDM for dark matter particle masses between 1 TeV and 30 PeV. We additionally set constraints on the allowed radius of a composite UHDM particle.
- Published
- 2023
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