Searching for dark matter in the galactic center with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

• Grant number: 17/23832-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2018
• End date: December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Vitor de Souza Filho
• Grantee: Maria Carolina Kherlakian
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/15897-1 - Cherenkov Telescope Array - CTA, AP.TEM

Abstract

It is generally accepted nowadays that the matter density of the Universe mainly consists of an unknown component, called Dark Matter (DM). It is also believed that DM is formed of a new neutral, stable and non-baryonic elementary particle. In high density environments of the Universe DM may self-annihilate and produce a strong gamma-ray signal. Among all possible targets, the Galactic Center region is expected to be the brightest source of DM annihilations in the gamma-ray sky by several orders of magnitude. This project aims to estimate the sensitivity of the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to detect a DM annihilation signal from the Galactic Center region. Since this region also has a strong astrophysical non-thermal gamma-ray emission, a particular attention will be given to the optimization of the observation strategy and signal extraction region in order to increase the sensitivity of CTA to a DM signal. (AU)