Indirect dark matter searches in ultra faint dwarf galaxies

• Grant number: 18/25793-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2020
• 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
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/26523-6 - Indirect dark matter searches with the Cherenkov Telescope Array, BE.EP.MS

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, dwarf galaxies of the Local Group are among the most promising for discoveries due to their large DM content, with up to O(10$^3$) times more mass in DM than in visible matter, and the lack of astrophysical background noise. Nowadays about 30 dwarf galaxies satellites of the Milky Way have been detected and they have been studied by gamma-rays observatories. No dark matter signal has ever been detected and the data has been used to shrink the allowed parameter space for dark matter particles. In the near future, several experiments, i.e. LSST, DECam, PanSTARRS and MagLiteS, are going to search for dwarf galaxies. It is foreseen that the number of known dwarf galaxies is going to increase abruptly with the operation of these instruments. At the same time, new gamma-ray observatories are becoming operational. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is going to improve the sensitivity of ground telescopes by a factor of 10 allowing the study of fainter sources. The international community is also proposing the construction of a wide field of view gamma-ray observatory complementary to CTA in South America. Finally the FERMI satellite is going to continue to take data of the full sky for the next 5-10 years. This project aims at using the predicted increase of the number of known dwarf galaxies and estimate the improvement in the detection sensitivity to a dark matter signal that will be achieved by the future gamma-ray observatories. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

KHERLAKIAN, MARIA; VIANA, AION; DE SOUZA, VITOR. Uncertainties in measuring the dark matter signal from Milky Way satellites using Cherenkov telescopes. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, v. N/A, n. 3, p. 16-pg., 2023-03-01. (18/25793-7, 21/01089-1, 19/14893-3)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

KHERLAKIAN, Maria Carolina. Indirect dark matter searches in ultra faint dwarf galaxies. 2020. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC/BT) São Carlos.