Current and Future $γ$-Ray Searches for Dark Matter Annihilation Beyond the Unitarity Limit

Tak, Donggeun; Rodd, Nicholas L.; Pueschel, Elisa; Baumgart, Matthew

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac9387

Journal Article

PUBDB-2022-04369

Current and Future $γ$-Ray Searches for Dark Matter Annihilation Beyond the Unitarity Limit

Tak, D. (Corresponding author)DESY* ; Baumgart, M. ; Rodd, N. L. ; Pueschel, E.DESY*

2022
Institute of Physics Publ. London

The astrophysical journal / 2 938(1), L4 (2022) [10.3847/2041-8213/ac9387]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac9387 doi:10.3204/PUBDB-2022-04369

Report No.: CERN-TH-2022-139; DESY-22-138; arXiv:2208.11740

Abstract: For decades, searches for electroweak-scale dark matter (DM) have been performed without a definitive detection. This lack of success may hint that DM searches have focused on the wrong mass range. A proposed candidate beyond the canonical parameter space is ultraheavy DM (UHDM). In this work, we consider indirect UHDM annihilation searches for masses between 30 TeV and 30 PeV—extending well beyond the unitarity limit at ∼100 TeV—and discuss the basic requirements for DM models in this regime. We explore the feasibility of detecting the annihilation signature, and the expected reach for UHDM with current and future very-high-energy (VHE; >100 GeV) $γ$-ray observatories. Specifically, we focus on three reference instruments: two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope arrays, modeled on VERITAS and CTA-North, and one extended air shower array, motivated by HAWC. With reasonable assumptions on the instrument response functions and background rate, we find a set of UHDM parameters (mass and cross section) for which a γ-ray signature can be detected by the aforementioned observatories. We further compute the expected upper limits for each experiment. With realistic exposure times, the three instruments can probe DM across a wide mass range. At the lower end, it can still have a point-like cross section, while at higher masses the DM could have a geometric cross section, indicative of compositeness.

Keyword(s): dark matter: annihilation ; dark matter: mass ; cross section: geometrical ; observatory ; unitarity ; signature ; VHE ; gamma ray ; TeV ; showers ; GeV ; VERITAS ; Cherenkov counter: atmosphere ; air ; HAWC ; imaging ; background ; Dark Matter ; Ultra-heavy Dark Matter

Classification:

ddc:520

Contributing Institute(s):

VERITAS (Z_VER)

Research Program(s):

613 - Matter and Radiation from the Universe (POF4-613) (POF4-613)

Experiment(s):

Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System

Appears in the scientific report 2022

Database coverage:
Medline

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