Open AccessDetection of Galactic Dark Matter by GLAST
Author(s) -
E. D. Bloom
Publication year - 1999
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/10112
Subject(s) - physics , dark matter , annihilation , astrophysics , weakly interacting massive particles , gamma ray , astronomy , line (geometry) , universe , particle physics , scalar field dark matter , dark energy , cosmology , geometry , mathematics
The mysterious dark matter has been a subject of special interest to high energy physicists, astrophysicists and cosmologists for many years. According to theoretical models, it can make up a significant fraction of the mass of the Universe. One possible form of galactic dark matter, Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), could be detected by their annihilation into monoenergetic gamma-ray line(s). This paper will demonstrate that the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), scheduled for launch in 2005 by NASA, will be capable of searching for these gamma-ray lines in the energy range from 20 GeV to {approx}500 GeV and will be sufficiently sensitive to test a number of models. The required instrument performance and its capability to reject backgrounds to the required levels are explicitly discussed
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