Premium
Searching for Halo Dark Matter through γ Ray Lines a
Author(s) -
SALATI PIERRE,
BOUQUET ALAIN,
SILK JOSEPH
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1989.tb50631.x
Subject(s) - dark matter , halo , astrophysics , physics , dark matter halo , astronomy , galaxy
There is a considerable interest in the possible detection of dark matter 1 through astrophysical observations as well as terrestrial observations. 2,3 If dark matter is made up of massive, weakly interacting particles, one of the best indirect signatures would be the detection of annihilation products of these particles. 4–7 It has been recently suggested 8–12 that if the halo of our Galaxy is made of particles in the mass range 1 GeV to 100 GeV, and if these particles self‐annihilate, as most of the potential candidates do, then monoenergetic γ rays should be observed when they annihilate directly into two photons. The energy of these γ's is very nearly equal to the mass of the (non‐relativistic: v/c ± 10 −3 ) parent particles. Very narrow γ lines in the range 1 GeV to 100 GeV would provide a clear signature for dark matter annihilation, if they stand out above the background.