Search for dark matter annihilation in Draco with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment

D. D. Driscoll, C. E. Covault, J. Ball, J. E. Carson, A. Jarvis, R. A. Ong, J. Zweerink, D. S. Hanna, J. Kildea, T. Lindner, C. Mueller, K. Ragan, P. Fortin, R. Mukherjee, D. A. Williams, and D. M. Gingrich
Phys. Rev. D 78, 087101 – Published 2 October 2008

Abstract

For some time, the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy has garnered interest as a possible source for the indirect detection of dark matter. Its large mass-to-light ratio and relative proximity to the Earth provide favorable conditions for the production of a detectable flux of gamma rays from dark matter self-annihilation in its core. The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) is an atmospheric Cherenkov telescope located in Albuquerque, NM capable of detecting gamma rays at energies above 100 GeV. We present the results of the STACEE observations of Draco during the 2005–2006 observing season totaling 10.2 hours of live time after cuts. We do not detect a significant gamma-ray signal from Draco, and place an upper limit on a power-law spectrum of dNdE|Draco<1.6×1013(E220GeV)2.2γs1cm2GeV1 Assuming a smooth Navarro-Frenk-White profile for the dark-matter halo and an annihilation spectrum, we also derive upper limits for the cross-section-velocity product (σv) for weakly interacting massive particles self-annihilation.

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  • Received 25 June 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.78.087101

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

D. D. Driscoll* and C. E. Covault

  • Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA

J. Ball, J. E. Carson, A. Jarvis, R. A. Ong, and J. Zweerink

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA

D. S. Hanna, J. Kildea§, T. Lindner, C. Mueller, and K. Ragan

  • Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8

P. Fortin and R. Mukherjee

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA

D. A. Williams

  • Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA

D. M. Gingrich

  • Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G7 Canada and TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A3 Canada

  • *Current Address: Kent State University, Ashtabula Campus, Ashtabula, OH 44004, USA; ddd3@po.cwru.edu
  • Current Address: Gemini Observatory, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
  • Current Address: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
  • §Current Address: F.L. Whipple Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Amado, AZ 85645, USA.
  • Current Address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • Current Address: Sander Geophysical Limited, Ottawa, ON K1V 1C1, Canada.

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Issue

Vol. 78, Iss. 8 — 15 October 2008

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