Search For Dark Matter Satellites Using Fermi-LAT

Ackermann, M.; Albert, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, Denis; Bechtol, K.; Bellazzini, R.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Bonamente, E.; Borgland, A. W.; Bottacini, EUGENIO ALESSIO; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Brigida, M.; Bruel, P.; Buehler, R.; Burnett, T. H.; Caliandro, G. A.; Cameron, R. A.; Caraveo, P. A.; Casandjian, J. M.; Cecchi, C.; Charles, E.; Chiang, J.; Ciprini, S.; Claus, R.; Cohen Tanugi, J.; Conrad, J.; Cutini, S.; de Palma, F.; Dermer, C. D.; Digel, S. W.; Silva, E. do Couto e.; Drell, P. S.; Drlica Wagner, A.; Essig, R.; Falletti, L.; Favuzzi, C.; Fegan, S. J.; Focke, W. B.; Fukazawa, Y.; Funk, S.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Germani, S.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Grenier, I. A.; Guiriec, S.; Gustafsson, M.; Hadasch, D.; Hayashida, M.; Hou, X.; Hughes, R. E.; Johnson, R. P.; Johnson, A. S.; Kamae, T.; Katagiri, H.; Kataoka, J.; Knoedlseder, J.; Kuss, M.; Lande, J.; Latronico, L.; Lee, S. H.; Lionetto, A. M.; Llena Garde, M.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Mcenery, J. E.; Michelson, P. F.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Mizuno, T.; Moiseev, A. A.; Monte, C.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Murgia, S.; Naumann Godo, M.; Norris, J. P.; Nuss, E.; Ohsugi, T.; Okumura, A.; Orlando, E.; Ormes, J. F.; Ozaki, M.; Paneque, D.; Pelassa, V.; Pierbattista, M.; Piron, F.; Pivato, G.; Porter, T. A.; Raino, S.; Rando, Riccardo; Razzano, M.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Ritz, S.; Sadrozinski, H. F. W.; Sehgal, N.; Sgro, C.; Siskind, E. J.; Spinelli, P.; Strigari, L.; Suson, D. J.; Tajima, H.; Takahashi, H.; Tanaka, T.; Thayer, J. G.; Thayer, J. B.; Tibaldo, Luigi; Tinivella, M.; Torres, D. F.; Troja, E.; Uchiyama, Y.; Usher, T. L.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Vasileiou, V.; Vianello, G.; Vitale, V.; Waite, A. P.; Wang, P.; Winer, B. L.; Wood, K. S.; Yang, Z.; Zalewski, S.; Zimmer, S.

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/747/2/121

Numerical simulations based on the ACDM model of cosmology predict a large number of as yet unobserved Galactic dark matter satellites. We report the results of a Large Area Telescope (LAT) search for these satellites via the gamma-ray emission expected from the annihilation of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. Some dark matter satellites are expected to have hard gamma-ray spectra, finite angular extents, and a lack of counterparts at other wavelengths. We sought to identify LAT sources with these characteristics, focusing on gamma-ray spectra consistent with WIMP annihilation through the b (b) over bar channel. We found no viable dark matter satellite candidates using one year of data, and we present a framework for interpreting this result in the context of numerical simulations to constrain the velocity-averaged annihilation cross section for a conventional 100 GeV WIMP annihilating through the b b-bar channel.