Constraints on WIMP Dark Matter from the High Energy PAMELA $\bar{p}/p$ data

TL;DR

This paper uses PAMELA cosmic ray data to constrain WIMP dark matter models, setting limits on possible enhancements of antiproton flux and disfavoring certain annihilation channels based on observational consistency.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on WIMP dark matter contributions to cosmic rays by comparing detailed calculations with recent PAMELA data, especially for the ar{p}/p ratio.

Findings

WIMP masses of 100 GeV and 1 TeV cannot increase antiproton flux by more than factors of 6 and 40 respectively.

Annihilation through W+W- channel is inconsistent with both positron and antiproton data.

The observed ar{p}/p ratio is well matched by standard models up to 100 GeV, limiting exotic contributions.

Abstract

A new calculation of the $\bar{p}/p$ ratio in cosmic rays is compared to the recent PAMELA data. The good match up to 100 GeV allows to set constraints on exotic contributions from thermal WIMP dark matter candidates. We derive stringent limits on possible enhancements of the WIMP \pbar flux: a $m_{\rm WIMP}$=100 GeV (1 TeV) signal cannot be increased by more than a factor 6 (40) without overrunning PAMELA data. Annihilation through the $W^+W^-$ channel is also inspected and cross-checked with $e^+/(e^-+e^+)$ data. This scenario is strongly disfavored as it fails to simultaneously reproduce positron and antiproton measurements.