From Pamela to CDMS and Back

TL;DR

This paper explores the implications of recent dark matter detection hints for anti-proton flux constraints, analyzing the potential boost factors needed to reconcile observations with theoretical models.

Contribution

It provides a model-independent analysis linking dark matter elastic scattering cross sections to anti-proton flux constraints from PAMELA data.

Findings

Upper bound on boost factor derived from anti-proton flux

Implication of elastic scattering cross section near 10^-7 pb

Connection between direct detection hints and cosmic-ray anti-protons

Abstract

We take the recent result from the CDMS collaboration as a hint that the dark matter has an elastic scattering cross section with the nucleon in the vicinity of 10^-7 pb. By crossing symmetry such a cross section implies annihilation of dark matter into hadrons inside the halo, resulting in an anti-proton flux that could be constrained by data from the PAMELA collaboration if one includes a large boost factor necessary to explain the PAMELA excess in the positron fraction. As an illustration, we present a model-independent analysis for a fermionic dark matter and study the upper bound on the boost factor using the PAMELA anti-proton flux.