Indirect Dark Matter Detection with Cosmic Antimatter

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential of cosmic antimatter detection, such as antiprotons, antideuterons, and positrons, as a means to indirectly detect particle dark matter through spectral distortions caused by annihilation in the galactic halo.

Contribution

It provides a detailed overview of antimatter components in dark matter indirect detection, highlighting recent experimental techniques and their potential to identify dark matter signatures.

Findings

Antimatter cosmic rays can reveal dark matter annihilation signals.

New experimental methods enhance detection sensitivity.

Spectral distortions in cosmic rays are key indicators.

Abstract

The indirect detection of particle dark matter (DM) is based on the search for anomalous components in cosmic rays (CRs) due to the annihilation of DM pairs in the galactic halo, on the top of the standard astrophysical production. These additional exotic components are potentially detectable at Earth as spectral distortions for the various cosmic radiations: $\chi + \chi \to q \bar{q}, W^+ W^-, ... \to \bar{p}, \bar{D}, e^+ \gamma and \nu's $. Detection of the DM annihilation products has motivated the spectacular development of several new experimental techniques. They range from detectors on ballons or in space for the study of antimatter and gamma-rays, to large area cosmic-ray and gamma-ray detecors on the ground to neutrino telescopes underground for the study of the neutrino component. In the following, we will discuss in detail the antimatter component of DM indirect searches, namely antiprotons, antideuterons, and positrons.