When Dark Matter interacts with Cosmic Rays or Interstellar Matter: A Morphological Study

TL;DR

This paper investigates how dark matter interactions with cosmic rays and interstellar matter could produce observable morphological features in astrophysical emissions, aiding in distinguishing dark matter signals from backgrounds.

Contribution

It provides detailed morphological predictions for models where dark matter interactions produce emissions proportional to matter densities, and compares these with observations.

Findings

Predicted spatial templates match observed distributions in some regions.

Distinct morphological features can help identify dark matter interactions.

Models show specific latitudinal and longitudinal emission patterns.

Abstract

Excess emission over expected diffuse astrophysical backgrounds in the direction of the Galactic center region has been claimed at various wavelengths, from radio to gamma rays. Among particle models advocated to explain such observations, several invoke interactions between dark matter particles and ordinary matter, such as cosmic rays, interstellar gas or free electrons. Depending on the specific interstellar matter particles' species and energy, such models predict distinct morphological features. In this study we make detailed predictions for the morphology of models where the relevant electromagnetic emission is proportional to the product of the dark matter density profile and the density of interstellar matter or cosmic rays. We compare the predicted latitudinal and longitudinal distributions with observations, and provide the associated set of relevant spatial templates.