Limits on Dark Matter Annihilation in the Sun using the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

TL;DR

This paper reports on a search for neutrinos from dark matter annihilations in the Sun using ANTARES data, setting upper limits on neutrino flux and WIMP cross-sections without detecting a significant signal.

Contribution

It provides the first constraints on dark matter annihilation in the Sun using ANTARES data for WIMP masses from 50 GeV to 5 TeV across multiple channels.

Findings

No significant excess of neutrinos observed.

Established 90% C.L. upper limits on neutrino flux.

Derived constraints on WIMP-nucleon cross-sections.

Abstract

A search for muon neutrinos originating from dark matter annihilations in the Sun is performed using the data recorded by the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. In order to obtain the best possible sensitivities to dark matter signals, an optimisation of the event selection criteria is performed taking into account the background of atmospheric muons, atmospheric neutrinos and the energy spectra of the expected neutrino signals. No significant excess over the background is observed and $90\%$ C.L. upper limits on the neutrino flux, the spin--dependent and spin--independent WIMP-nucleon cross--sections are derived for WIMP masses ranging from $ \rm 50$ GeV to $\rm 5$ TeV for the annihilation channels $\rm WIMP + WIMP \to b \bar b, W^+ W^-$ and $\rm \tau^+ \tau^-$.