Planck Lensing and Cosmic Infrared Background Cross-Correlation with Fermi-LAT: Tracing Dark Matter Signals in the Gamma-Ray Background

TL;DR

This study cross-correlates gamma-ray background data with large-scale structure tracers to set new upper limits on dark matter annihilation signals, improving constraints in the 20-100 GeV mass range.

Contribution

It introduces a novel cross-correlation analysis between Fermi-LAT gamma-ray maps and Planck CMB lensing and CIB data to constrain dark matter properties.

Findings

Set upper limits on DM annihilation cross-section of 10^{-25} to 10^{-24} cm^3 s^{-1}.

Validated unbiased power spectrum estimation with simulations.

No significant contamination detected in measurements.

Abstract

The extragalactic $\gamma$-ray background and its spatial anisotropy could potentially contain a signature of dark matter (DM) annihilation or particle decay. Astrophysical foregrounds, such as blazars and star-forming galaxies (SFGs), however, dominate the $\gamma$-ray background, precluding an easy detection of the signal associated with the DM annihilation or decay in the background intensity spectrum. The DM imprint on the $\gamma$-ray background is expected to be correlated with large-scale structure tracers. In some cases, such a cross-correlation is even expected to have a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the auto-correlation. One reliable tracer of the DM distribution in the large-scale structure is lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and the cosmic infrared background (CIB) is a reliable tracer of SFGs. We analyze Fermi-LAT data taken over 92 months and study the cross-correlation with Planck CMB lensing, Planck CIB, and Fermi-$\gamma$ maps. We put upper limits on the DM annihilation cross-section from the cross-power spectra with the $\gamma$-ray background anisotropies. The unbiased power spectrum estimation is validated with simulations that include cross-correlated signals. We also provide a set of systematic tests and show that no significant contaminations are found for the measurements presented here. Using $\gamma$-ray background map from data gathered over 92 months, we find the best constraint on the DM annihilation with a $1\sigma$ confidence level upper limit of $10^{-25}$-$10^{-24}$ cm$^{3}$ s$^{-1}$, when the mass of DM particles is between 20 and 100 GeV.