Search for Dark Matter Annihilation in the Earth using the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

TL;DR

This study used the ANTARES neutrino telescope data from 2007 to 2012 to search for neutrino signals from WIMP annihilations in Earth's center, setting new upper limits on WIMP properties.

Contribution

First to analyze ANTARES data for WIMP annihilation signals in Earth, providing the most stringent limits near iron nucleus mass compared to other indirect searches.

Findings

No significant neutrino excess observed.

Set upper limits on WIMP annihilation rate and cross-section.

Limits are more stringent near 50 GeV/c^2 WIMP mass.

Abstract

A search for a neutrino signal from WIMP pair annihilations in the centre of the Earth has been performed with the data collected with the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. The event selection criteria have been developed and tuned to maximise the sensitivity of the experiment to such a neutrino signal. No significant excess of neutrinos over the expected background has been observed. Upper limits at $90\%$ C.L. on the WIMP annihilation rate in the Earth and the spin independent scattering cross-section of WIMPs to nucleons $\sigma^{SI}_p$ were calculated for WIMP pair annihilations into either $\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$, $W^+W^-$, $b\overline{b}$ or the non-SUSY $\nu_{\mu}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ as a function of the WIMP mass (between $25\,\mathrm{GeV/c^2}$ and $1000\,\mathrm{GeV/c^2}$) and as a function of the thermally averaged annihilation cross section times velocity $\langle\sigma_{A} v\rangle_{Earth}$ of the WIMPs in the centre of the Earth. For masses of the WIMP close to the mass of iron nuclei ($50\,\mathrm{GeV/c^2}$), the obtained limits on $\sigma^{SI}_p$ are more stringent than those obtained by other indirect searches.