Combined Search for Neutrinos from Dark Matter Annihilation in the Galactic Centre using ANTARES and IceCube

TL;DR

This paper reports the first combined search for dark matter annihilation signals in the Galactic Centre using ANTARES and IceCube, resulting in improved limits on dark matter properties across a broad mass range.

Contribution

It unifies analysis methods of ANTARES and IceCube, enabling a combined search that enhances sensitivity to dark matter signals in the Galactic Centre.

Findings

Combined analysis yields stronger limits on dark matter annihilation cross section.

Limits are comparable for WIMP masses between 50 and 1000 GeV.

Unified likelihood method sets a benchmark for future joint dark matter searches.

Abstract

The ANTARES and IceCube neutrino telescopes have both searched for neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Centre, putting limits on the thermally-averaged dark matter self-annihilation cross section $\langle \sigma_A \upsilon \rangle$. For WIMP masses above 100 GeV, the most stringent limits were obtained by the ANTARES neutrino telescope, while for lower masses, limits achieved by IceCube are more competitive. The limits obtained by the two detectors are of comparable order of magnitude for WIMP masses going from 50 to 1000 GeV, making this mass range particularly interesting for a combined analysis. In this contribution, we present the limits of the first combined search for dark matter self-annihilation in the centre of the Milky Way using ANTARES and IceCube. The model parameters and the likelihood method were unified, thereby providing a benchmark for future dark matter searches conducted by each collaboration. By combining data of both detectors, we obtained improved limits with respect to the original limits published by the two collaborations.