Probing dark matter via neutrino-gamma-ray correlations

TL;DR

This paper explores how correlations between neutrino and gamma-ray emissions can improve constraints on dark matter models, especially leptophilic and high-mass WIMPs, addressing current observational limitations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method leveraging neutrino-gamma-ray correlations to derive stronger constraints on dark matter properties, particularly for leptophilic and high-mass WIMP models.

Findings

Neutrino-gamma-ray correlation can enhance dark matter detection sensitivity.

New constraints on leptophilic and high-mass WIMP models are derived.

The approach addresses limitations of previous neutrino-only searches.

Abstract

The nature of dark matter is one of the most pressing questions in modern cosmology. Much work has been focussed in the past upon probing potential particle dark matter via gamma-rays resulting from its annihilation or decay. These processs are dominated by the decay of pions and thus have associated neutrino fluxes. Despite this, neutrino observations have been poor in thir ability to constrain the properties of hypothetical dark matter particles due to a lack of sensitivity. Since the gamma-ray and neutrino emissions from WIMP dark matter are expected to be correlated it becomes possible to infer an associated neutrino flux to accompany any gamma-ray flux that might be attributed to dark matter. In this work we will show that it is possible to derive superior and novel constraints, particularly on leptophilic and high mass WIMP models, with this approach. This is particularly relevant in the face of leptonic-related excesses observed in both the worlds of particle and astrophysics.