Search for the gamma-ray spectral lines with the DAMPE and the Fermi-LAT observations

TL;DR

This study searches for gamma-ray spectral lines indicative of dark matter annihilation or decay using 5 years of DAMPE and 13 years of Fermi-LAT data, setting new constraints on dark matter properties.

Contribution

First combined analysis of DAMPE and Fermi-LAT data to search for gamma-ray lines, improving constraints on dark matter annihilation and decay parameters.

Findings

No significant gamma-ray line detected.

Established the strongest constraints to date for 6-660 GeV energies.

Confirmed the non-detection of the 133 GeV line previously reported.

Abstract

Weakly interacting massive particles, as a major candidate of dark matter (DM), may directly annihilate or decay into high-energy photons, producing monochromatic spectral lines in the gamma-ray band. These spectral lines, if detected, are smoking-gun signatures for the existence of new physics. Using the 5 years of DAMPE and 13 years of Fermi-LAT data, we search for line-like signals in the energy range of 3 GeV to 1 TeV from the Galactic halo. Different regions of interest are considered to accommodate different DM density profiles. We do not find any significant line structure, and the previously reported line-like feature at $\sim$133 GeV is also not detected in our analysis. Adopting a local DM density of $\rho_{\rm local}=0.4\,{\rm GeV\,cm^{-3}}$, we derive 95% confidence level constraints on the velocity-averaged cross-section of $\langle{\sigma v}\rangle_{\gamma\gamma} \lesssim 4 \times 10^{-28}\,{\rm cm^{3}\,s^{-1}}$ and the decay lifetime of $\tau_{\gamma\nu} \gtrsim 5 \times 10^{29}\,{\rm s}$ at 100 GeV, achieving the strongest constraints to date for the line energies of 6-660 GeV. The improvement stems from the longer Fermi-LAT data set used and the inclusion of DAMPE data in the analysis. The simultaneous use of two independent data sets could also reduce the systematic uncertainty of the search.