Search for GeV gamma-ray emission from SPT-CL J2012-5649 with six years of DAMPE data

TL;DR

This study uses six years of DAMPE data to search for GeV gamma-ray emission from galaxy cluster SPT-CL J2012-5649, setting upper limits that align with prior Fermi-LAT findings and demonstrating DAMPE's capability for such searches.

Contribution

First proof of principle search for gamma-ray emission from a galaxy cluster using DAMPE data, establishing upper limits and methodology.

Findings

No significant gamma-ray signal detected.

Upper limits are consistent with Fermi-LAT non-zero flux.

Demonstrates DAMPE's potential for galaxy cluster gamma-ray searches.

Abstract

We search for gamma-ray emission from the galaxy cluster SPT-CL J2012-5649 in the energy range from 3 GeV to 1 TeV using the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) telescope. For our analysis, we use three different templates: point source, radial disk, and radial Gaussian. We do not detect a signal with significance $>3\sigma$ for any of these templates at any location within $R_{200}$ of the cluster center. We obtain 95\% C.L. upper limit on the energy flux ranging between $\sim 10^{-6}$ and $10^{-4} \rm{MeV~cm^{-2}~s^{-1}}$ depending on the energy range. These upper limits are consistent with a previously reported non-zero flux detected by Fermi-LAT at $6\sigma$ significance. This work represents the first proof of principle search for gamma-ray emission from a single galaxy cluster using DAMPE data.