Searching for dark matter annihilation in the Sun with the IceCube Upgrade

TL;DR

The IceCube Upgrade aims to detect dark matter annihilation signals from the Sun, potentially exploring parameter spaces beyond current direct detection limits, especially for certain spin-dependent interactions and annihilation channels.

Contribution

This paper evaluates the sensitivity of the IceCube Upgrade to dark matter in the Sun and identifies promising dark matter models for future detection efforts.

Findings

IceCube Upgrade will surpass existing direct detection in certain parameter spaces

Two classes of dark matter models are promising targets for IceCube searches

Sensitivity calculations show potential to test models with tau leptons or neutrinos as annihilation products

Abstract

The IceCube Upgrade will provide unprecedented sensitivity to dark matter particles annihilating in the core of the Sun. For dark matter candidates with spin-dependent couplings to nuclei and that annihilate significantly to tau leptons or neutrinos, we find that the IceCube Upgrade will be capable of testing parameter space that is beyond the reach of existing direct detection experiments. After calculating the sensitivity of the IceCube Upgrade to dark matter annihilation in the Sun, we explore dark matter models that could be tested by this experiment, identifying two classes of scenarios as promising targets for such searches.