Speaker
Description
Dwarf galaxies offer a unique window into the dark sector---either by being overwhelmingly dominated by dark matter or by having evolved in near isolation from disruptive baryonic processes. Using more than 15 years of Fermi-LAT gamma-ray data, we probe dark matter annihilation in two regimes. First, we target ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, such as the newly discovered Ursa Major III, whose extreme dark matter fractions make them ideal for indirect detection. Second, we search for boosted annihilation signals from dark matter spikes around IMBHs in dwarf galaxies. Although no significant gamma-ray excess is observed, our stringent upper limits challenge the standard thermal WIMP scenario up to multi-TeV masses. These results highlight that dwarf galaxies are among the strongest probes of dark matter, paving the way for future multi-messenger studies.
