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Theory Colloquia

Indirect dark matter searches with photons: Status and prospects

by Christoph Weniger (University of Amsterdam)

Europe/Zurich
4/3-006 - TH Conference Room (CERN)

4/3-006 - TH Conference Room

CERN

110
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Description
The particle nature of dark matter is one of the great open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Indirect searches for telltale contributions from dark matter annihilation or decay to the detected photon, neutrino and cosmic-ray fluxes are one of the most promising approaches to this problem. I will present a general overview about the current state of indirect dark matter searches, focusing on photons from radio to gamma-ray frequencies. In particular, I will discuss recent developments in our understanding of the Fermi GeV excess - an excess of 1-3 GeV photons at the Galactic center which is an excellent candidate for a dark matter annihilation signal. In a recent wavelet fluctuation analysis we showed that this excess is likely caused by unresolved millisecond pulsars. We are preparing robust tests of the millisecond pulsar hypthesis with upcoming radio surveys in the very near future. I will close with an outlook on indirect dark matter searches in the next years.