Paper detail

Multi-wavelength Searches for Particle Dark Matter

If dark matter particles pair annihilate into stable Standard Model particles, a population of energetic, non-thermal electrons and positrons is necessarily produced. The secondary radiation resulting from the energy losses of this non-standard population (including synchrotron and inverse Compton up-scattering of background radiation photons) in turn produces a peculiar multi-wavelength spectrum, extending from radio to gamma-ray frequencies. We give here an overview of multi-wavelength searches for dark matter, including the expected injection spectrum and production rate of electrons and positrons from dark matter annihilation, the computation of the effects of propagation and energy losses and the actual multi-wavelength emission. We then outline the application of this general framework to the case of galaxy clusters (specifically Coma, 1E 0657-56 - the so-called Bullet cluster - and Ophiuchus) and of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (including Draco, Fornax, Ursa Minor and Carina). We also review the application of multi-wavelength search strategies to our own Milky Way, and more specifically to the Galactic center environment, to dark galactic mini-halos and to the so-called WMAP haze and other radio data. We argue that multi-wavelength observations will complement gamma-ray observations as probes of particle dark matter, since the expected luminosities at different frequencies are generically comparable. The indirect search for dark matter with astronomical observations at various frequencies is therefore a crucial and indispensable element in the quest for the fundamental nature of dark matter.