Paper detail

Snowmass2021 Cosmic Frontier: The landscape of cosmic-ray and high-energy photon probes of particle dark matter

This white paper discusses the current landscape and prospects for experiments sensitive to particle dark matter processes producing photons and cosmic rays. Much of the gamma-ray sky remains unexplored on a level of sensitivity that would enable the discovery of a dark matter signal. Currently operating GeV-TeV observatories, such as Fermi-LAT, atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, and water Cherenkov detector arrays continue to target several promising dark matter-rich environments within and beyond the Galaxy. Soon, several new experiments will continue to explore, with increased sensitivity, especially extended targets in the sky. This paper reviews the several near-term and longer-term plans for gamma-ray observatories, from MeV energies up to hundreds of TeV. Similarly, the X-ray sky has been and continues to be monitored by decade-old observatories. Upcoming telescopes will further bolster searches and allow new discovery space for lines from, e.g., sterile neutrinos and axion-photon conversion. Furthermore, this overview discusses currently operating cosmic-ray probes and the landscape of future experiments that will clarify existing persistent anomalies in cosmic radiation and spearhead possible new discoveries. Finally, the article closes with a discussion of necessary cross section measurements that need to be conducted at colliders to reduce substantial uncertainties in interpreting photon and cosmic-ray measurements in space.