21. Limits to gauge coupling in the dark sector set by the nonobservation of instanton-induced decay of super-heavy dark matter in the Pierre Auger Observatory dataP. Abreu, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: ultra-high energy cosmic rays, UHE photon flux upper limits, super-heavy dark matter models, instantons, Pierre Auger Observatory Published in RUNG: 09.02.2023; Views: 1938; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
22. Cosmological implications of photon-flux upper limits at ultrahigh energies in scenarios of Planckian-interacting massive particles for dark matterP. Abreu, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory, UHE photon flux upper limits, super-heavy dark matter models Published in RUNG: 09.02.2023; Views: 1993; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
23. Classification of gamma-ray targets for velocity-dependent and subhalo-boosted dark-matter annihilationThomas Lacroix, Gaetán Facchinetti, Judit Pérez Romero, Martin Stref, Julien Lavalle, David Maurin, Miguel Sánchez-Conde, original scientific article Abstract: Gamma-ray observations have long been used to constrain the properties of dark matter (DM), with a strong focus on weakly interacting massive particles annihilating through velocity-independent processes. However, in the absence of clear-cut observational evidence for the simplest candidates, the interest of the community in more complex DM scenarios involving a velocity-dependent cross-section has been growing steadily over the past few years. We present the first systematic study of velocity-dependent DM annihilation (in particular p-wave annihilation and Sommerfeld enhancement) in a variety of astrophysical objects, not only including the well-studied Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxies, but nearby dwarf irregular galaxies and local galaxy clusters as well. Particular attention is given to the interplay between velocity dependence and DM halo substructure. Uncertainties related to halo mass, phase-space and substructure modelling are also discussed in this velocity-dependent context. We show that, for s-wave annihilation, extremely large subhalo boost factors are to be expected, up to 10^11 in clusters and up to 10^6–10^7 in dwarf galaxies where subhalos are usually assumed not to play an important role. Boost factors for p-wave annihilation are smaller but can still reach 10^3 in clusters. The angular extension of the DM signal is also significantly impacted, with e.g. the cluster typical emission radius increasing by a factor of order 10 in the s-wave case. We also compute the signal contrast of the objects in our sample with respect to annihilation happening in the Milky Way halo. Overall, we find that the hierarchy between the brightest considered targets depends on the specific details of the assumed particle-physics model. Keywords: dark matter theory, dwarf galaxies, galaxy clusters, gamma-ray theory Published in RUNG: 27.01.2023; Views: 2011; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
24. Sensitivity of CTA to gamma-ray emission from the Perseus galaxy clusterJudit Pérez Romero, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: In these proceedings we summarize the current status of the study of the sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to detect diffuse gamma-ray emission from the Perseus galaxy cluster. Gamma-ray emission is expected in galaxy clusters both from interactions of cosmic rays (CR) with the intra-cluster medium, or as a product of annihilation or decay of dark matter
(DM) particles in case they are weakly interactive massive particles (WIMPs). The observation of Perseus constitutes one of the Key Science Projects to be carried out by the CTA Consortium. In this contribution, we focus on the DM-induced component of the flux. OurDMmodelling includes the substructures we expect in the main halo which will boost the annihilation signal significantly. We adopt an ON/OFF observation strategy and simulate the expected gamma-ray signals. Finally we compute the expected CTA sensitivity using a likelihood maximization analysis including the most recent CTA instrument response functions. In absence of signal, we show that CTA will allow us to provide stringent and competitive constraints on TeV DM, especially for the case of
DM decay. Keywords: dark matter, gamma-ray astronomy, galaxy clusters, cosmic rays and astroparticles Published in RUNG: 27.01.2023; Views: 1904; Downloads: 18 Link to full text This document has many files! More... |
25. Spatial extension of dark subhalos as seen by Fermi-LAT and the implications for WIMP constraintsJavier Coronado-Blázquez, Miguel Sánchez-Conde, Judit Pérez Romero, Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Spatial extension has been hailed as a “smoking gun” in the gamma-ray search of dark galactic subhalos, which would appear as unidentified sources for gamma-ray telescopes. In this work, we study the sensitivity of the Fermi-LAT to extended subhalos using simulated data based on a realistic sky model. We simulate spatial templates for a set of representative subhalos, whose parameters were derived from our previous work with N-body cosmological simulation data. We find that detecting an extended subhalo and finding an unequivocal signal of angular extension requires, respectively, a flux 2 to 10 times larger than in the case of a pointlike source. By studying a large grid of models, where parameters such as the WIMP mass, annihilation channel, or subhalo model are varied significantly, we obtain the response of the LAT as a function of the product of annihilation cross-section times the J-factor. Indeed, we show that spatial extension can be used as an additional “filter” to reject subhalos candidates among the pool of unidentified LAT sources, as well as a smoking gun for positive identification. For instance, typical angular extensions of a few tenths of a degree are expected for the considered scenarios. Finally, we also study the impact of the obtained LAT sensitivity to such extended subhalos on the achievable dark matter constraints, which are a few times less constraining than comparable point-source limits. Keywords: dark matter, cosmic rays and astroparticles, gamma-ray astronomy, particle astrophysics, particle dark matter Published in RUNG: 26.01.2023; Views: 2591; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
26. Dark matter search in dwarf irregular galaxies with the Fermi Large Area TelescopeViviana Gammaldi, Judit Pérez Romero, Javier Coronado-Blázquez, Mattia di Mauro, Ekaterina Karukes, Miguel Sánchez-Conde, Paolo Salucci, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: We analyze 11 years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) data corresponding to the sky regions of seven dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies. DIrrs are dark matter (DM)-dominated systems, proposed as interesting targets for the indirect search of DM with gamma rays. The galaxies represent interesting cases with a strong disagreement between the density profiles (core versus cusp) inferred from observations and numerical simulations. In this work, we addressed the problem by considering two different DM profiles, based on both the fit to the rotation curve (in this case, a Burkert cored profile) and results from N-body cosmological simulations (i.e., Navarro-Frenk-White cuspy profile). We also include halo substructure in our analysis, which is expected to boost the DM signal by a factor of 10 in halos such as those of dIrrs. For each DM model and dIrr, we create a spatial template of the expected DM-induced gamma-ray signal to be used in the analysis of Fermi-LAT data. No significant emission is detected from any of the targets in our sample. Thus, we compute upper limits on the DM annihilation cross section versus mass parameter space.
Among the seven dIrrs, we find IC10 and NGC6822 to yield the most stringent individual constraints, independently of the adopted DM profile. We also produce combined DM limits for all objects in the sample, which turn out to be dominated by IC10 for all DM models and annihilation channels, i.e., b¯b, τ+τ−, and W+W−. The strongest constraints are obtained for b¯b and are at the level of <σv>∼7×10−26 cm3 s−1 at mχ ∼ 6 GeV. Though these limits are a factor of ∼3 higher than the thermal relic cross section at low weakly interacting massive particles masses, they are independent from and complementary to those obtained by means of other targets. Keywords: Dark matter, gamma-ray astronomy, galaxies, astronomical masses and mass distributions Published in RUNG: 26.01.2023; Views: 1734; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
27. Photopyroelectric spectroscopy and calorimetryD Dadarlat, C Tripon, Iain R. White, Dorota Korte, 2022, review article Abstract: In this tutorial, we present an overview of the development of the photopyroelectric (PPE) technique, from its beginnings in 1984, through to the present day. The tutorial is organized in five sections, exploring both theoretical and experimental aspects of PPE detection, as well as some important spectroscopic and calorimetric applications. In the “Introduction” section we present the fundamental basics of photothermal phenomena and the state-of-the-art of the photopyroelectric technique. In the “Theoretical aspects” section we describe some specific cases of experimental interest, with examples in both back and front detection configurations. Several mathematical expressions for the PPE signal in specific detection modes (combined back-front configurations and PPE-IRT methods) are also deduced. The “Instrumentation and experiment” section contains two sub-sections. The first describes several examples of set-ups used for both room temperature and temperature-controlled experiments. The second sub-section is dedicated to the configuration of detection cells and to the various sensor/sample assemblies that are currently used in spectroscopic and calorimetric experiments for both liquid and solid samples. The “Applications” section is in fact a collection of experimental results dedicated to the thermal characterization of a wide range of solid and liquid samples. At the end of this section we present some examples that have been selected to convey that the PPE technique is not only useful in the investigation of optical and thermal properties of a variety of condensed matter samples, but also to study physical and chemical processes such as molecular associations, food adulteration or phase transitions. In “Concluding remarks” we summarize the advantages of this technique in spectroscopic and calorimetric applications. Keywords: photopyroelectric spectroscopy, photopyroelectric calorimetry, phase transitions, condensed matter samples, thermal parameters Published in RUNG: 16.11.2022; Views: 2068; Downloads: 25 Full text (2,87 MB) |
28. Tuning the thermal diffusivity of the seed matter for enhanced biosynthesis: A thermal lens studyMohanachandran Nair Sindhu Swapna, Sankararaman S, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: The thermodynamics of the seed matter after imbibition is highly significant as the growth and germination involve complex biochemical exergonic process. The germination of seed and compositional variation of the seed matter has always been a fascinating field of research. The present work unveils the thermodynamics associated with the changing thermal diffusivity of the seed matter through the green technology-based single-beam thermal lens technique. Investigations are carried out in Vigna radiata seeds, germinating in media with and without carbon allotropes, through various spectroscopic techniques. The morphology of the soot and carbon allotropes is understood from the field emission scanning electron microscope images. The thermal lens study throws light into the energy trapping nature of the seed matter of the seed growing in carbon allotropic media which facilitates biosynthesis. The observed increased rate of growth of the seed is substantiated through
the ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared (NIR), Fourier transform infrared, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopic analyses. The NIR and PL studies also reveal the formation of chlorophyll molecule during germination. Thus, the study suggests a mechanism for tuning the thermal diffusivity of the seed matter as to trap the biochemical energy to facilitate the further biosynthesis and thereby to enhance the growth rate. Keywords: seed matter, thermal diffusivity, thermal lens, carbon nanoparticle, soot Published in RUNG: 04.07.2022; Views: 1936; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
29. Probing the fundamental nature of Dark Matter with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope : v1.1Alex Drlica-Wagner, Yao-Yuan Mao, Susmita Adhikari, Robert Armstrong, Arka Banerjee, Nilanjan Banik, Keith Bechtol, Simeon Bird, Christopher Eckner, Gabrijela Zaharijas, 2019, project documentation (preliminary design, working design) Keywords: dark matter, high energy physics, astrophysical observations, cosmological observations, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Published in RUNG: 03.05.2022; Views: 2338; Downloads: 46 Link to full text This document has many files! More... |
30. Tidal Disruption Events seen through the eyes of Vera C. Rubin ObservatoryKatja Bučar Bricman, 2021, doctoral dissertation Abstract: Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) are rare transients, which are considered to be promising tools in probing supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their environments in quiescent galaxies, accretion physics, and jet formation mechanisms. The majority of $\approx$ 60 detected TDEs has been discovered with large field of view time-domain surveys in the last two decades. Currently, about 10 TDEs are discovered per year, and we expect this number will increase largely once the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at Vera C. Rubin Observatory begins its observations.
In this work we demonstrate and explore the capabilities of the LSST to study TDEs. To begin with, we simulate LSST observations of TDEs over $10$ years of survey duration by including realistic SED models from MOSFiT into the simulation framework of the LSST. SEDs are then converted into observed fluxes and light curves are simulated with the LSST observing strategy minion_1016. Simulated observations are used to estimate the number of TDEs the LSST is expected to observe and to assess the possibility of probing the SMBH mass distribution in the Universe with the observed TDE sample. We find that the LSST has a potential of observing ~1000 TDEs per year, the exact number depending on the SMBH mass distribution and the adopted observing strategy. In spite of this large number, we find that probing the SMBH mass distribution with LSST observed TDEs will not be straightforward, especially at the low-mass end. This is largely attributed to the fact that TDEs caused by low-mass black holes ($\le 10^6 M_\odot$) are less luminous and shorter than TDEs by heavier SMBHs ($> 10^6 M_\odot$), and the probability of observationally missing them with LSST is higher.
Second, we built a MAF TDE metric for photometric identification of TDEs based on LSST data. We use the metric to evaluate the performance of different proposed survey strategies in identifying TDEs with pre-defined identification requirements. Since TDEs are blue in color for months after peak light, which separates them well from SNe and AGN, we include u-band observations as one of the criteria for a positive identification. We find that the number of identified TDEs strongly depends of the observing strategy and the number of u-band visits to a given field in the sky. Observing strategies with a larger number of u-band observations perform significantly better. For these strategies up to 10% of LSST observed TDEs satisfy the identification requirements. Keywords: Ground-based ultraviolet, optical and infrared telescopes
Astronomical catalogs, atlases, sky surveys, databases, retrieval systems, archives, Black holes, Galactic nuclei (including black holes), circumnuclear matter, and bulges, Infall, accretion, and accretion disks Published in RUNG: 03.01.2022; Views: 3856; Downloads: 88 Full text (124,61 MB) |