Related papers: The VERITAS Dark Matter Program
Recent measurements performed with some direct dark matter detection experiments, e.g. CDMS-II and CoGENT (after DAMA/LIBRA), have unveiled a few events compatible with weakly interacting massive particles. The preferred mass range is…
We present the results of dark matter (DM) searches in a sample of 31 dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies within the field of view of the HAWC Observatory. dIrr galaxies are DM dominated objects, which astrophysical gamma-ray emission is…
Dark matter is believed to constitute the majority of the matter content of the universe, but virtually nothing is known about its nature. Physical properties of a candidate particle can be probed via indirect detection by observing the…
We propose an X-ray mission called Xenia to search for decaying superweakly interacting Dark Matter particles (super-WIMP) with a mass in the keV range. The mission and its observation plan are capable of providing a major break through in…
Exotic dark matter together with dark energy or cosmological constant seem to dominate in the Universe. An even higher density of such matter seems to be gravitationally trapped in our Galaxy. The nature of dark matter can be unveiled only,…
SuperCDMS is an experiment designed to directly detect Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), a favored candidate for dark matter ubiquitous in the Universe. In this paper, we present WIMP-search results using a calorimetric…
We conduct an indirect dark matter (DM) search in the Galactic Center, focusing on a square region within $\pm 9^{\circ}$ in Galactic longitude and latutide, using 2,865 days of data ($\sim$8 years) from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov…
Several ideas for new physics beyond the standard model may provide particle candidates for the dark matter in the Galactic halo. The two leading candidates are an axion and a weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP), such as the…
The presence of dark matter in the Universe is nowadays widely supported by a large body of astronomical and cosmological observations. One of the best targets to look for dark matter particle self-annihilation into very high energy…
We point out that current and planned telescopes have the potential of probing annihilating Dark Matter (DM) with a mass of O(100) TeV and beyond. As a target for such searches, we propose models where DM annihilates into lighter mediators,…
In this thesis, we investigate various possibilities of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter (DM) and their implications. These possibilities are important because they challenge the viability of WIMP DM in light of tight…
Due to their proximity, high dark-matter content, and apparent absence of non-thermal processes, Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies (dSphs) are excellent targets for the indirect detection of dark matter. Recently, eight new dSph…
Dark Matter (DM) may be a thermal relic that annihilates into heavier states in the early Universe. This Forbidden DM framework accommodates a wide range of DM masses from keV to weak scales. An exponential hierarchy between the DM mass and…
The direct searches for Superymmetry at colliders can be complemented by direct searches for dark matter (DM) in underground experiments, if one assumes the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle (LSP) provides the dark matter of the universe. It…
The astrophysics community is considering plans for a variety of gamma-ray telescopes (including ACT and GRIPS) in the energy range 1--100 MeV, which can fill in the so-called "MeV gap" in current sensitivity. We investigate the utility of…
Gamma-ray observations of the Galactic Center (GC) region provide some of the most sensitive measurements of annihilation signals from dark matter in the GeV-TeV mass range. We present the first results from 178 hours of VERITAS…
The cold dark matter (DM) paradigm describes the large-scale structure of the universe remarkably well. However, there exists some tension with the observed abundances and internal density structures of both field dwarf galaxies and…
Dark matter is a vital component of the current best model of our universe, $\Lambda$CDM. There are leading candidates for what the dark matter could be (e.g. weakly-interacting massive particles, or axions), but no compelling observational…
The presence of dark matter is nowadays widely supported by a large body of astronomical and cosmological observations. A large amount of dark matter is expected to be present in the central region of the Milky Way. Very-high-energy (>100…
VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) is one of the most sensitive currently operating arrays of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, which detect very high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma rays. VERITAS is…