Searching for Dark Matter in Dwarf Galaxies

Despite more than 75 years of effort, astrophysicistsare still trying to identify the particle or particles that comprisethe majority of the dark matter. While the most direct approach may be todetect dark matter particles in a new instrument or manufacturethem in a collider, these methods face significant challengesbecause dark matter is notoriously difficult to detect. In thisbook, an alternative approach is analyzed, in which we constrain theproperties of dark matter by observing the by-products of theannihilation of dark matter particles with their antiparticles.Likely dark matter candidates, including the neutralino of supersymmetrytheory, are expected to produce observable gamma rays from suchannihilation events, as well as electrons and positrons, whichshould generate observable radio synchrotron radiation in thepresence of normal galactic magnetic fields. This book is for anyoneinterested in how we can target dark matter-rich dwarf galaxies, without supermassive black holes or other large massescapable of disrupting the dark matter concentration at theircenters, and use these signals to learn about the nature of exotic dark matter.... Mehr