Physics (Internal)

The Inner Galaxy Excess in GeV Gamma-Rays: A Possible Signal of Annihilating Dark Matter

This event is part of the HET Seminar Series.

Abstract: Recent work has shown that a spectral feature in few-GeV gamma rays previously identified in the Galactic Center (GC) extends to much higher Galactic latitudes, 5-20 degrees from the Galactic plane. The amplitude and morphology of the extended signal appears consistent with expectations for thermal relic annihilating dark matter. I will discuss how the signal is extracted from the data, the systematic uncertainties in the resulting spectrum, and the implications for dark matter interpretations.