1304.0831 (Arjun Sharma)

Viability of detection by AMS of sudden features due to dark matter annihilation to positrons and electrons    [PDF]

Arjun Sharma

The Fermi experiment has measured the cosmic ray electron+positron spectrum and positron fraction [$\Phi_{e^+}/(\Phi_{e^+ + e^-})]$, and PAMELA has measured the positron fraction with better precision. While the majority of cosmic ray electrons and positrons are of astrophysical origin, there may also be a contribution from dark matter annihilation in the galactic halo. The upcoming results of the AMS experiment will show measurements of these quantities with far greater precision. One dark matter annihilation scenario is where two dark matter particles annihilate directly to $e^+$ and $e^-$ final states. In this article, we calculate the signature "bumps" in these measurements assuming a given density profile (NFW profile). If the dark matter annihilates to electrons and positrons with a cross section $\sigma v \sim\, 10^{-26}$ cm$^3$/s or greater, this feature may be discernible by AMS. However, we demonstrate that such a prominent spectral feature is already ruled out by the relative smoothness of the positron + electron cosmic ray spectrum as measured by Fermi. Hence we conclude that such a feature is undetectable unless the mass is less than $\sim$40 GeV.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.0831