Angular Signatures of Annihilating Dark Matter in the Cosmic Gamma-Ray Background

Abstract

The extragalactic cosmic gamma-ray background (CGB) is an interesting channel to look for signatures of dark matter annihilation. In particular, besides the imprint in the energy spectrum, peculiar anisotropy patterns are expected compared to the case of a pure astrophysical origin of the CGB. We take into account the uncertainties in the dark matter clustering properties on sub-galactic scales, deriving two possible anisotropy scenarios. A clear dark matter angular signature is achieved when the annihilation signal receives only a moderate contribution from sub-galactic clumps and/or cuspy haloes. Experimentally, if galactic foregrounds systematics are efficiently kept under control, the angular differences are detectable with the forthcoming GLAST observatory, provided that the annihilation signal contributes to the CGB for a fraction >10-20%. If, instead, sub-galactic structures have a more prominent role, the astrophysical and dark matter anisotropies become degenerate, correspondingly diluting the DM signature. As complementary observables we also introduce the cross-correlation between surveys of galaxies and the CGB and the cross-correlation between different energy bands of the CGB and we find that they provide a further sensitive tool to detect the dark matter angular signatures.