arXiv subjects

Pasquale Dario Serpico

Publications and source records attributed to Pasquale Dario Serpico.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Gamma rays from Dark Matter Annihilation in the Central Region of the Galaxy

In this article, we review the prospects for the Fermi satellite (formerly known as GLAST) to detect gamma rays from dark matter annihilations in the Central Region of the Milky Way, in particular on the light of the recent astrophysical observations and discoveries of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. While the existence of significant backgrounds in this part of the sky limits Fermi's discovery potential to some degree, this can be mitigated by exploiting the peculiar energy spectrum and angular distribution of the dark matter annihilation signal relative to those of astrophysical backgrounds.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Pulsars as the Sources of High Energy Cosmic Ray Positrons

Recent results from the PAMELA satellite indicate the presence of a large flux of positrons (relative to electrons) in the cosmic ray spectrum between approximately 10 and 100 GeV. As annihilating dark matter particles in many models are predicted to contribute to the cosmic ray positron spectrum in this energy range, a great deal of interest has resulted from this observation. Here, we consider pulsars (rapidly spinning, magnetized neutron stars) as an alternative source of this signal. After calculating the contribution to the cosmic ray positron and electron spectra from pulsars, we find that the spectrum observed by PAMELA could plausibly originate from such sources. In particular, a significant contribution is expected from the sum of all mature pulsars throughout the Milky Way, as well as from the most nearby mature pulsars (such as Geminga and B0656+14). The signal from nearby pulsars is expected to generate a small but significant dipole anisotropy in the cosmic ray electron spectrum, potentially providing a method by which the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope would be capable of discriminating between the pulsar and dark matter origins of the observed high energy positrons.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2009

Possible causes of a rise with energy of the cosmic ray positron fraction

Based on general considerations rather than model-dependent fits to specific scenarios, we argue that an increase with energy of the positron fraction in cosmic rays, suggested by several experiments at E>~7 GeV, most likely requires a primary source of electron-positron pairs. We discuss the possible alternatives, and find none of them plausible on astrophysical or particle physics grounds. Further observational ways to test different scenarios are discussed.

hep-ph↗