arXiv subjects

Tim Linden

Publications and source records attributed to Tim Linden.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

The Gamma-Ray Pulsar Population of Globular Clusters: Implications for the GeV Excess

It has been suggested that the GeV excess, observed from the region surrounding the Galactic Center, might originate from a population of millisecond pulsars that formed in globular clusters. With this in mind, we employ the publicly available Fermi data to study the gamma-ray emission from 157 globular clusters, identifying a statistically significant signal from 25 of these sources (ten of which are not found in existing gamma-ray catalogs). We combine these observations with the predicted pulsar formation rate based on the stellar encounter rate of each globular cluster to constrain the gamma-ray luminosity function of millisecond pulsars in the Milky Way's globular cluster system. We find that this pulsar population exhibits a luminosity function that is quite similar to those millisecond pulsars observed in the field of the Milky Way (i.e. the thick disk). After pulsars are expelled from a globular cluster, however, they continue to lose rotational kinetic energy and become less luminous, causing their luminosity function to depart from the steady-state distribution. Using this luminosity function and a model for the globular cluster disruption rate, we show that millisecond pulsars born in globular clusters can account for only a few percent or less of the observed GeV excess. Among other challenges, scenarios in which the entire GeV excess is generated from such pulsars are in conflict with the observed mass of the Milky Way's Central Stellar Cluster.

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arXiv2016

Indirect Detection Constraints on s and t Channel Simplified Models of Dark Matter

Recent Fermi-LAT observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Milky Way have placed strong limits on the gamma-ray flux from dark matter annihilation. In order to produce the strongest limit on the dark matter annihilation cross-section, the observations of each dwarf galaxy have typically been "stacked" in a joint-likelihood analysis, utilizing optical observations to constrain the dark matter density profile in each dwarf. These limits have typically been computed only for singular annihilation final states, such as $b\bar{b}$ or $τ^+τ^-$. In this paper, we generalize this approach by producing an independent joint-likelihood analysis to set constraints on models where the dark matter particle annihilates to multiple final state fermions. We interpret these results in the context of the most popular simplified models, including those with s- and t-channel dark matter annihilation through scalar and vector mediators. We present our results as constraints on the minimum dark matter mass and the mediator sector parameters. Additionally, we compare our simplified model results to those of Effective Field Theory contact interactions in the high-mass limit.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Improved Cosmic-Ray Injection Models and the Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess

Fermi-LAT observations of the Galactic Center (GC) have revealed a spherically- symmetric excess of GeV gamma rays extending to at least 10 deg from the dynamical center of the Galaxy. A critical uncertainty in extracting the intensity, spectrum, and morphology of this excess concerns the accuracy of astrophysical diffuse gamma-ray emission models near the GC. Recently, it has been noted that many diffuse emission models utilize a cosmic-ray injection rate far below that predicted based on the observed star formation rate in the Central Molecular Zone. In this study, we add a cosmic-ray injection component which non-linearly traces the Galactic H2 density determined in three-dimensions, and find that the associated gamma-ray emission is degenerate with many properties of the GC gamma-ray excess. In models that utilize a large sideband (40x40 deg surrounding the GC) to normalize the best-fitting diffuse emission models, the intensity of the GC excess decreases by a factor of 2, and the morphology of the excess becomes less peaked and less spherically symmetric. In models which utilize a smaller region of interest (15x15 deg) the addition of an excess template instead suppresses the intensity of the best-fit astrophysical diffuse emission, and the GC excess is rather resilient to changes in the details of the astrophysical diffuse modeling. In both analyses, the addition of a GC excess template still provides a statistically significant improvement to the overall fit to the gamma-ray data. We also implement advective winds at the GC, and find that the Fermi-LAT data strongly prefer outflows of order several hundred km/s, whose role is to efficiently advect low-energy cosmic rays from the Galactic center. Finally, we perform numerous tests of our models, and conclude that they significantly improve our understanding of multi-wavelength non-thermal emission from the GC.

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arXiv2016

Challenges in Explaining the Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess with Millisecond Pulsars

Millisecond pulsars have been discussed as a possible source of the gamma-ray excess observed from the region surrounding the Galactic Center. With this in mind, we use the observed population of bright low-mass X-ray binaries to estimate the number of millisecond pulsars in the Inner Galaxy. This calculation suggests that only ~1-5% of the excess is produced by millisecond pulsars. We also use the luminosity function derived from local measurements of millisecond pulsars, along with the number of point sources resolved by Fermi, to calculate an upper limit for the diffuse emission from such a population. While this limit is compatible with the millisecond pulsar population implied by the number of low-mass X-ray binaries, it strongly excludes the possibility that most of the excess originates from such objects.

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arXiv2016

Is The Gamma-Ray Source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 A Dark Matter Subhalo?

In a previous paper, we pointed out that the gamma-ray source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 shows evidence of being spatially extended. If a gamma-ray source without detectable emission at other wavelengths were unambiguously determined to be spatially extended, it could not be explained by known astrophysics, and would constitute a smoking gun for dark matter particles annihilating in a nearby subhalo. With this prospect in mind, we scrutinize the gamma-ray emission from this source, finding that it prefers a spatially extended profile over that of a single point-like source with 5.1 sigma statistical significance. We also use a large sample of active galactic nuclei and other known gamma-rays sources as a control group, confirming, as expected, that statistically significant extension is rare among such objects. We argue that the most likely (non-dark matter) explanation for this apparent extension is a pair of bright gamma-ray sources that serendipitously lie very close to each other, and estimate that there is a chance probability of ~2% that such a pair would exist somewhere on the sky. In the case of 3FGL J2212.5+0703, a model with a second gamma-ray point source at the location of a known BZCAT/CRATES radio source yields fits that are comparable in quality to those obtained for a single extended source. If 3FGL J2212.5+0703 is a dark matter subhalo, it would imply that dark matter particles have a mass of ~18-33 GeV and an annihilation cross section on the order of sigma v ~ 10^-26 cm^3/s (for the representative case of annihilations to bb), similar to the values required to generate the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess.

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arXiv2016

A Critical Reevaluation of Radio Constraints on Annihilating Dark Matter

A number of groups have employed radio observations of the Galactic center to derive stringent constraints on the annihilation cross section of weakly interacting dark matter. In this paper, we show that electron energy losses in this region are likely to be dominated by inverse Compton scattering on the interstellar radiation field, rather than by synchrotron, considerably relaxing the constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section compared to previous works. Strong convective winds, which are well motivated by recent observations, may also significantly weaken synchrotron constraints. After taking these factors into account, we find that radio constraints on annihilating dark matter are orders of magnitude less stringent than previously reported, and are generally weaker than those derived from current gamma-ray observations.

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arXiv2015

Putting Things Back Where They Belong: Tracing Cosmic-Ray Injection with H2

At present, all physical models of diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission assume that the distribution of cosmic-ray sources traces the observed populations of either OB stars, pulsars, or supernova remnants. However, since H2-rich regions host significant star formation and numerous supernova remnants, the morphology of observed H2 gas should also provide a physically motivated, high-resolution tracer for cosmic-ray injection. We assess the impact of utilizing H2 as a tracer for cosmic-ray injection on models of diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission. We employ state-of-the-art 3D particle diffusion and gas density models, along with a physical model for the star-formation rate based on global Schmidt laws. Allowing a fraction, f_H2, of cosmic-ray sources to trace the observed H2 density, we find that a theoretically well-motivated value f_H2 ~ 0.20 -- 0.25 (i) provides a significantly better global fit to the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray sky and (ii) highly suppresses the intensity of the residual gamma-ray emission from the Galactic center region. Specifically, in models utilizing our best global fit values of f_H2 ~ 0.20 -- 0.25, the spectrum of the galactic center gamma-ray excess is drastically affected, and the morphology of the excess becomes inconsistent with predictions for dark matter annihilation.

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arXiv2015

Known Radio Pulsars Do Not Contribute to the Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess

Observations using the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) have found a significant gamma-ray excess surrounding the center of the Milky Way (GC). One possible interpretation of this excess invokes gamma-ray emission from an undiscovered population of either young or recycled pulsars densely clustered throughout the inner kiloparsec of the Milky Way. While these systems, by construction, have individual fluxes that lie below the point source sensitivity of the Fermi-LAT, they may already be observed in multiwavelength observations. Notably the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) catalog of radio pulsars includes 270 sources observed in the inner 10 degrees around the GC. We calculate the gamma-ray emission observed from these 270 sources and obtain three key results: (1) point source searches in the GC region produce a plethora of highly significant gamma-ray "hotspots", compared to searches far from the Galactic plane, (2) there is no statistical correlation between the positions of these gamma-ray hotspots and the locations of ATNF pulsars, and (3) the spectrum of the most statistically significant gamma-ray hotspots is substantially softer than the spectrum of the GC gamma-ray excess. These results place strong constraints on models where young pulsars produce the majority of the gamma-ray excess, and disfavor some models where millisecond pulsars produce the gamma-ray excess.

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arXiv2015

The Galactic Center GeV Excess from a Series of Leptonic Cosmic-Ray Outbursts

It has been proposed that a recent outburst of cosmic-ray electrons could account for the excess of GeV-scale gamma rays observed from the region surrounding the Galactic Center. After studying this possibility in some detail, we identify scenarios in which a series of leptonic cosmic-ray outbursts could plausibly generate the observed excess. The morphology of the emission observed outside of $\sim1^{\circ}-2^{\circ}$ from the Galactic Center can be accommodated with two outbursts, one which took place approximately $\sim10^6$ years ago, and another (injecting only about 10\% as much energy as the first) about $\sim10^5$ years ago. The emission observed from the innermost $\sim1^{\circ}-2^{\circ}$ requires one or more additional recent outbursts and/or a contribution from a centrally concentrated population of unresolved millisecond pulsars. In order to produce a spectrum that is compatible with the measured excess (whose shape is approximately uniform over the region of the excess), the electrons from the older outburst must be injected with significantly greater average energy than those injected more recently, enabling their spectra to be similar after $\sim10^6$ years of energy losses.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Examining The Fermi-LAT Third Source Catalog In Search Of Dark Matter Subhalos

Dark matter annihilations taking place in nearby subhalos could appear as gamma-ray sources without detectable counterparts at other wavelengths. In this study, we consider the collection of unassociated gamma-ray sources reported by the Fermi Collaboration in an effort to identify the most promising dark matter subhalo candidates. While we identify 24 bright, high-latitude, non-variable sources with spectra that are consistent with being generated by the annihilations of ~20-70 GeV dark matter particles (assuming annihilations to $b\bar{b}$), it is not possible at this time to distinguish these sources from radio-faint gamma-ray pulsars. Deeper multi-wavelength observations will be essential to clarify the nature of these sources. It is notable that we do not find any such sources that are well fit by dark matter particles heavier than ~100 GeV. We also study the angular distribution of the gamma-rays from this set of subhalo candidates, and find that the source 3FGL J2212.5+0703 prefers a spatially extended profile (of width ~0.15$^{\circ}$) over that of a point source, with a significance of 4.2$σ$ (3.6$σ$ after trials factor). Although not yet definitive, this bright and high-latitude gamma-ray source is well fit as a nearby subhalo of $m_χ \simeq$ 20-50 GeV dark matter particles (annihilating to $b\bar{b}$) and merits further multi-wavelength investigation. Based on the subhalo distribution predicted by numerical simulations, we derive constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section that are competitive to those resulting from gamma-ray observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies, the Galactic Center, and the extragalactic gamma-ray background.

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arXiv2015

On The Gamma-Ray Emission From Reticulum II and Other Dwarf Galaxies

The recent discovery of ten new dwarf galaxy candidates by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) could increase the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope's sensitivity to annihilating dark matter particles, potentially enabling a definitive test of the dark matter interpretation of the long-standing Galactic Center gamma-ray excess. In this paper, we compare the previous analyses of Fermi data from the directions of the new dwarf candidates (including the relatively nearby Reticulum II) and perform our own analysis, with the goal of establishing the statistical significance of any gamma-ray signal from these sources. We confirm the presence of an excess from Reticulum II, with a spectral shape that is compatible with the Galactic Center signal. The significance of this emission is greater than that observed from 99.84% of randomly chosen high-latitude blank-sky locations, corresponding to a local detection significance of 3.2 sigma. We improve upon the standard blank-sky calibration approach through the use of multi-wavelength catalogs, which allow us to avoid regions that are likely to contain unresolved gamma-ray sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The Characterization of the Gamma-Ray Signal from the Central Milky Way: A Compelling Case for Annihilating Dark Matter

Past studies have identified a spatially extended excess of $\sim$1-3 GeV gamma rays from the region surrounding the Galactic Center, consistent with the emission expected from annihilating dark matter. We revisit and scrutinize this signal with the intention of further constraining its characteristics and origin. By applying cuts to the \textit{Fermi} event parameter CTBCORE, we suppress the tails of the point spread function and generate high resolution gamma-ray maps, enabling us to more easily separate the various gamma-ray components. Within these maps, we find the GeV excess to be robust and highly statistically significant, with a spectrum, angular distribution, and overall normalization that is in good agreement with that predicted by simple annihilating dark matter models. For example, the signal is very well fit by a 36-51 GeV dark matter particle annihilating to $b\bar{b}$ with an annihilation cross section of $σv = (1-3)\times 10^{-26}$ cm$^3$/s (normalized to a local dark matter density of 0.4 GeV/cm$^3$). Furthermore, we confirm that the angular distribution of the excess is approximately spherically symmetric and centered around the dynamical center of the Milky Way (within $\sim$$0.05^{\circ}$ of Sgr A$^*$), showing no sign of elongation along the Galactic Plane. The signal is observed to extend to at least $\simeq10^{\circ}$ from the Galactic Center, disfavoring the possibility that this emission originates from millisecond pulsars.

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arXiv2015

On the Formation of Ultraluminous X-ray Sources with Neutron Star Accretors: the Case of M82 X-2

The recent discovery of a neutron star accretor in the ultra-luminous X-ray source M82 X-2 challenges our understanding of high-mass X-ray binary formation and evolution. By combining binary population synthesis and detailed mass-transfer models, however, we show that the binary parameters of M82 X-2 are not surprising provided non-conservative mass transfer is allowed. Specifically, the donor-mass lower limit and orbital period measured for M82 X-2 lie near the most probable values predicted by population synthesis models, and systems such as M82 X-2 should exist in approximately 13% of the galaxies with a star-formation history similar to M82. We conclude that the binary system that formed M82 X-2 is most likely less than 50 Myr old and contains a donor star which had an initial mass of approximately 8-10 M$_\odot$, while the NS's progenitor star had an initial mass in the $8-25\,\rm M_{\odot}$ range. The donor star still currently resides on the main sequence, and is capable of continued MT on the thermal timescale, while in the ultra-luminous X-ray regime, for as long as 400,000 years.

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arXiv2015

Galactic Center Excess in Gamma Rays from Annihilation of Self-Interacting Dark Matter

Observations by the Fermi-LAT telescope have uncovered a significant $γ$-ray excess toward the Milky Way Galactic Center. There has been no detection of a similar signal in the direction of the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Additionally, astronomical observations indicate that dwarf galaxies and other faint galaxies are less dense than predicted by the simplest cold dark matter models. We show that a self-interacting dark matter model with a particle mass of roughly 50 GeV annihilating to the mediator responsible for the strong self-interaction can simultaneously explain all three observations. The mediator is necessarily unstable and its mass must be below about 100 MeV in order to lower densities in faint galaxies. If the mediator decays to electron-positron pairs with a cross section on the order of the thermal relic value, then we find that these pairs can up-scatter the interstellar radiation field and produce the observed $γ$-ray excess. We show that this model is compatible with all current constraints and highlight detectable signatures unique to self-interacting dark matter models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

The Anisotropy of the Extragalactic Radio Background from Dark Matter Annihilation

Observations of the extragalactic radio background have uncovered a significant isotropic emission across multiple frequencies spanning from 22 MHz to 10 GHz. The intensity of this non-thermal emission component significantly exceeds the expected contribution from known astrophysical sources. Interestingly, models have indicated that the annihilation of dark matter particles may reproduce both the flux and spectrum of the excess. However, the lack of a measurable anisotropy in the residual emission remains challenging for both dark matter and standard astrophysical interpretations of the ARCADE-2 data. We calculate the expected synchrotron anisotropy from dark matter annihilation and show that these models can produce very small anisotropies, though this requires galaxy clusters to have large substructure contributions and strong magnetic fields. We show that this constraint can be significantly relaxed, however, in scenarios where electrons produced via dark matter annihilation can be efficiently reaccelerated by Alfvén waves in the intra-Cluster medium. Our analysis indicates that any source capable of explaining the intensity and isotropy of the extragalactic radio excess must have a spatial extension far larger than typical for baryons in galaxies, suggesting a novel physics interpretation.

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arXiv2014

Detecting Dark Matter with Imploding Pulsars in the Galactic Center

The paucity of old millisecond pulsars observed at the galactic center of the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter accumulating in and destroying neutron stars. In regions of high dark matter density, dark matter clumped in a pulsar can exceed the Schwarzschild limit and collapse into a natal black hole which destroys the pulsar. We examine what dark matter models are consistent with this hypothesis and find regions of parameter space where dark matter accumulation can significantly degrade the neutron star population within the galactic center while remaining consistent with observations of old millisecond pulsars in globular clusters and near the solar position. We identify what dark matter couplings and masses might cause a young pulsar at the galactic center to unexpectedly extinguish. Finally, we find that pulsar collapse age scales inversely with the dark matter density and linearly with the dark matter velocity dispersion. This implies that maximum pulsar age is spatially dependent on position within the dark matter halo of the Milky Way. In turn, this pulsar age spatial dependence will be dark matter model dependent.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

What Does The PAMELA Antiproton Spectrum Tell Us About Dark Matter?

Measurements of the cosmic ray antiproton spectrum can be used to search for contributions from annihilating dark matter and to constrain the dark matter annihilation cross section. Depending on the assumptions made regarding cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy, such constraints can be quite stringent. We revisit this topic, utilizing a set of propagation models fit to the cosmic ray boron, carbon, oxygen and beryllium data. We derive upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section and find that when the cosmic ray propagation parameters are treated as nuisance parameters (as we argue is appropriate), the resulting limits are significantly less stringent than have been previously reported. We also note (as have several previous groups) that simple GALPROP-like diffusion-reacceleration models predict a spectrum of cosmic ray antiprotons that is in good agreement with PAMELA's observations above ~5 GeV, but that significantly underpredict the flux at lower energies. Although the complexity of modeling cosmic ray propagation at GeV-scale energies makes it difficult to determine the origin of this discrepancy, we consider the possibility that the excess antiprotons are the result of annihilating dark matter. Suggestively, we find that this excess is best fit for a dark matter mass of approximately 35 GeV and annihilation cross section of approximately 1e-26 cm^3/s (to b-bbar), in good agreement with the mass and cross section previously shown to be required to generate the gamma-ray excess observed from the Galactic Center.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Improving the Sensitivity of Gamma-Ray Telescopes to Dark Matter Annihilation in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

The Fermi-LAT collaboration has studied the gamma-ray emission from a stacked population of dwarf spheroidal galaxies and used this information to set constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section. Interestingly, their analysis uncovered an excess with a test statistic (TS) of 8.7. If interpreted naively, this constitutes a 2.95 sigma local excess (p-value=0.003), relative to the expectations of their background model. In order to further test this interpretation, the Fermi-LAT team studied a large number of blank sky locations and found TS>8.7 excesses to be more common than predicted by their background model, decreasing the significance of their dwarf excess to 2.2 sigma (p-value=0.027). We argue that these TS>8.7 blank sky locations are largely the result of unresolved blazars, radio galaxies, and starforming galaxies, and show that multi-wavelength information can be used to reduce the degree to which such sources contaminate the otherwise blank sky. In particular, we show that masking regions of the sky that lie within 1 degree of sources contained in the BZCAT or CRATES catalogs reduces the fraction of blank sky locations with TS>8.7 by more than a factor of two. Taking such multi-wavelength information into account can enable experiments such as Fermi to better characterize their backgrounds and increase their sensitivity to dark matter in dwarf galaxies, the most important of which remain largely uncontaminated by unresolved point sources. We also note that for the range of dark matter masses and annihilation cross sections currently being tested by studies of dwarf spheroidal galaxies, simulations predict that Fermi should be able to detect a significant number of dark matter subhalos. These subhalos constitute a population of sub-threshold gamma-ray point sources and represent an irreducible background for searches for dark matter annihilation in dwarf galaxies.

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