Dark Matter Annihilation Limits from Dwarf Galaxies using VERITAS

Understand

Current cosmological models and data suggest the existence of a cold Dark Matter (DM) component, however the nature of DM particles remains unknown.

• A favored candidate for DM is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) in the mass range of 50 GeV to greater than 10 TeV.
• Nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are expected to contain a high density of DM with a low gamma-ray background, and are thus promising targets for the detection of secondary gamma rays at very high energies (VHE, E > 0.1 TeV) through the annihilation of WIMPs into Standard Model (SM) particles.
• The VERITAS array of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), sensitive to gamma rays in the 100GeV to 50 TeV range, carries out an extensive observation program of dSphs.