Snowmass2021 Cosmic Frontier: Synergies between dark matter searches and multiwavelength/multimessenger astrophysics

Understand

This whitepaper focuses on the astrophysical systematics which are encountered in dark matter searches.

• Oftentimes in indirect and also in direct dark matter searches, astrophysical systematics are a major limiting factor to sensitivity to dark matter.
• Just as there are many forms of dark matter searches, there are many forms of backgrounds.
• We attempt to cover the major systematics arising in dark matter searches using photons -- radio and gamma rays -- to cosmic rays, neutrinos and gravitational waves.