Astroparticle Seminar

Novel statistical applications to gamma-ray astrophysics

Savvas Koushiappas

Brown University

Analysis of high-energy astroparticle data requires sophisticated theoretical modeling, as well as new theoretical and statistical techniques. I will discuss some recent work on statistical methods that can be used to test the hypothesis of extremely faint signals contained in gamma-ray data. More specifically, I will discuss recent results on searches for dark matter annihilation emission from dwarf galaxies using data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Time permitting, I will discuss other applications such as the contribution of pulsars and solar system bodies to the gamma-ray background.