Special Astrophysics Seminar

News from Indirect Dark Matter Searches

Aion Viana

Universidade de Sāo Paulo

A wealth of astrophysical and cosmological observational evidence shows that most matter content of the Universe is made of non-baryonic dark matter. Huge experimental efforts have been deployed to look for the direct detection of dark matter via their scattering on target nucleons, their production in colliders, and their indirect detection via their annihilation or decay products in astrophysical environments. Despite all that, no conclusive detection of a dark particle has been made, and its true nature remains uncertain. In this seminar we will focus on indirect dark matter searches. There are many indirect detection methods being pursued, and their relative sensitivities are highly dependent on which dark matter candidate or target is being considered. Among the sub-products used as probes for indirect dark matter searches there are gamma-rays, x-rays and cosmic-rays. Here the different methods of indirect searches are introduced, and their current status are presented, highlighting the most recent constraints and observed anomalies potentially related to dark matter. The exciting prospects for the future of this field in the next decade are discussed.