Elena Pinetti

Synergies across the spectrum for particle dark matter indirect detection: how HI intensity mapping meets gamma rays

2019-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

Synergies across the spectrum for particle dark matter indirect detection: how HI intensity mapping meets gamma rays

Abstract

Neutral hydrogen (HI) intensity mapping traces the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe and therefore should correlate with the gamma-ray emission originated from particle dark matter annihilation or from active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies, since the related processes occur in the same cosmic structures hosting HI. In this paper, we derive the cross-correlation signal between the brightness temperature of the 21-cm line emission of the HI spin-flip transition in the Universe and the unresolved gamma-ray background. Specifically, we derive forecasts for the cross-correlation signal by focussing on the opportunities offered by the combination of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) gamma-ray sensitivity with the expectations of the HI intensity mapping measurements from future radio telescopes, for which we concentrate on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and MeerKAT, one of its precursors. We find that the combination of MeerKAT with the current Fermi-LAT statistics has the potential to provide a first hint of the cross-correlation signal originated by astrophysical sources, with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 3.7. With SKA Phase 1 and SKA Phase 2, the SNR is predicted to increase up to 5.7 and 8.2, respectively. The bounds on dark matter properties attainable with SKA combined with the current statistics of Fermi-LAT are predicted to be comparable to those obtained from other techniques able to explore the unresolved components of the gamma-ray background. The enhanced capabilities of SKA Phase 2, combined with a future generation gamma-ray telescope with improved specifications, can allow us to investigate the whole mass window for weakly interacting massive particles up to the TeV scale.

Read the full article on arXiv:1911.04989!

Conference TAUP2019

2019-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

I attended the XVI International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics which took place in Toyama (Japan) from 9th to 13th of September and gathered More than 500 physicists from all over the world. Here a picture with the attendees and one photo of myself while presenting my work on “Particle dark matter searches through cross-correlations between gamma-rays and neutral hydrogen intensity mapping”.

The topics covered include Dark Matter and its detection, Cosmology and Particle Physics, Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, Gravitational Waves, High-energy Astrophysics and cosmic rays.

For further details, I encourage you to visit the website of the conference: http://taup2019.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

Conference COSMO19

2019-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

I attended the XXII edition of COSMO which took place in Aachen (Germany) from 1st to 6th of September and gathered more than 200 physicists from all over the world. Here a picture with all the attendees. I also gave a talk on “Particle dark matter searches through cross-correlations between gamma-rays and neutral hydrogen intensity mapping”.

The topics covered include Early Universe, Gravitational Waves and Black Holes, Dark Matter and Astroparticle Physics, CMB, Modified Gravity and Dark Energy.

For further details, I encourage you to visit the website of the conference: https://indico.cern.ch/event/782784/overview