MHz to TeV expectations from scotogenic WIMP dark matter

Abstract

ABSTRACT The indirect search for dark matter is typically restricted to individual photon bands and instruments. In the context of multiwavelength observations, finding a weak signal in large foreground and background at only one wavelength band is hampered by systematic uncertainties dominating the signal strength. Dark matter particle annihilation is producing Standard Model particles of which the prompt photon emission is searched for in many studies. However, also the secondary emission of charged particles from dark matter annihilation in the TeV range results in comparable or even stronger fluxes in the GHz–GeV range. In this study, we calculate the prompt and secondary emission of a scotogenic weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) with a mass of 1 TeV in 27 dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way. For the secondary emission, we include inverse Compton scattering, bremsstrahlung, and synchrotron radiation, which results in a ‘triple hump’ structure characteristic for only dark matter and no other astrophysical source. In order to determine the best candidates for multi-instrument analyses, we estimate the diffuse emission component of the Milky Way itself, including its own dark matter halo from the same scotogenic WIMP model. We find signal-to-background ratios of individual sources on the order of 10−3 to 10−2 across X-ray to γ-ray assuming J factors for the cold dark matter distribution inferred from observations and no additional boosting due to small-scale clumping. We argue that a joint multiwavelength analysis of all nearby galaxies and the extension towards the cosmic gamma-ray background is required to disentangle possible dark matter signals from astrophysical background and foreground.