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Cosmic rays meet dark matter: New astrophysical probes of light dark matter
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Europe/Rome
Aula Multimediale (Dipartimento di Fisica)
Aula Multimediale
Dipartimento di Fisica
Description
Speaker: Marco Chianese
Abstract
Although the gravitational effects of Dark Matter (DM) are firmly established across a wide range of astrophysical and cosmological observations, its particle nature remains unknown, as no definitive evidence for non-gravitational interactions has yet emerged despite decades of experimental searches. In this framework, the sub-GeV mass range remains largely unexplored due to the limited sensitivity of current direct-detection experiments to low-energy nuclear recoils.
In this talk, I will discuss how the study of the interactions between high-energy Cosmic Rays (CRs) and dark matter provides a novel pathway to probe light DM particles. I will show that CR-DM scatterings occurring in astrophysical environments can modify the CR transport, leaving observable signatures in the gamma-ray emission produced during their propagation. In particular, I will examine the impact of CR–DM interactions in two astrophysical settings. First, I will focus on starburst galaxies, which act as efficient cosmic-ray reservoirs and prominent sources of high-energy gamma rays. I will then consider active galactic nuclei, where relativistic jets accelerate particles to extreme energies and generate broadband electromagnetic emission. Hence, I will discuss the resulting constraints on DM properties and demonstrate how these astrophysical probes can complement and extend current experimental searches into previously inaccessible regions of parameter space.