A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Prospects for dark matter observations in dwarf spheroidal galaxies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory
Authors: Abe, K.; Abe, S.; Abhir, J.; Abhishek, A.; Acero, F.; Acharyya, A.; Adam, R.; Aguasca-Cabot, A.; Agudo, I.; Aguirre-Santaella, A.; Alfaro, J.; Alfaro, R.; Alispach, C.; Alves Batista, R.; Amans, J.-P.; Amato, E.; Ambrosi, G.; Ambrosino, D.; Ambrosino, F.; Angel, L.; Antonelli, L.A.; Aramo, C.; Arcaro, C.; Asano, K.; Ascasibar, Y.; Augusto Stuani, L.; Backes, M.; Balázs, C.; Balbo, M.; Baquero-Larriva, A.; Barbosa-Martins, V.; Barrio, J.A.; Barrios-Jiménez, L.; Bartolini, C.; Batista, P.I.; Batković, I.; Batzofin, R.; Becerra González, J.; Beck, G.; Becker-Tjus, J.; Benbow, W.; Berge, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bernete, J.; Berti, A.; Bertucci, B.; Beshley, V.; Bhattacharjee, P.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Bigongiari, C.; Biland, A.; Bissaldi, E.; Blanch, O.; Blažek, J.; Bonnoli, G.; Bonollo, A.; Bošnjak, Z.; Bottacini, E.; Boettcher, M.; Bringmann, T.; Bronzini, E.; Brose, R.; Brunelli, G.; Buces Sáez, J.; Bunse, M.; Burmistrov, L.; Burton, M.; Calisse, P.G.; Campoy-Ordaz, A.; Cantlay, B.K.; Capasso, G.; Caproni, A.; Capuzzo-Dolcetta, R.; Caraveo, P.; Caroff, S.; Carosi, R.; Carquín, E.; Carrasco, M.-S.; Cascone, E.; Castignani, G.; Castro-Tirado, A.J.; Cerasole, D.; Cerruti, M.; Cerviño Cortínez, A.; Chadwick, P.M.; Chai, Y.; Chaty, S.; Chen, A.W.; Chen, Y.; Chernyakova, M.; Chiavassa, A.; Chon, G.; Chudoba, J.; Cicciari, G.M.; Cifuentes, A.; Coimbra-Araújo, C.H.; Colapietro, M.; Conforti, V.; Contreras, J.L.; Cornejo, B.; Cortina, J.; Costa, A.; Costantini, H.; Cotter, G.; Cristofari, P.; Cuevas, O.; Curtis-Ginsberg, Z.; D'Amico, G.; D'Ammando, F.; David, L.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; de Bony de Lavergne, M.; de Frondat Laadim, F.; De Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; De Lotto, B.; de Naurois, M.; De Palma, G.; de Souza, V.; del Burgo, R.; Del Peral, L.; del Valle, M.V.; Delgado, C.; Della Volpe, D.; Depaoli, D.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Piano, A.; Di Pierro, F.; Di Tria, R.; Di Venere, L.; Diebold, S.; Dinesh, A.; Djuvsland, J.; Donini, A.; Dörner, J.; Doro, M.; Duangchan, C.; Ducci, L.; Dwarkadas, V.V.; Ebr, J.; Eckner, C.; Egberts, K.; Elsasser, D.; Emery, G.; Escañuela Nieves, C.; Escárate, P.; Escobar Godoy, M.; Esposito, P.; Ettori, S.; Falceta-Gonca¸lves, D.; Fedorova, E.; Fegan, S.; Feng, Q.; Ferrand, G.; Ferrarotto, F.; Fiandrini, E.; Fiasson, A.; Filipovíc, M.; Fioretti, V.; Foffano, L.; Fontaine, G.; Frias Garcia-Lago, F.; Fukazawa, Y.; Fukui, Y.; Furniss, A.; Galanti, G.; Galaz, G.; Gallozzi, S.; Gammaldi, V.; García Soto, S.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gasbarra, C.; Gasparrini, D.; Gaug, M.; Germani, S.; Ghalumyan, A.; Gianotti, F.; Giesbrecht Formiga Paiva, J.G.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giuffrida, R.; Glicenstein, J.-F.; Glombitza, J.; Goldoni, P.; González, J. M.; Goulart Coelho, J.; Gradetzke, T.; Granot, J.; Gréaux, L.; David A. Green, D.; Green, J.G.; Grolleron, G.; Guedes, L. M. V.; Gueta, O.; Hadasch, D.; Hamal, P.; Hanlon, W.; Hara, S.; Harvey, V.M.; Hassan, T.; Hayashi, K.; Heß, B.; Heckmann, L.; Heller, M.; Hiroshima, N.; Hnatyk, B.; Hnatyk, R.; Hoffmann, D.; Hofmann, W.; Horan, D.; Horváth, P.; Hrupec, D.; Hussain, S.; Iarlori, M.; Inada, T.; Incardona, F.; Inoue, S.; Inoue, Y.; Iocco, F.; Iuliano, A.; Jahanvi; Jamrozy, M.; Janecek, P.; Jankowsky, F.; Jarnot, C.; Jaroschewski, I.; Jean, P.; Jiménez-Martínez, I.; Jin, W.; Juryšek, J.; Kalekin, O.; Karas, V.; Kataoka, J.; Kaufmann, S.; Kazanas, D.; Keita, T.; Kerszberg, D.; Kieda, D. B.; Kissmann, R.; Klužniak, W.; Kohri, K.; Kolar, D.; Komin, N.; Kornecki, P.; Kowal, G.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; La Barbera, A.; La Palombara, N.; Lacave, B.; Lainez, M.; Lamastra, A.; Lapington, J.; Lazarevic, S.; Lenain, J.-P.; Leone, F.; Leonora, E.; Li, Y.; Lindfors, E.; Linhoff, M.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López-Coto, R.; Lopez-Moya, M.; López-Oramas, A.; Loporchio, S.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Luciani, H.; Luque-Escamilla, P.L.; Lyard, E.; Macías, O.; MacKey, J.; Majumdar, P.; Malyshev, D.; Mandat, D.; Mangano, S.; Manicò, G.; Marchetti, A.; Mariotti, M.; Márquez, I.; Marsella, G.; Martín Domínguez, D.; Martínez, G.A.; Martínez, M.; Martínez, O.; Mazin, D.; Mello, A.J.T.S.; Méndez-Gallego, J.; Menon, S.; Mereghetti, S.; Meyer, D. M.-A.; Meyer, M.; Miceli, D.; Miceli, M.; Michailidis, M.; Miener, T.; Miranda, J. M.; Mitchell, A.; Molero, M.; Molfese, C.; Molina Delicado, M.; Molina, E.; Montaruli, T.; Moralejo, A.; Moreno Ramos, A.; Morselli, A.; Moulin, E.; Moya-Zamanillo, V.; Munari, K.; Murach, T.; Muraczewski, A.; Muraishi, H.; Nakamori, T.; Nemmen, R.; Neto, J.P.; Niemiec, J.; Nieto, D.; Nievas-Rosillo, M.; Nikołajuk, M.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Nosek, D.; Novotný, V.; Nozaki, S.; Okumura, A.; Olive, J.-F.; Ong, R. A.; Orito, R.; Orlandini, M.; Orlando, E.; Orlando, S.; Otero-Santos, J.; Oya, I.; Ozlati Moghadam, M.; Pagliaro, A.; Palatiello, M.; Pandey, A.; Panebianco, G.; Paneque, D.; Pantaleo, F. R.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J.M.; Parmiggiani, N.; Patricelli, B.; Pech, M.; Pecimotika, M.; Peresano, M.; Pérez-Aguilera, A.; Pérez-Romero, J.; Peron, G.; Perrotta, F.; Persic, M.; Petruk, O.; Pfeifle, F.; Pietropaolo, E.; Pinchbeck, L.; Pintore, F.; Pirola, G.; Pittori, C.; Podobnik, F.; Pohl, M.; Poireau, V.; Pollet, V.; Ponti, G.; Pozo González, C.; Prandini, E.; Principe, G.; Prouza, M.; Pueschel, E.; Pûhlhofer, G.; Pumo, M.L.; Quirrenbach, A.; Rainó, S.; Rando, R.; Recchia, S.; Regeard, M.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Reis, I.; Reisenegger, A.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Ricci, C.; Richtler, T.; Rico, J.; Rieger, F.; Riitano, L.; Ríos, C.; Rizi, V.; Roache, E.; Rodríguez-Fernández, G.; Rodriguez Frias, M.D.; Rodríguez-Vázquez, J. J.; Romano, P.; Romeo, G.; Rosado, J.; Rosales de León, A.; Rowell, G.; Roy, A.; Rudak, B.; Ruina, A.; Ruiz-Velasco, E.; Queiroz, F.S.; Sadeh, I.; Saha, L.; Salzmann, H.; Sánchez-Conde, M.; Sangiorgi, P.; Sano, H.; Santos-Lima, R.; Sapienza, V.; Sarkar, S.; Saturni, F.G.; Savarese, S.; Savchenko, V.; Scherer, A.; Schiavone, F.; Schipani, P.; Schüssler, F.; Sengupta, D.; Sergijenko, O.; Sguera, V.; Siejkowski, H.; Silvestri, G.; Simongini, A.; Siqueira, C.; Sliusar, V.; Sofia, I.; Sol, H.; Spiga, D.; Spinello, S.; Stamerra, A.; Stanič, S.; Starecki, T.; Starling, R.; Stolarczyk, T.; Suda, Y.; Tajima, H.; Takahashi, M.; Takeishi, R.; Tanaka, S.J.; Tejedor Alvarez, L.A.; Teshima, M.; Testa, V.; Tian, W. W.; Tibaldo, L.; Tibolla, O.; Tingay, S.J.; Tombesi, F.; Tonev, D.; Torradeflot, F.; Torres, D. F.; Tothill, N.; Tramacere, A.; Trávníček, P.; Trois, A.; Truzzi, S.; Tutone, A.; Vacula, M.; Van Eldik, C.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Vassiliev, V.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Vecchi, M.; Ventura, S.; Vercellone, S.; Verna, G.; Viale, I.; Viana, A.; Viaux, N.; Vigliano, A.; Vignatti, J.; Vigorito, C. F.; Visentin, E.; Vitale, V.; Voitsekhovskyi, V.; Vorobiov, S.; Voutsinas, G.; Walter, R.; Wechakama, M.; White, M.; Wierzcholska, A.; Wohlleben, F.; Xotta, F.; Yamazaki, R.; Yao, Y.; Yoshikoshi, T.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zech, A.; Zhang, W.; Zhdanov, V.I.; Z̆ivec, M.; Zuriaga-Puig, J.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume: 544
Issue: 3
First page : 2946
Last page: 2986
ISSN: 0035-8711
eISSN: 1365-2966
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1798
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1798
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508463371
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
The dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) orbiting the Milky Way are widely regarded as systems supported by velocity dispersion against self-gravity, and as prime targets for the search for indirect dark matter (DM) signatures in the GeV-to-TeV γ -ray range owing to their lack of astrophysical γ -ray background. We present forecasts of the sensitivity of the forthcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) to annihilating or decaying DM signals in these targets. An original selection of candidates is performed from the current catalogue of known objects, including both classical and ultrafaint dSphs. For each, the expected DM content is derived using the most comprehensive photometric and spectroscopic data available, within a consistent framework of analysis. This approach enables the derivation of novel astrophysical factor profiles for indirect DM searches, which are compared with results from the literature. From an initial sample of 64 dSphs, eight promising targets are identified – Draco I, Coma Berenices, Ursa Major II, Ursa Minor, and Willman 1 in the North, Reticulum II, Sculptor, and Sagittarius II in the South – for which different DM density models yield consistent expectations, leading to robust predictions. CTAO is expected to provide the strongest limits above ∼10 TeV, reaching velocity-averaged annihilation cross sections of ∼ 5 × 10−25 cm3 s−1 and decay lifetimes up to ∼ 1026 s for combined limits. The dominant uncertainties arise from the imprecise determination of the DM content, particularly for ultrafaint dSphs. Observation strategies are proposed that optimize either deep exposures of the best candidates or diversified target selections.
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Funding information in the publication:
FGS acknowledges financial support from the PRIN MIUR project ‘ASTRI/CTA Data Challenge’ (PI: P. Caraveo), contract 298/2017, and from the INAF Mini-Grant 2023 ‘MADaMA – Measuring the Amount of Dark Matter in Astrophysical targets’.
We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following agencies and organizations: State Committee of Science of Armenia, Armenia; The Australian Research Council, Astronomy Australia Ltd, The University of Adelaide, Australian National University, Monash University, The University of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, Australia; Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, and Innsbruck University, Austria; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Fundação de Apoio à Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação do Paraná - Fundação Araucária, Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC), Brasil; Ministry of Education and Science, National RI Roadmap Project DO1-153/28.08.2018, Bulgaria; The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency, Canada; ANID PIA/APOYO AFB230003, ANID-Chile Basal grant FB 210003, Núcleo Milenio TITANs (NCN19-058), FONDECYT-Chile grants 1201582, 1210131, 1230345, and 1240904; Croatian Science Foundation, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, University of Osijek, University of Rijeka, University of Split, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Croatia; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, MEYS LM2018105, LM2023047, EU/MEYS CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_013/0001403, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/18_046/0016007, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000754 and CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004632, Czech Republic; Academy of Finland (grant nos 317636 and 320045), Finland; Ministry of Higher Education and Research, CNRS-INSU and CNRS-IN2P3, CEA-Irfu, ANR, Regional Council Ile de France, Labex ENIGMASS, OCEVU, OSUG2020 and P2IO, France; The German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the Max Planck Society, the German Research Foundation (DFG, with Collaborative Research Centres 876 and 1491), and the Helmholtz Association, Germany; Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology, India; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), MIUR, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF-OABRERA) Grant Fondazione Cariplo/Regione Lombardia ID 2014-1980/RST_ERC, Italy; ICRR, University of Tokyo, JSPS, MEXT, Japan; Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Netherlands; University of Oslo, Norway; Ministry of Science and Higher Education, DIR/WK/2017/12, the National Centre for Research and Development and the National Science Centre, UMO-2016/22/M/ST9/00583, Poland; Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency, grants P1-0031, I0-E018, and J1-60014, Slovenia; South African Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation through the South African Gamma-Ray Astronomy Programme, South Africa; The Spanish groups acknowledge funds from ‘ERDF A way of making Europe’, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the Spanish Research State Agency (AEI) via MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, grants CNS2023-144504, PDC2023-145839-I00, PID2022-137810NB-C22, PID2022-139117NB-C41/C42/C43/C44, PID2022-136828NB-C41/C42, PID2022-138172NB-C41/C42/C43, PID2021-124581OB-I00, PID2021-125331NB-I00, and budget lines 28.06.000X.411.01 and 28.06.000X.711.04 of PGE 2023, 2024 and 2025; the ‘Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa’ program through grants nos CEX2019-000920-S, CEX2020-001007-S, and CEX2021-001131-S; the ‘Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu’ program through grants nos CEX2019-000918-M andCEX2020-001058-M; the ‘Ramón y Cajal’ program through grant RYC2021-032991-I; and the ‘Juan de la Cierva’ program through grants nos JDC2022-048916-I and JDC2022-049705-I. They also acknowledge the projects with refs. PR47/21 TAU and TEC-2024/TEC-182, both funded by the Comunidad de Madrid regional government. Funds were also granted by the ‘Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación’ of the regional government of Andalucía (refs. AST22_00001_9 and AST22_0001_16) and ‘Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación’ (ref. FQM-322); and by the ‘Programa Operativo de Crecimiento Inteligente’ FEDER 2014-2020 (refs. ESFRI-2017-IAC-12 and ESFRI-2020-01-IAC-12) and Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, 15 per cent co-financed by ‘Consejería de Economía, Industria, Comercio y Conocimiento’ of the Gobierno de Canarias regional government. The Generalitat de Catalunya regional government is also gratefully acknowledged via its ‘CERCA’ program and grants 2021SGR00426 and 2021SGR00679. Spanish groups were also kindly supported by European Union funds via the Horizon Europe Research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 101131928; NextGenerationEU, grants no. PRTR-C17.I1, CT19/23-INVM-109, and the ‘MicroStars’ ERC, ref. 101076533. This research used computing and storage resources provided by the Port d’Informació Científica (PIC) data center; Swedish Research Council, Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at Lunarc (Lund), Sweden; State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Switzerland; The National Research Foundation of Ukraine (projects 2023.03/0149 and 2023.05/0024), Ukraine; Durham University, Leverhulme Trust, Liverpool University, University of Leicester, University of Oxford, Royal Society, Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK; U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, Barnard College, University of California, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPAC-MRPI program), Iowa State University, the Smithsonian Institution, VVD is funded by NSF grant AST-1911061, Washington University McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, The University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, USA.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement No 262053 and No 317446. This project is receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programs under agreement no 676134.
