Constraints on the pMSSM from LAT observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies

Abstract

We examine the ability for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) to constrain Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) dark matter through a combined analysis of Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We examine the Lightest Supersymmetric Particles (LSPs) for a set of ∼ 71k experimentally valid supersymmetric models derived from the phenomenological-MSSM (pMSSM). We find that none of these models can be excluded at 95% confidence by the current analysis; nevertheless, many lie within the predicted reach of future LAT analyses. With two years of data, we find that the LAT is currently most sensitive to light LSPs (m LSP < 50GeV) annihilating into τ-pairs and heavier LSPs annihilating into bb̄. Additionally, we find that future LAT analyses will be able to probe some LSPs that form a sub-dominant component of dark matter. We directly compare the LAT results to direct detection experiments and show the complementarity of these search methods. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.