Morgan & Claypool Searching for Dark Matter with Cosmic Gamma Rays (IOP Concise Physics)

Searching for Dark Matter with Cosmic Gamma Rays summarizes the evidence for dark matter and what we can learn about its particle nature using cosmic gamma rays. It has almost been 100 years since Fritz Zwicky first detected hints that most of the matter in the Universe that doesn't directly emit or reflect light. Since then, the observational evidence for dark matter has continued to grow. Dark matter may be a new kind of particle that is governed by physics beyond our Standard Model of particle physics. In many models, dark matter annihilation or decay produces gamma rays. There are a variety of instruments observing the gamma-ray sky from tens of MeV to hundreds of TeV. Some make deep, focused observations of small regions, while others provide coverage of the entire sky. Each experiment offers complementary sensitivity to dark matter searches in a variety of target sizes, locations, and dark matter mass scales. We review results from recent gamma-ray experiments including anomalies some have attributed to dark matter. We also discuss how our gamma-ray observations complement other dark matter searches and the prospects for future experiments. About the Author Andrea first became interested in particle astrophysics while studying at Rice University. She earned her doctorate at The Ohio State University where she performed searches for dark matter signals using the Fermi Large Area Telescope. While a postdoc at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, she was tapped to be the Dark Matter and New Physics working group coordinator within the Fermi LAT Collaboration. She is currently the Marie Curie Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory where she continues the hunt for dark matter signals using both the Fermi LAT and the HAWC Observatory. Andrea also enjoys Jazzercise and hanging out at home with her husband Dylan and their two cats Ben and Marty.