Search for dark matter annihilation signals in the H.E.S.S. Inner Galaxy Survey
Creators: name: Collaboration, H. E. S. S.
name: Abdalla, H.
name: Aharonian, F.
name: Benkhali, F. Ait
name: Anguner, E. O.
name: Armand, C.
name: Ashkar, H.
name: Backes, M.
name: Baghmanyan, V.
name: Martins, V. Barbosa
name: Batzofin, R.
name: Becherini, Y.
name: Berge, D.
name: Bernlohr, K.
name: Bi, B.
name: Bottcher, M.
name: Bolmont, J.
name: de Lavergne, M. de Bony
name: Brose, R.
name: Brun, F.
name: Cangemi, F.
name: Caroff, S.
name: Cerruti, M.
name: Chand, T.
name: Chen, A.
name: Cotter, G.
name: Mbarubucyeye, J. Damascene
name: Devin, J.
name: Djannati-Ataı, A.
name: Dmytriiev, A.
name: Doroshenko, V.
name: Egberts, K.
name: Fiasson, A.
name: de Clairfontaine, G. Fichet
name: Fontaine, G.
name: Funk, S.
name: Gabici, S.
name: Giavitto, G.
name: Glawion, D.
name: Glicenstein, J. F.
name: Grondin, M. -H.
name: Hinton, J. A.
name: Hofmann, W.
name: Holch, T. L.
name: Holler, M.
name: Horns, D.
name: Huang, Zhiqiu
name: Jamrozy, M.
name: Jankowsky, F.
name: Kasai, E.
name: Katarzynski, K.
name: Katz, U.
name: Khelifi, B.
name: Kluzniak, W.
name: Komin, Nu.
name: Kosack, K.
name: Kostunin, D.
name: Lamanna, G.
name: Lemoine-Goumard, M.
name: Lenain, J. -P.
name: Leuschner, F.
name: Lohse, T.
name: Luashvili, A.
name: Lypova, I.
name: Mackey, J.
name: Malyshev, D.
name: Malyshev, D.
name: Marandon, V.
name: Marchegiani, P.
name: Martı-Devesa, G.
name: Marx, R.
name: Maurin, G.
name: Meyer, M.
name: Mitchell, A.
name: Moderski, R.
name: Montanari, A.
name: Moulin, E.
name: Muller, J.
name: de Naurois, M.
name: Niemiec, J.
name: Noel, A. Priyana
name: Ohm, S.
name: Olivera-Nieto, L.
name: Wilhelmi, E. de Ona
name: Ostrowski, M.
name: Panny, S.
name: Panter, M.
name: Parsons, R. D.
name: Peron, G.
name: Poireau, V.
name: Prokoph, H.
name: Puhlhofer, G.
name: Punch, M.
name: Quirrenbach, A.
name: Reichherzer, P.
name: Reimer, A.
name: Reimer, O.
name: Renaud, M.
name: Rieger, F.
name: Rowell, G.
name: Rudak, B.
name: Ricarte, H. Rueda
name: Ruiz-Velasco, E.
name: Sahakian, V.
name: Salzmann, H.
name: Santangelo, A.
name: Sasaki, M.
name: Schussler, F.
name: Schutte, H. M.
name: Schwanke, U.
name: Senniappan, M.
name: Shapopi, J. N. S.
name: Sol, H.
name: Specovius, A.
name: Spencer, S.
name: Stawarz, L.
name: Stegmann, C.
name: Steinmassl, S.
name: Steppa, C.
name: Takahashi, T.
name: Tanaka, T.
name: Terrier, R.
name: Thorpe-Morgan, C.
name: Tluczykont, M.
name: Tsirou, M.
name: Tsuji, N.
name: Uchiyama, Y.
name: van Eldik, C.
name: Veh, J.
name: Vink, J.
name: Wagner, S. J.
name: White, R.
name: Wierzcholska, A.
name: Wong, Yu Wun
name: Zacharias, M.
name: Zargaryan, D.
name: Zdziarski, A. A.
name: Zech, A.
name: Zhu, S. J.
name: Zouari, S.
name: Zywucka, N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The central region of the Milky Way is one of the foremost locations to look for dark matter (DM) signatures. We report the first results on a search for DM particle annihilation signals using new observations from an unprecedented gamma-ray survey of the Galactic Center (GC) region, ${\it i.e.}$, the Inner Galaxy Survey, at very high energies ($\gtrsim$ 100 GeV) performed with the H.E.S.S. array of five ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. No significant gamma-ray excess is found in the search region of the 2014-2020 dataset and a profile likelihood ratio analysis is carried out to set exclusion limits on the annihilation cross section $\langle σv\rangle$. Assuming Einasto and Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) DM density profiles at the GC, these constraints are the strongest obtained so far in the TeV DM mass range. For the Einasto profile, the constraints reach $\langle σv\rangle$ values of $\rm 3.7\times10^{-26} cm^3s^{-1}$ for 1.5 TeV DM mass in the $W^+W^-$ annihilation channel, and $\rm 1.2 \times 10^{-26} cm^3s^{-1}$ for 0.7 TeV DM mass in the $τ^+τ^-$ annihilation channel. With the H.E.S.S. Inner Galaxy Survey, ground-based $γ$-ray observations thus probe $\langle σv\rangle$ values expected from thermal-relic annihilating TeV DM particles.
description: Accepted in Phys. Rev. Lett., includes Supplemental materials. 5+10 pages, 2+8 figures, 4 tables