Combined dark matter search towards dwarf spheroidal galaxies with Fermi-LAT, HAWC, H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS

Authors

• S. Abdollahi, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
• L. Baldini, Università di Pisa
• R. Bellazzini, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
• B. Berenji, California State University, Los Angeles
• E. Bissaldi, Politecnico di Bari
• R. Bonino, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino
• X. Wang, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• R. Turner, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• P. Hüntemeyer, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• et al.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-11-2026

Department

Department of Physics

Abstract

Dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are excellent targets for indirect dark matter (DM) searches using gamma-ray telescopes because they are thought to have high DM content and a low astrophysical background. The sensitivity of these searches is improved by combining the observations of dSphs made by different gamma-ray telescopes. We present the results of a combined search by the most sensitive currently operating gamma-ray telescopes, namely: the satellite-borne Fermi-LAT telescope; the ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS; and the HAWC water Cherenkov detector. Individual datasets were analyzed using a common statistical approach. Results were subsequently combined via a global joint likelihood analysis. We obtain constraints on the velocity-weighted cross section 〈σv〉 for DM self-annihilation as a function of the DM particle mass. This five-instrument combination allows the derivation of up to 2-3 times more constraining upper limits on 〈σv〉 than the individual results over a wide mass range spanning from 5 GeV to 100 TeV. Depending on the DM content modeling, the 95% confidence level observed limits reach 1.5×10⁻²⁴ cm³s⁻¹ and 3.2×10⁻²⁵ cm³s⁻¹, respectively, in the τ⁺τ⁻ annihilation channel for a DM mass of 2 TeV.

Publisher's Statement

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of Sissa Medialab. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2026/03/035

Publication Title

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

Recommended Citation

Abdollahi, S., Baldini, L., Bellazzini, R., Berenji, B., Bissaldi, E., Bonino, R., Wang, X., Turner, R., Hüntemeyer, P., & et al. (2026). Combined dark matter search towards dwarf spheroidal galaxies with Fermi-LAT, HAWC, H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2026(3). http://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2026/03/035
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/2521

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF