Search for Indirect Signals of Dark Matter with The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory

ORAL

Abstract

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is a wide field-of-view observatory sensitive to 100 GeV - 100 TeV gamma rays and cosmic rays. Located at an elevation of 4100 m on the Sierra Negra volcano in Mexico, HAWC observes extensive air showers from gamma rays via their production of Cherenkov light within an array of water tanks. With a wide field-of-view observing 2/3 of the sky each day and a sensitivity of greater than 1 Crab per day, HAWC has the ability to probe a large fraction of the sky for the signals of TeV-mass dark matter. HAWC's sensitivity to dark matter for several astrophysical sources and some early limits from the built detector will be presented.

Authors

  • Brian Baughman

    University of Maryland, College Park

  • Patrick Harding

    Los Alamos National Laboratory