Gammaldi, V., Zaldivar, B., Sanchez-Conde, M. A., & Coronado-Blazquez, J. (2023). A search for dark matter among Fermi-LAT unidentified sources with systematic features in machine learning. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 520(1), 1348–1361.
Abstract: Around one-third of the point-like sources in the Fermi-LAT catalogues remain as unidentified sources (unIDs) today. Indeed, these unIDs lack a clear, univocal association with a known astrophysical source. If dark matter (DM) is composed of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), there is the exciting possibility that some of these unIDs may actually be DM sources, emitting gamma-rays from WIMPs annihilation. We propose a new approach to solve the standard, machine learning (ML) binary classification problem of disentangling prospective DM sources (simulated data) from astrophysical sources (observed data) among the unIDs of the 4FGL Fermi-LAT catalogue. We artificially build two systematic features for the DM data which are originally inherent to observed data: the detection significance and the uncertainty on the spectral curvature. We do it by sampling from the observed population of unIDs, assuming that the DM distributions would, if any, follow the latter. We consider different ML models: Logistic Regression, Neural Network (NN), Naive Bayes, and Gaussian Process, out of which the best, in terms of classification accuracy, is the NN, achieving around 93 . 3 per cent +/- 0 . 7 per cent performance. Other ML evaluation parameters, such as the True Ne gativ e and True Positive rates, are discussed in our work. Applying the NN to the unIDs sample, we find that the de generac y between some astrophysical and DM sources can be partially solved within this methodology. None the less, we conclude that there are no DM source candidates among the pool of 4FGL Fermi-LAT unIDs.
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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Aab, A. et al), & Pastor, S. (2014). A search for point sources of EeV photons. Astrophys. J., 789(2), 160–12pp.
Abstract: Measurements of air showers made using the hybrid technique developed with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for point sources of EeV photons anywhere in the exposed sky. A multivariate analysis reduces the background of hadronic cosmic rays. The search is sensitive to a declination band from -85 degrees to +20 degrees, in an energy range from 10(17.3) eV to 10(18.5) eV. No photon point source has been detected. An upper limit on the photon flux has been derived for every direction. The mean value of the energy flux limit that results from this, assuming a photon spectral index of -2, is 0.06 eV cm(-2) s(-1), and no celestial direction exceeds 0.25 eV cm(-2) s(-1). These upper limits constrain scenarios in which EeV cosmic ray protons are emitted by non-transient sources in the Galaxy.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Ferrer, A., et al. (2012). A study of the material in the ATLAS inner detector using secondary hadronic interactions. J. Instrum., 7, P01013–40pp.
Abstract: The ATLAS inner detector is used to reconstruct secondary vertices due to hadronic interactions of primary collision products, so probing the location and amount of material in the inner region of ATLAS. Data collected in 7 TeV pp collisions at the LHC, with a minimum bias trigger, are used for comparisons with simulated events. The reconstructed secondary vertices have spatial resolutions ranging from similar to 200 μm to 1 mm. The overall material description in the simulation is validated to within an experimental uncertainty of about 7%. This will lead to a better understanding of the reconstruction of various objects such as tracks, leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum.
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Adhikari, R. et al, Pastor, S., & Valle, J. W. F. (2017). A White Paper on keV sterile neutrino Dark Matter. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 01(1), 025–247pp.
Abstract: We present a comprehensive review of keV-scale sterile neutrino Dark Matter, collecting views and insights from all disciplines involved – cosmology, astrophysics, nuclear, and particle physics – in each case viewed from both theoretical and experimental/observational perspectives. After reviewing the role of active neutrinos in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, we focus on sterile neutrinos in the context of the Dark Matter puzzle. Here, we first review the physics motivation for sterile neutrino Dark Matter, based on challenges and tensions in purely cold Dark Matter scenarios. We then round out the discussion by critically summarizing all known constraints on sterile neutrino Dark Matter arising from astrophysical observations, laboratory experiments, and theoretical considerations. In this context, we provide a balanced discourse on the possibly positive signal from X-ray observations. Another focus of the paper concerns the construction of particle physics models, aiming to explain how sterile neutrinos of keV-scale masses could arise in concrete settings beyond the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. The paper ends with an extensive review of current and future astrophysical and laboratory searches, highlighting new ideas and their experimental challenges, as well as future perspectives for the discovery of sterile neutrinos.
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Centelles Chulia, S., Cepedello, R., & Medina, O. (2022). Absolute neutrino mass scale and dark matter stability from flavour symmetry. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 080–23pp.
Abstract: We explore a simple but extremely predictive extension of the scotogenic model. We promote the scotogenic symmetry Z(2) to the flavour non-Abelian symmetry sigma(81), which can also automatically protect dark matter stability. In addition, sigma(81) leads to striking predictions in the lepton sector: only Inverted Ordering is realised, the absolute neutrino mass scale is predicted to be m(lightest)approximate to 7.5x10(-4) eV and the Majorana phases are correlated in such a way that vertical bar m(ee)vertical bar approximate to 0.018 eV. The model also leads to a strong correlation between the solar mixing angle theta(12) and delta(CP), which may be falsified by the next generation of neutrino oscillation experiments. The setup is minimal in the sense that no additional symmetries or flavons are required.
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