Assoc. Prof. Gabrijela Zaharijaš (UNG): TeV dark matter search program with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
High-energy gamma rays are one of the most promising tools to constrain or reveal the nature of Dark Matter (DM). During more than a decade of the Fermi satellite mission, the data from its Large Area Telescope (LAT) were used to set constraints on Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP) models as well as to perform various searches for new physics. As a result, current WIMP annihilation cross section limits cut well into the theoretically-motivated region of parameter space for WIMP masses below 100 GeV. At the same time, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is entering the construction phase and will soon offer a chance to probe a complementary parameter space of heavier dark matter (from O(200 GeV) up to several tens of TeV), with unprecedented sensitivity.
This talk will review the latest results from the TeV sky and the planned dark matter search strategies with CTA, focusing on the signal of dark matter in the centre of our Galaxy.
