Results from PAMELA, ATIC and FERMI: Pulsars or dark matter?

Chowdhury, Debtosh and Vempati, Sudhir K and Jog, Chanda J (2011) Results from PAMELA, ATIC and FERMI: Pulsars or dark matter? In: Pramana - Journal of Physics, 76 (1). pp. 1-22.

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Abstract

It is well known that dark matter dominates the dynamics of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Its constituents remain a mystery despite an assiduous search for them over the past three decades. Recent results from the satellite-based PAMELA experiment show an excess in the positron fraction at energies between 10 and 100 GeV in the secondary cosmic ray spectrum. Other experiments, namely ATIC, HESS and FERMI, show an excess in the total electron (e(+) + e(-)) spectrum for energies greater than 100 GeV. These excesses in the positron fraction as well as the electron spectrum can arise in local astrophysical processes like pulsars, or can be attributed to the annihilation of the dark matter particles. The latter possibility gives clues to the possible candidates for the dark matter in galaxies and other astrophysical systems. In this article, we give a report of these exciting developments.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Pramana - Journal of Physics
Publisher:	Indian Academy of Sciences
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:	Dark matter; cosmic rays; beyond Standard Model
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for High Energy Physics Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2011 10:14
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2011 10:15
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/35979

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