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

Journal article

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.

Authors: Abdollahi, S; Baldini, L; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Bissaldi, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Journal: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
• Volume: 2026
• Issue: 03
• Article number: 035
• Publication date: 2026-03-11
• Acceptance date: 2025-08-16
• DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2026/03/035
• EISSN: 1475-7516
• Language: English
• Keywords: dark matter experiments; dwarfs galaxies; gamma ray experiments