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PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-3107
DTSTART:20140418T203000Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260419T193833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20140303T182553Z
LOCATION:2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 4:30 pm)
SUMMARY:New Physics from the Sky: Cosmic Rays\, Gamma Rays and the Hun
 t for Dark Matter\, Physics Department Colloquium\, Stefano Profumo  \
 , UC Santa Cruz
DESCRIPTION:Can we learn about New Physics with astronomical and astro
 -particle data? Understanding how this is possible is key to unravelin
 g one of the most pressing mysteries at the interface of cosmology and
  particle physics: the fundamental nature of dark matter. I will discu
 ss some of the recent puzzling findings in cosmic-ray electron-positro
 n data and in gamma-ray observations that might be related to dark mat
 ter. I will argue that cosmic-ray data\, most notably from the AMS\, P
 amela and Fermi satellites\, indicate that previously unaccounted-for 
 powerful sources in the Galaxy inject high-energy electrons and positr
 ons. Interestingly\, this new source class might be related to new fun
 damental particle physics\, and specifically to pair-annihilation or d
 ecay of galactic dark matter. This exciting scenario is directly const
 rained by Fermi gamma-ray observations\, which also inform us on astro
 physical source counterparts that could  be responsible for the high-e
 nergy electron-positron excess.  Observations of the gamma-ray emissio
 n from the central regions of the Galaxy as well as claims about a gam
 ma-ray line at around 130 GeV also recently triggered a wide-spread in
 terest: I will address the question of whether we are really observing
  signals from dark matter annihilation\, how to test this hypothesis\,
  and which astrophysical mechanisms constitute the relevant background
 .
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=3107
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