| 1. |
- Barack, Leor, et al.
(författare)
-
Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics : a roadmap
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Classical and quantum gravity. - : IOP Publishing. - 0264-9381 .- 1361-6382. ; 36:14
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'.
|
|
| 2. |
- Ibarra, Alejandro, et al.
(författare)
-
On the sensitivity of CTA to gamma-ray boxes from multi-TeV dark matter
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1475-7516. ; :9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collider, direct and indirect searches for dark matter have typically little or no sensitivity to weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses above a few TeV. This rather unexplored regime can however be probed through the search for distinctive gamma-ray spectral features produced by the annihilation of WIMPs at very high energies. Here we present a dedicated search for gamma-ray boxes - sharp spectral features that cannot be mimicked by astrophysical sources - with the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Using realistic projections for the instrument performance and detailed background modelling, a pro file likelihood analysis is implemented to derive the expected upper limits and sensitivity reach after 100 h of observations towards a 2 degrees x 2 degrees region around the Galactic centre. Our results show that CTA will be able to probe gamma-ray boxes down to annihilation cross sections of 10(-27) - 10(-26) cm(3)/s up to tens of TeV. We also identify a number of concrete particle physics models providing thermal dark matter candidates that can be used as target benchmarks in future search campaigns. This constitutes a golden opportunity for CTA to either discover or rule out multi-TeV thermal dark matter in a corner of parameter space where all other experimental efforts are basically insensitive.
|
|
| 3. |
- Iocco, Fabio, et al.
(författare)
-
Evidence for dark matter in the inner Milky Way
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Nature Physics. - 1745-2473 .- 1745-2481. ; 11:3, s. 245-248
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ubiquitous presence of dark matter in the Universe is today a central tenet in modern cosmology and astrophysics(1). Throughout the Universe, the evidence for dark matter is compelling in dwarfs, spiral galaxies, galaxy clusters as well as at cosmological scales. However, it has been historically difficult to pin down the dark matter contribution to the total mass density in the Milky Way, particularly in the innermost regions of the Galaxy and in the solar neighbourhood(2). Here we present an up-to-date compilation of Milky Way rotation curve measurements(3-13), and compare it with state-of-the-art baryonic mass distribution models(14-26). We show that current data strongly disfavour baryons as the sole contribution to the Galactic mass budget, even inside the solar circle. Our findings demonstrate the existence of dark matter in the inner Galaxy without making any assumptions about its distribution. We anticipate that this result will compel new model-independent constraints on the dark matter local density and profile, thus reducing uncertainties on direct and indirect dark matter searches, and will help reveal the structure and evolution of the Galaxy.
|
|
| 4. |
- Iocco, Fabio, et al.
(författare)
-
Testing modified Newtonian dynamics in the Milky Way
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 92:8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) is an empirical theory originally proposed to explain the rotation curves of spiral galaxies by modifying the gravitational acceleration, rather than by invoking dark matter. Here, we set constraints on MOND using an up-to-date compilation of kinematic tracers of the Milky Way and a comprehensive collection of morphologies of the baryonic component in the Galaxy. In particular, we find that the so-called standard interpolating function cannot explain at the same time the rotation curve of the Milky Way and that of external galaxies for any of the baryonic models studied, while the so-called simple interpolating function can for a subset of models. Upcoming astronomical observations will refine our knowledge on the morphology of baryons and will ultimately confirm or rule out the validity of MOND in the Milky Way. We also present constraints on MOND-like theories without making any assumptions on the interpolating function.
|
|
| 5. |
- Pato, Miguel, et al.
(författare)
-
Dynamical constraints on the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1475-7516. ; :12
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An accurate knowledge of the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way is of crucial importance for galaxy formation studies and current searches for particle dark matter. In this paper we set new dynamical constraints on the Galactic dark matter profile by comparing the observed rotation curve, updated with a comprehensive compilation of kinematic tracers, with that inferred from a wide range of observation-based morphologies of the bulge, disc and gas. The generalised Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) and Einasto dark matter profiles are fitted to the data in order to determine the favoured ranges of local density, slope and scale radius. For a representative baryonic model, a typical local circular velocity v(0) = 230 km/s and a distance of the Sun to the Galactic centre R-0 = 8 kpc, we find a local dark matter density rho(0) = 0.420(-0.018)(+0.021) (2 sigma) +/- 0.025 GeV/cm(3) (rho(0) = 0.420(-0.021)(+0.019) (2 sigma) +/- 0.026 GeV/cm(3)) for NFW (Einasto), where the second error is an estimate of the systematic due to baryonic modelling. Apart from the Galactic parameters, the main sources of uncertainty inside and outside the solar circle are baryonic modelling and rotation curve measurements, respectively. Upcoming astronomical observations are expected to reduce all these uncertainties substantially over the coming years.
|
|
