Searching for Dark Matter in Galaxy Clusters using Neutrinos
Basudeb Dasgupta (OSU/CCAPP)
Galaxy clusters are rich in dark matter. Presence of dark matter substructures in galaxy clusters enhances the dark matter nnihilation rate by orders of magnitude over the contribution from the smooth component of the dark matter distribution, and makes it spatially extended. We show that significant improvement in the experimental sensitivity to DM annihilation can be achieved at neutrino telescopes such as IceCube/KM3NeT by carefully optimizing the search for neutrinos from galaxy clusters, especially, if neutrino showers can be reconstructed, as may be possible in KM3NeT.
Searching for a New Window on a New Window to the Universe
Patrick Allison (OSU/Physics)
Between 10-100 EeV, ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) offer the possibility of charged particle astronomy in an energy regime that has been previously unexplored. However, the extremely low flux (1 per square kilometer per century) of cosmic rays at these high energies has limited science to only hints of the anisotropy expected from sparse astronomical accelerators. In addition, the two most successful methods for detecting cosmic rays - with a surface array and with air fluorescence detectors - are unlikely to be able to scale up to sufficiently large detectors to combat this low flux. Radio detection of cosmic rays in both the GHz and MHz emission have been the subject of considerable study in recent years, and offer the possibility of a new detector without the limitations of a surface detector or air fluorescence. In the past year, the Atmospheric Molecular Bremsstrahlung Experimental Radiometer (AMBER) experiment has been searching for isotropic GHz emission from cosmic rays by cross-triggering off of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. Updates on the AMBER experiment's current status will be presented.
