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Dark matter, DM, has not yet been directly observed, but it has a very solid theoretical basis. There are observations that provide indirect evidence, like galactic rotation curves that show that the galaxies are rotating too fast to keep their constituent parts, and galaxy clusters that bends the light coming from behind-lying galaxies more than expected with respect to the mass that can be calculated from what can be visibly seen. These observations, among many others, can be explained with theories that include DM. The missing piece is to detect something that can exclusively be explained by DM. Direct observation in a particle accelerator is one way and indirect detection using telescopes is another. This thesis is focused on the latter method.
The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, V ERITAS, is a telescope array that detects Cherenkov radiation. Theory predicts that DM particles annihilate into, e.g., a γγ pair and create a distinctive energy spectrum when detected by such telescopes, e.i., a monoenergetic line at the same energy as the particle mass. This so called ”smoking-gun” signature is sought with a sliding window line search within the sub-range ∼ 0.3 − 10 TeV of the VERITAS energy range, ∼ 0.01 − 30 TeV.
Standard analysis within the VERITAS collaboration uses Hillas analysis and look-up tables, acquired by analysing particle simulations, to calculate the energy of the particle causing the Cherenkov shower. In this thesis, an improved analysis method has been used. Modelling each shower as a 3Dgaussian should increase the energy recreation quality. Five dwarf spheroidal galaxies were chosen as targets with a total of ∼ 224 hours of data. The targets were analysed individually and stacked. Particle simulations were based on two simulation packages, CARE and GrISU.
Improvements have been made to the energy resolution and bias correction, up to a few percent each, in comparison to standard analysis. Nevertheless, no line with a relevant significance has been detected. The most promising line is at an energy of ∼ 422 GeV with an upper limit cross section of 8.10 · 10^−24 cm^3 s^−1 and a significance of ∼ 2.73 σ, before trials correction and ∼ 1.56 σ after. Upper limit cross sections have also been calculated for the γγ annihilation process and four other outcomes. The limits are in line with current limits using other methods, from ∼ 8.56 · 10^−26 − 6.61 · 10^−23 cm^3s^−1. Future larger telescope arrays, like the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA, will provide better results with the help of this analysis method.
e-ASTROGAM (‘enhanced ASTROGAM’) is a breakthrough Observatory space mission, with a detector composed by a Silicon tracker, a calorimeter, and an anticoincidence system, dedicated to the study of the non-thermal Universe in the photon energy range from 0.3 MeV to 3 GeV – the lower energy limit can be pushed to energies as low as 150 keV, albeit with rapidly degrading angular resolution, for the tracker, and to 30 keV for calorimetric detection. The mission is based on an advanced space-proven detector technology, with unprecedented sensitivity, angular and energy resolution, combined with polarimetric capability. Thanks to its performance in the MeV-GeV domain, substantially improving its predecessors, e-ASTROGAM will open a new window on the non-thermal Universe, making pioneering observations of the most powerful Galactic and extragalactic sources, elucidating the nature of their relativistic outflows and their effects on the surroundings. With a line sensitivity in the MeV energy range one to two orders of magnitude better than previous generation instruments, e-ASTROGAM will determine the origin of key isotopes fundamental for the understanding of supernova explosion and the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. The mission will provide unique data of significant interest to a broad astronomical community, complementary to powerful observatories such as LIGO-Virgo-GEO600-KAGRA, SKA, ALMA, E-ELT, TMT, LSST, JWST, Athena, CTA, IceCube, KM3NeT, and the promise of eLISA.