By Abigail Swanson
Faculty mentor: Dr. Desmond Villalba
2:00-2:50pm, HCC 329
We analyzed the total relic abundance of dark matter using the Boltzmann equation over the course of three different time periods. Overall, we found that regardless of the model used for mass values of dark matter and thermal cross-section the relic abundance remains constant when the expansion rate of the Universe is much greater than the annihilation rate of dark matter. We then focused on dark matter annihilation in the vicinity of the Milky Way Galaxy. This is important because traces from annihilation can be used as the basis for the indirect detection of dark matter. The models we studied this semester theorize that dark matter annihilates into photons at gamma-ray photons. We analyzed the two pieces of the equation of the flux of dark matter annihilation: the particle physics factor and the astrophysical factor. Using the Navarro-Frenck-White profile of dark matter distribution in the Milky Way Galaxy, we were able to find a value for the astrophysical factor. The particle physics factor is related to the annihilation pathway. Different models have different annihilation pathways, which each have their own set of parameters. This research is ongoing, and we intend to continue exploring the parameters and constraints of possible candidates of dark matter.
