{"id":116,"date":"2019-02-05T09:58:33","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T09:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.ift.uam-csic.es\/damasco\/?page_id=116"},"modified":"2020-07-02T12:30:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T10:30:46","slug":"research-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/projects.ift.uam-csic.es\/damasco\/?page_id=116","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
DAMASCO\u2019s main efforts focus on the following research lines: the search for dark matter with gamma rays, N-body simulations, and cosmic-ray astrophysics. Although differentiated, there exists a <\/strong>strong <\/strong>overlap among these three lines in our group. Indeed, we all benefit from each other\u2019s expertise to find synergies and new avenues for research. In the following, we briefly describe our main interests and expertises.<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

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Gamma-ray dark matter searches and N-body cosmological simulations<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our main goal is to shed further light on the fundamental nature of the dark matter <\/strong>(DM) in the Universe, which no doubt is one of the most important open questions in Science at present. We are very much interested in attacking the enigma of the DM in an astrophysical framework<\/strong>. Indeed, all the evidence that we have to believe in DM is purely astrophysical as of today. DM has not been directly detected in the laboratory, yet its gravitational effects have been observed at all spatial scales, from the innermost regions of galaxies out to galaxy clusters and cosmological scales. We are particularly active in the search for the DM particle. Among the preferred DM candidates, WIMPs<\/strong> are, undoubtedly, the ones most intensely searched for. Different yet complementary approaches for their detection are possible: from laboratory-based searches, whose goal is the creation of the WIMP particles themselves, to direct detection experiments that look for traces of weak interactions between DM and ordinary matter, or indirect detection <\/strong>techniques which aim at detecting DM annihilation\/decay products (such as gamma rays, neutrinos or antimatter). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our group possesses a long expertise in indirect dark matter searches with gamma rays<\/strong>. We belong to the Fermi-LAT collaboration<\/a> <\/strong>and to the Cherenkov Telescope Array<\/a><\/strong> (CTA) Consortium<\/a>. At present, many astrophysical targets in the gamma-ray sky have already been scrutinized in the context of DM searches, many of them by our group (dwarf galaxies, galaxy clusters, the isotropic gamma-ray background, the Galactic center<\/strong>\u2026). Yet, no clear and univocal indication of DM has been found in any of these targets. Despite the null results, the efforts in this direction should definitely continue. In the past, we addressed some of the most relevant questions for gamma-ray DM searches, either by proposing\/exploring new astrophysical DM scenarios\/targets and DM search strategies for current and future gamma-ray telescopes; by using actual gamma-ray data to search for any hint of WIMP annihilation\/decay (or imprints of other DM candidates like axion-like particles, ALPs<\/strong>) or to set constraints to the theoretical models in absence of a signal; and by using results from N-body cosmological simulations<\/strong> to shed light on DM at the smallest scales, i.e. the ones that matter the most to gamma-ray DM searches. (We invite the reader to take a look at our publications\u2019 list<\/a> for specific works.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the near future, we will continue working on these fronts by, e.g., refining DM predictions and data analyses; by running and analyzing already existing or new N-body simulations specifically designed for our purposes; by proposing or exploring new astrophysical targets (also under different assumptions for the interaction between WIMPs, such as velocity-dependent<\/strong> cross sections), new techniques and approaches (for instance, we are already applying machine learning<\/strong> algorithms). We also plan to study other alternative cosmological models <\/strong>— such as interacting DM-radiation scenarios, that may provide a reasonable alternative to the standard CDM — and will keep considering other well-motivated DM candidates different from WIMPs such as ALPs<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group has a wide network of close collaborators that includes R. Angulo (DIPC), J. Conrad (OKC\/Stockholm), E. Charles (Stanford), M. di Mauro (NASA\/Goddard), M. Doro (Padova), F. Iocco (Naples), M. Meyer (ECAP), N. Mirabal (NASA\/Goddard), D. Nieto (UCM), F. Prada (IAA-CSIC), J. Redondo (U Zaragoza), G. Yepes (UAM), G. Zaharijas (Nova Gori\u00e7a), J. Zavala (U Iceland).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cosmic-ray physics and propagation <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comprehension of Cosmic Ray (CR) physics plays a central role in the astroparticle field. More than one century after their discovery, our understanding of the processes yielding cosmic radiation and involved in their transport cannot still be considered satisfactory. The two \u201cbig questions\u201d that have been under debate in the community for a long time are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n