Gamma Rays from the Inner Milky Way: Dark Matter or Point Sources?

Tracy Slatyer (MIT)

October 08, 2015

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Abstract: Studies of data from the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope have revealed bright gamma-ray emission from the central regions of our galaxy, with a spatial and spectral profile consistent with annihilating dark matter. I will present a new model-independent analysis that suggests that rather than originating from dark matter, the GeV excess may arise from a surprising new population of as-yet- unresolved gamma-ray point sources in the heart of the Milky Way.