H.E.S.S. observations of the globular clusters NGC 6388 and M 15 and search for a Dark Matter signal

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 735
• Main Authors: Abramowski, A., Acero, Fabio, Aharonian, F., Akhperjanian, A. G., Anton, G., Balzer, Agnès, Barnacka, A., de Almeida, U. Barres, Bazer-Bachi, A. R., Becherini, Y., Becker, J., Behera, B., Bernlöhr, K., Bochow, A., Boisson, C., Bolmont, J., Bordas, P., Borrel, V., Brucker, J., Brun, F., Brun, P., Bulik, T., Büsching, I., Carrigan, S., Casanova, S., Cerruti, M., Chadwick, P. M., Charbonnier, A., Chaves, R. C. G., Cheesebrough, A., Chounet, L. -M., Clapson, A. C., Coignet, G., Conrad, J., Dalton, M., Daniel, M. K., Davids, I. D., Degrange, B., Deil, C., Dickinson, H. J., Djannati-Ataï, A., Domainko, W., Drury, L. O'C., Dubois, F., Dubus, G., Dyks, J., Dyrda, M., Egberts, K., Eger, P., Espigat, P., Fallon, L., Farnier, C., Fegan, S., Feinstein, F., Fernandes, M. V., Fiasson, A., Fontaine, G., Förster, A., Füssling, M., Gallant, Y. A., Gast, H., Gérard, L., Gerbig, D., Giebels, B., Glicenstein, J. F., Glück, B., Goret, P., Göring, D., Häffner, S., Hague, J. D., Hampf, D., Hauser, M., Heinz, S., Heinzelmann, G., Henri, G., Hermann, G., Hinton, J. A., Hoffmann, A., Hofmann, W., Hofverberg, P., Holler, M., Horns, D., Jacholkowska, A., de Jager, O. C., Jahn, C., Jamrozy, M., Jung, I., Kastendieck, M. A., Katarzynski, K., Katz, U., Kaufmann, S., Keogh, D., Khangulyan, D., Khélifi, B., Klochkov, D., Kluzniak, W., Kneiske, T., Komin, Nu, Kosack, K., Kossakowski, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Astronomical Society 2011
• Subjects: Astrophysics; High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; Physics; Sciences of the Universe
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/735/1/12

Observations of the globular clusters NGC 6388 and M 15 were carried out by the H.E.S.S. array of Cherenkov telescopes for a live time of 27.2 and 15.2 hours respectively. No gamma-ray signal is found at the nominal target position of NGC 6388 and M 15. In the primordial formation scenario, globular clusters are formed in a dark matter halo and dark matter could still be present in the baryon-dominated environment of globular clusters. This opens the possibility of observing a dark matter self-annihilation signal. The dark matter content of the globular clusters NGC 6388 and M 15 is modelled taking into account the astrophysical processes that can be expected to influence the dark matter distribution during the evolution of the globular cluster: the adiabatic contraction of dark matter by baryons, the adiabatic growth of a black hole in the dark matter halo and the kinetic heating of dark matter by stars. 95% confidence level exclusion limits on the dark matter particle velocity-weighted annihilation cross section are derived for these dark matter haloes. In the TeV range, the limits on the velocity-weighted annihilation cross section are derived at the 10-25 cm3 s-1 level and a few 10-24 cm3 s-1 for NGC 6388 and M 15 respectively.