Dark matter is an essential ingredient in our modern understanding of the Universe. However, its fundamental role in cosmology is matched only by its conspicuous absence from the Standard Model of particle physics. The last thirty years has seen a concerted theoretical and experimental effort to identify the particle nature of dark matter.<br/> <br/> In this thesis I present new work that pushes current observations to the sensitivities required to explore long-standing and broad classes of dark matter candidates. I have developed a maximally-powerful statistical framework that allows a simultaneous analysis of multiple targets, taking into account the spatial and spectral properties of individual detector events. The method is applied to search for dark matter annihilation in Milky Way dwarf galaxies. This search currently represents the most sensitive probe of dark matter parameter space, for the first time excluding annihilation cross sections which explain the observed relic abundance.<br/> <br/> In addition, I present two novel techniques developed to understand the diffuse backgrounds which limit the sensitivity of all astrophysical analyses, including dark matter searches. The first is a spacetime correlation function that is sensitive to a population of extremely faint moving sources. The second makes use of time series analyses in untangling the emission from unresolved pulsars. Both methods are intended to discover and characterize an entire population of sources even when the individual members remain undetectable.
Geringer-Sameth, Alex,
"Comprehensive Approaches and Results in the Indirect Dark Matter Search"
(2013).
Physics Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0FQ9TZ7
