Understanding dark matter with cosmic rays and stars - Isabelle John (Stockholm U., OKC)

Abstract: Dark matter may annihilate into final states including positrons, which would appear as peaked signatures in the local cosmic-ray positron flux. Using a refined model of the energy losses experienced by the positrons during propagation, I will show that contributions from dark matter can be clearly distinguished from pulsars, which also produce highly-energetic positrons. This makes the cosmic-ray positron flux a promising place to search for dark matter signals. Dark matter may also change the evolution of stars. At the Galactic Center, the dark matter density is very high, and dark matter can  sufficiently accumulate and annihilate inside the star. I will present results on how this extra power affects the stellar evolution, can disrupt stars and even prevent their formation.