CELESTE Experiment Research Articles

Indirect search for dark matter in M 31 with the CELESTE experiment

Context: .If dark matter is made of neutralinos, annihilation of such Majorana particles should produce high energy cosmic rays, especially in galaxy halo high density regions like galaxy centres. Aims: .M 31 (Andromeda) is our nearest neighbour spiral galaxy, and both its high mass and its low distance make it a source of interest for the indirect search for dark matter through γ-ray detection. Methods: .The ground based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope CELESTE observed M 31 from 2001 to 2003, in the mostly unexplored energy range 50-500 GeV. Results: .These observations provide an upper limit on the flux above 50 GeV around 10-10 cm-2 s-1 in the frame of supersymmetric dark matter, and more generally on any gamma emission from M 31.

Indirect search for dark matter in M31 with the CELESTE experiment

If dark matter is made of neutralinos, annihilation of such Majorana particles in the halos of galaxies should produce high energy cosmic rays in high density regions, like the centres of galaxies. M31 (Andromeda) is the nearest spiral galaxy from us, and both its high mass and its low distance make it a source of interest for the indirect search for dark matter through γ-ray detection. The ground based atmospheric Čerenkov telescope CELESTE has been observing M31 for the last three years, and we present here the limit we get on SUSY models from the analysed data (first observation of M31 in the range 50–1000 GeV).

CELESTE gamma ray detector: current status and results

The CELESTE experiment uses a former solar power plant to collect Čerenkov light produced by cosmic ray showers in the atmosphere. The large mirror surface allows an energy threshold below 50 GeV to be achieved, an energy not reached by any other experiment. We use an analog-logic trigger that is efficient in preference for low-energy gamma showers. Signals are sampled at 1 GHz frequency using FADCs for subsequent analysis.

Prototype tests for the CELESTE solar array gamma-ray telescope

The CELESTE experiment will be an atmospheric Cherenkov detector designed to bridge the gap in energy sensitivity between current satellite and ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, 20–300 GeV. We present test results made at the former solar power plant, Themis, in the French Pyrenees. The tests confirm the viability of using a central tower heliostat array for Cherenkov wavefront sampling.