Annihilations from the Galactic Centre

Abstract

A massive black hole is present at the centre of our galaxy and inevitably accretes dark matter particles, creating a region of very high particle density. The annihilation rate is enhanced with a large number of e+e- pairs produced either directly or by successive decays of mesons. We evaluate the synchrotron emission (and self-absorption) associated with the propagation of these particles through the galactic magnetic field and give constraints on the values of mass and cross section of the dark matter particles.

7 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter (IDM2000) in York, in press