ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 04 08 34 1 v 1 1 8 A ug 2 00 4 Uranus ’ anomalously low excess heat constrains strongly interacting dark matter

ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 04 08 34 1 v 2 2 5 A ug 2 00 4 Uranus ’ anomalously low excess heat constrains strongly interacting dark matter

Dark matter annihilations can generate significant amounts of internal heat inside planets if dark matter consists mainly of particles with nuclear cross sections in the micro-barn range or larger (SIMPs). By considering a detailed model of Uranus’ interior, we calculate upper limits on the Swave annihilation cross section for these particles as a function of their mass. These upper limits, tog...

ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 04 08 13 5 v 1 9 A ug 2 00 4 A Determination of the Chemical Composition of α Centauri A from Strong Lines

ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 00 08 38 1 v 1 2 4 A ug 2 00 0 Chemical Evolution of Galaxies

Chemical evolution of galaxies brings together ideas on stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis with theories of galaxy formation, star formation and galaxy evolution, with all their associated uncertainties. In a new perspective brought about by the Hubble Deep field and follow-up investigations of global star formation rates, diffuse background etc., it has become necessary to consider the chem...

ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 05 04 63 1 v 2 30 S ep 2 00 5 Halo Geometry and Dark Matter Annihilation Signal

We study the impact of the halo shape and geometry on the expected weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter annihilation signal from the galactic center. As the halo profile in the innermost region is still poorly constrained, we focus on geometrical distortions and consider different density behaviors like flat cores, cusps and spikes. We show that asphericity has a strong impact...

ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 04 08 56 1 v 1 3 0 A ug 2 00 4 The Nature of the Variable Galactic Center Source IRS

We report measurements of the light curve of the variable Galactic Center source IRS16SW. The light curve is not consistent with an eclipsing binary or any other obvious variable star. The source may be an example of a high mass variable predicted theoretically but not observed previously.