Potential dark-matter signal likely just undiscovered pulsars
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029006
New Scientist : In 2009, NASA’s Fermi satellite began detecting an apparent excess concentration of gamma rays that appeared to come from the Milky Way’s central region. According to some theories, the signal could be the result of dark-matter collisions in the dense core region of the galaxy. Now, two independent teams analyzing the data argue that the signal did not account for thousands of previously undiscovered pulsars, which are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit bright pulses of radiation. The finding is significant not just for potentially eliminating a sign of dark-matter collisions but for massively increasing the number of known pulsars in the Milky Way. More data will soon be available from Fermi that is expected to clarify the situation even further.