Work

Exploring Dark Matter in Galaxy Clusters with MeerKAT: South Africa's powerful radio telescope at the forefront of astronomy

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Current radio interferometers offer unprecedented sensitivity for detecting faint signals from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). Focusing on MeerKAT—a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursor with world-leading capabilities in the southern hemisphere—we probe galaxy clusters as prime WIMP detection candidates. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using processed images rather than raw visibility data to constrain the dark matter parameter space, using galaxy cluster MCXCJ0317.9-4414 as a test case (from the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey). We establish that image-based analysis yields comparable limits while significantly reducing computational demands. This approach addresses the escalating computational challenges posed by next-generation instruments such as the SKA, where large data volumes demand more efficient analysis and interpretation strategies.

Source: International Cosmic Ray Conference

DOI: 10.22323/1.501.0501

Authors: Natasha Lavis, Geoffrey Beck

Institution: University of the Witwatersrand

Language: English

Topic: Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Research Foundation, University of Pretoria, University of the Western Cape, Universiteit Stellenbosch, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Cape Town

OpenAlex ID: W4414492977

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