A weakly interacting dark matter candidate is very difficult to detect at highenergy colliders like the LHC, if its mass is close to, or higher than, a TeV. We argue that the pair-annihilation of such particles may give rise to e + e − -pairs in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph), which in turn can lead to radio synchrotron signals that are detectable at the upcoming square kilometre array (SKA) telescope within a fairly moderate observation time. We investigate in detail the underlying mechanisms that make this possible. Both particle physics issues and those pertaining to astrophysics, such as diffusion, electromagnetic energy loss and the effects of interstellar magnetic field, are examined with reference to their roles in generating radio flux. We first identify the detectability criteria in a model-independent manner. It is observed that fluxes may be detectable for scenarios that are consistent with all constraints available till date from γ-ray and cosmic-ray observations. Thereafter, using benchmarks based on popular scenarios involving physics beyond the standard model, we show that it should be possible to detect the radio flux from a dSph like Draco with 100 hours of observation at the SKA, for dark matter particle masses upto 4-8 TeV. The corresponding frequency distributions are also presented, where it is found that the frequency range 300 MHz -50 GHz is especially useful for recording the annihilation signals of trans-TeV particles.

We study the potential of the Square Kilometre Array in the first phase (SKA1) in detecting dark matter annihilation signals from dwarf spheroidals in the form of diffuse radio synchrotron. Taking the minimal supersymmetric standard model as illustration, we show that it is possible to detect such signals for dark matter masses about an order of magnitude beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider, with about 100 hours of observation with the SKA1.

We investigate the possibilities for probing MeV dark matter (DM) particles and primordial black holes (PBHs) (for masses ~ 1015–1017 g) at the upcoming radio telescope SKA, using photon signals from the Inverse Compton (IC) effect within a galactic halo. Pair-annihilation or decay of MeV DM particles (into e+ e- pairs) or Hawking radiation from a population of PBHs generates mildly relativistic e± which can lead to radio signals through the IC scattering on low energy cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons. We study the ability of SKA to detect such signals coming from nearby ultra-faint dwarf galaxies Segue I and Ursa Major II as well as the globular cluster ω-cen and the Coma cluster. We find that with ~ 100 hours of observation, the SKA improves the Planck constraints on the DM annihilation/decay rate and the PBH abundance for masses in the range ~ 1 to few tens of MeV and above 1015 to 1017 g, respectively. Importantly, the SKA limits are independent of the assumed magnetic fields within the galaxies. Previously allowed regions of diffusion parameters of MeV electrons inside a dwarf galaxy that give rise to observable signals at the SKA are also excluded. For objects like dwarf galaxies, predicted SKA constraints depend on both the DM and diffusion parameters. Independent observations in different frequency bands, e.g., radio and γ-ray frequencies, may break this degeneracy and thus enable one to constrain the combined parameter space of DM and diffusion. However, the constraints are independent of diffusion parameters for galaxy clusters such as Coma.

We present the first observational limits on the predicted synchrotron signals from particle Dark Matter annihilation models in dwarf spheroidal galaxies at radio frequencies below 1 GHz. We use a combination of survey data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to search for diffuse radio emission from 14 dwarf spheroidal galaxies. For in-situ magnetic fields of 1 µG and any plausible value for the diffusion coefficient, our limits do not constrain any Dark Matter models. However, for stronger magnetic fields our data might provide constraints comparable to existing limits from gamma-ray and cosmic ray observations. Predictions for the sensitivity of the upgraded MWA show that models with Dark Matter particle mass up to ∼ 1.6 TeV (1 TeV) may be constrained for magnetic field of 2 µG (1 µG). While much deeper limits from the future low frequency Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will challenge the LHC in searches for Dark Matter particles, the MWA provides a valuable first step toward the SKA at low frequencies.

We investigate and compare the possibilities of observing decaying dark matter (DM) in γ-ray and radio telescopes. The special emphasis of the study is on a scalar heavy DM particle with mass in the trans-TeV range. DM decays, consistent with existing limits on the lifetime, are assumed to be driven by higher dimensional effective operators. We consider both two-body decays of a scalar dark particle and a dark sector having three-body decays, producing two standard model particles. It is found that the Fermi-LAT data on isotropic γ-ray background provides the best constraints so far, although the CTA telescope may be more effective for decays where one or two photons are directly produced. In all cases, deeper probes of the effective operators are possible in the upcoming SKA radio telescope with a few hundred hours of observation, using the radio synchrotron flux coming from energetic electrons produced in the decay cascades within dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Finally, we estimate how the SKA can constrain the parameter space spanned by the galactic magnetic field and the diffusion coefficient, if observations consistent with γ-ray data actually take place.