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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
Published on: November 15, 2013
Intermediate mass black holes and nearby dark matter point sources: a critical reassessment
Torsten Bringmann1, Julien Lavalle, Pierre Salati
1OKC, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE - 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. troms@physto.se
Abstract:
Dark matter (DM) "minispikes" around intermediate mass black holes are sometimes quoted as one of the most promising targets for indirect DM searches. Here, we stress that existing cosmic ray data place severe constraints on the possibility to detect DM annihilation signals from these objects in gamma rays; observational prospects for neutrinos or charged cosmic rays seem even worse. Similar bounds severely constrain the possibility that the excess in the cosmic ray positron or electron flux recently reported by PAMELA/ATIC could be due to a nearby point source like a DM clump or minispike.
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