The current status of WIMP dark matter searches

The nature of dark matter remains to be one of the most puzzling questions in cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics. I will discuss how we can use the wealth of recent high-energy astrophysical observations, to first model astrophysical phenomena in the Galaxy and then search for signals of dark matter annihilation in the Milky Way. Using the case of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter, I will discuss the status of particle dark matter searches. The talk will focus on recent and ongoing searches for dark matter signals in gamma rays from the Galactic Center and the Inner Galaxy. Using recent high-precision cosmic-ray observations, in addition to the continuing observations from the Fermi Large Area Telescope in gamma rays and observations from lower energy photons, I will show how we model and constrain the properties of the diffuse emission from the Milky Way. I will describe how a large set of high-resolution diffuse gamma-ray emission templates can account for a very wide range of initial assumptions on the physical conditions in the inner galaxy. I will also discuss the relevance of antimatter cosmic-ray flux measurements from satellite experiments as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on board the International Space Station. These measurements provide a novel probe to search for new physics and include cosmic-ray positrons, antiprotons (the antiparticles of protons), and in the near future cosmic-ray antimatter nuclei.