Decoding the Galactic Center Excess: Dark Matter or Astrophysical Anomalies

The Galactic Center (GC) of our very own Milky Way remains one of the most enigmatic regions in astrophysics, offering insight into both galactic evolution and the nature of dark matter (DM). Despite its complexity, the GC has been shown to contain an excess of gamma-ray emissions - the Galactic Center Excess (GCE) - whose origin is still debated. While the GCE has been posited as evidence for DM annihilation, alternative sources, such as populations of young and millisecond pulsars, as well as the triaxial structure of the Galactic bulge, remain viable explanations. In this study, we propose a comprehensive investigation of the GCE, combining state-of-the-art gamma-ray data from the Fermi-LAT with advanced galaxy formation simulations. By analyzing gamma-ray emissions from 600 MeV to 180 GeV over the past sixteen years, we aim to place stringent new limits on the DM annihilation cross-sections and explore competing astrophysical models. Utilizing the latest Fermitools framework, we employ rigorous data binning, filtering techniques, and a likelihood analysis to derive posterior distributions for various DM halo and bulge models. Our results offer refined constraints on both DM-induced emissions and alternative sources of the GCE, suggesting that a complex interplay of factors, including the dynamics of the Galactic bulge, may contribute to the observed gamma-ray signal. Ultimately, this work enhances our understanding of both DM properties and the intricate structure of the GC, providing critical insights for future observational and theoretical studies that seek to unravel one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics.