- Open Access
Wino and real minimal dark matter disfavored by Fermi gamma-ray observations
Phys. Rev. D 114, 063056 – Published 28 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pc9s-b56k
Abstract
We show that minimal, fermionic dark matter (DM) models in the -dimensional representation of the weak force with zero hypercharge that make up 100% of the DM under the standard cosmological history are strongly disfavored for . This includes the thermal wino, which we show is ruled out even allowing for DM core sizes up to with the preferred local DM density or in addition to the local DM density being half the preferred value, at less than . We reach these conclusions through dedicated searches with 14 years of Fermi gamma-ray data in the inner Galaxy between 30 GeV and 2 TeV for the continuum gamma-rays produced in the decays of unstable particles produced in DM annihilation and bound-state formation processes. We consider a variety of Milky Way DM profiles in our analyses, including those motivated by modern hydrodynamic cosmological simulations, and show that all the minimal DM models are disfavored even under the most conservative assumptions for these density profiles. While wino, quintuplet (), and DM models are strongly disfavored by our analyses under the standard cosmology, we discuss how nonstandard cosmological histories or DM subfractions could still allow for these particles to be realized in nature, with discovery opportunities at next-generation particle colliders and gamma-ray telescopes.
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