DarkMatters: A powerful tool for WIMPy analysis

Abstract

We introduce a new software package, DarkMatters, which has been designed to facilitate the calculation of all aspects of indirect dark matter detection of WIMPs in astrophysical settings. Two primary features of this code are the improvement in performance compared to existing tools, and higher levels of accuracy when determining radio synchrotron emission associated with WIMP annihilations, both of which are enabled by the employment of a set of modern and novel numerical techniques. The code also includes functionality for a multi-wavelength set of output products including gamma-ray, radio and neutrino fluxes which can be saved in common formats used by the astronomical community, such as the FITS data file format. The calculations may be tailored to work with a wide range of astrophysical target structures, from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, and the configuration of the underlying calculations is managed by a set of key–value dictionary entries that are easy to understand and use. The code base is publicly accessible through an online repository with a permissive MIT source code licence.