The impact of gamma-ray propagation effects on indirect dark matter searches
The study investigated how gamma-ray fluxes from dark matter annihilation are altered by propagation effects during their journey to Earth. By including secondary processes like inverse Compton scattering alongside pair production, researchers found that for heavy WIMPs and distant sources, these effects can change the observed gamma-ray flux by up to three orders of magnitude. This means current dark matter constraints might be less stringent than previously thought.