The VERITAS Dark Matter Program

Abstract: In the cosmological paradigm, cold dark matter (DM) dominates the mass content of the Universe and is present at every scale. Candidates for DM include many extensions of the standard model, with a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) in the mass range from $\sim$10 GeV to greater than 10 TeV. The self-annihilation or decay of WIMPs in astrophysical regions of high DM density can produce secondary particles including very high energy (VHE) gamma rays with energy up to the DM particle mass. VERITAS, an array of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, sensitive to VHE gamma rays in the 85 GeV - 30 TeV energy range, has been utilized for DM searches. The possible astrophysical objects considered to be candidates for indirect DM detection are VERITAS dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) of the Local Group and the Galactic Center, among others. This presentation reports on our extensive observations of these targets and constraints of the dark matter physics from these objects, including the methodology and preliminary results of a combined DM search of five dSphs.