Probing the structure of the galactic halo with gamma rays produced by WIMP annihilations

It has recently been pointed out that the annihilations of a class of possible dark matter halo constituents (including photinos, higgsinos, and heavy neutrinos or sneutrinos) within the halo of our galaxy produce a series of narrow gamma-ray lines. If these lines are detected, then the directional dependence of the intensity of the lines provides a very powerful probe of the halo mass distribution, and the local density, core radius, and ellipticity of the halo could be readily determined. We briefly comment on the possibility of detecting WIMP annihilations in the galactic spheroid. 10 refs., 3 figs