How can the process of postnatal adaptation be changed by the presence of congenital abnormalities of lip and palate

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Brucknerová Ingrid

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite modern approaches in molecular biology and genetics, we are still not able to identify the actual cause in more than 50% of all congenital defects. One-half of the unidentified cases is referred to as “multifactorial”. Detailed prenatal investigation of the fetus can discover the presence of congenital abnormality, which can worsen the process of postnatal adaptation. Retrospective analysis of newborns admitted to the Neonatal Department of Intensive Medicine (NDIM in 2012-2016 with the aim to analyze how the process of postnatal adaptation can be changed by the presence of congenital abnormalities of lip and palate. During a five-year period, 13 newborns were admitted to NDIM (2 premature; 11 term newborns. Chromosomal abnormality was confirmed in one patient (Down syndrome and in one patient suspicion of Patau syndrome was found. Twelve newborns had complete cheilognathopalatoschisis. Two premature newborns and two term newborns had perinatal asphyxia. In this group of patients, 33% had respiratory insufficiency without the presence of congenital heart abnormality, 66% had congenital heart abnormality with respiratory insufficiency, and 2 patients had feeding problems. Only one patient had a positive family history. The diagnosis of complete cheilognathopalatoschisis was confirmed prenatally only in 9 patients. We confirmed that clinical consequences of congenital abnormalities of lip and palate depend on the nature, localization and range of abnormalities, as well as on the genetic background and accompanying congenital abnormalities. Prenatal confirmation of the presence of congenital abnormalities has an important influence on the postnatal management of a patient.

Adaptive EWMA Method Based on Abnormal Network Traffic for LDoS Attacks

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Dan Tang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The low-rate denial of service (LDoS attacks reduce network services capabilities by periodically sending high intensity pulse data flows. For their concealed performance, it is more difficult for traditional DoS detection methods to detect LDoS attacks; at the same time the accuracy of the current detection methods for LDoS attacks is relatively low. As the fact that LDoS attacks led to abnormal distribution of the ACK traffic, LDoS attacks can be detected by analyzing the distribution characteristics of ACK traffic. Then traditional EWMA algorithm which can smooth the accidental error while being the same as the exceptional mutation may cause some misjudgment; therefore a new LDoS detection method based on adaptive EWMA (AEWMA algorithm is proposed. The AEWMA algorithm which uses an adaptive weighting function instead of the constant weighting of EWMA algorithm can smooth the accidental error and retain the exceptional mutation. So AEWMA method is more beneficial than EWMA method for analyzing and measuring the abnormal distribution of ACK traffic. The NS2 simulations show that AEWMA method can detect LDoS attacks effectively and has a low false negative rate and a false positive rate. Based on DARPA99 datasets, experiment results show that AEWMA method is more efficient than EWMA method.

Circadian adaptation to night-shift work by judicious light and darkness exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Boivin, Diane B; James, Francine O

2002-12-01

In this combined field and laboratory investigation, the authors tested the efficacy of an intervention designed to promote circadian adaptation to night-shift work. Fifteen nurses working permanent night schedules (> or = 8 shifts/ 15 days) were recruited from area hospitals. Following avacation period of > or = 10 days on a regular daytime schedule, workers were admitted to the laboratory for the assessment of circadian phase via a 36-h constant routine. They returned to work approximately 12 night shifts on their regular schedules under one of two conditions. Treatment group workers (n = 10, mean age +/- SD = 41.7 +/- 8.8 years) received an intervention including 6 h of intermittent bright-light exposure in the workplace (approximately 3,243 lux) and shielding from bright morning outdoor light with tinted goggles (15% visual light transmission). Control group workers (n = 9, mean age +/- SD = 42.0 +/- 7.2 years) were observed in their habitual work environments. On work days, participants maintained regular sleep/wake schedules including a single 8-h sleep/darkness episode beginning 2 h after the end of the night shift. A second 36-h constant routine was performed following the series of night shifts. In the presence of the intervention, circadian rhythms of core body temperature and salivary melatonin cycles were delayed by an average (+/- SEM) of -9.32 +/- 1.06 h and -11.31 +/- 1.13 h, respectively. These were significantly greater than the phase delays of -4.09 +/- 1.94 h and -5.08 +/- 2.32 h displayed by the control group (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02, respectively). The phase angle between circadian markers and the shifted schedule was reestablished to its baseline position only in the treatment group of workers. These results support the efficacy of a practical intervention for promoting circadian adaptation to night-shift work under field conditions. They also underline the importance of controlling the overall pattern of exposure to light and darkness in

Biochemical Measurements of Free Opsin in Macular Degeneration Eyes: Examining the 11-CIS Retinal Deficiency Hypothesis of Delayed Dark Adaptation (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

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Hanneken, Anne; Neikirk, Thomas; Johnson, Jennifer; Kono, Masahiro

2017-08-01

To test the hypothesis that delayed dark adaptation in patients with macular degeneration is due to an excess of free unliganded opsin (apo-opsin) and a deficiency of the visual chromophore, 11 -cis retinal, in rod outer segments. A total of 50 human autopsy eyes were harvested from donors with and without macular degeneration within 2-24 hrs. postmortem. Protocols were developed which permitted dark adaptation of normal human eyes after death and enucleation. Biochemical methods of purifying rod outer segments were optimized and the concentration of rhodopsin and apo-opsin was measured with UV-visible scanning spectroscopy. The presence of apo-opsin was calculated by measuring the difference in the rhodopsin absorption spectra before and after the addition of 11 -cis retinal. A total of 20 normal eyes and 16 eyes from donors with early, intermediate and advanced stages of macular degeneration were included in the final analysis. Dark adaptation was achieved by harvesting whole globes in low light, transferring into dark (light-proof) canisters and dissecting the globes using infrared light and image converters for visualization. Apo-opsin was readily detected in positive controls after the addition of 11 -cis retinal. Normal autopsy eyes showed no evidence of apo-opsin. Eyes with macular degeneration also showed no evidence of apo-opsin, regardless of the severity of disease. Methods have been developed to study dark adaptation in human autopsy eyes. Eyes with age-related macular degeneration do not show a deficiency of 11 -cis retinal or an excess of apo-opsin within rod outer segments.

Analysis of the 3’ untranslated regions of α-tubulin and S-crystallin mRNA and the identification of CPEB in dark- and light-adapted octopus retinas

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Kelly, Shannan; Yamamoto, Hideki

2008-01-01

Purpose We previously reported the differential expression and translation of mRNA and protein in dark- and light-adapted octopus retinas, which may result from cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE)–dependent mRNA masking and unmasking. Here we investigate the presence of CPEs in α-tubulin and S-crystallin mRNA and report the identification of cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein (CPEB) in light- and dark-adapted octopus retinas. Methods 3’-RACE and sequencing were used to isolate and analyze the 3’-UTRs of α-tubulin and S-crystallin mRNA. Total retinal protein isolated from light- and dark-adapted octopus retinas was subjected to western blot analysis followed by CPEB antibody detection, PEP-171 inhibition of CPEB, and dephosphorylation of CPEB. Results The following CPE-like sequence was detected in the 3’-UTR of isolated long S-crystallin mRNA variants: UUUAACA. No CPE or CPE-like sequences were detected in the 3’-UTRs of α-tubulin mRNA or of the short S-crystallin mRNA variants. Western blot analysis detected CPEB as two putative bands migrating between 60-80 kDa, while a third band migrated below 30 kDa in dark- and light-adapted retinas. Conclusions The detection of CPEB and the identification of the putative CPE-like sequences in the S-crystallin 3’-UTR suggest that CPEB may be involved in the activation of masked S-crystallin mRNA, but not in the regulation of α-tubulin mRNA, resulting in increased S-crystallin protein synthesis in dark-adapted octopus retinas. PMID:18682811

Pupillary abnormalities in three dogs with post-retinal nervous system lesions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagley, R.S.; Moore, M.P.; Baszler, T.V.; Harrington, M.L.; Tucker, R.L.; Gavin, P.R.

1995-01-01

Three dogs had atypical pupillary abnormalities in association with post-retinal nervous system lesions. Two dogs were admitted with unilateral visual deficits and anisocoria. In both dogs, the larger pupil was found in the blind eye. Pupils responded adequately to both light stimulation and dark adaptation; however, anisocoria remained regardless of the light intensity entering the eyes. Intracranial central nervous system lesions were found in both dogs. A third dog was admitted for unilateral visual deficit and epistaxis. Mild resting anisocoria was noted, with the larger pupil found in the avisual eye. With light directed toward the medial retina, no direct or consensual pupillary light reflex was elicited. When light was directed toward the lateral retina, however, a normal pupillary light reflex was elicited. The lesion in this dog extended from the nasal cavity caudally to the optic foramen involving the ipsilateral prechiasmic optic nerve. Possible neuroanatomical explanations for these pupillary and visual abnormalities are discussed

Adaptation of feedforward movement control is abnormal in patients with cervical dystonia and tremor.

Science.gov (United States)

Avanzino, Laura; Ravaschio, Andrea; Lagravinese, Giovanna; Bonassi, Gaia; Abbruzzese, Giovanni; Pelosin, Elisa

2018-01-01

It is under debate whether the cerebellum plays a role in dystonia pathophysiology and in the expression of clinical phenotypes. We investigated a typical cerebellar function (anticipatory movement control) in patients with cervical dystonia (CD) with and without tremor. Twenty patients with CD, with and without tremor, and 17 healthy controls were required to catch balls of different load: 15 trials with a light ball, 25 trials with a heavy ball (adaptation) and 15 trials with a light ball (post-adaptation). Arm movements were recorded using a motion capture system. We evaluated: (i) the anticipatory adjustment (just before the impact); (ii) the extent and rate of the adaptation (at the impact) and (iii) the aftereffect in the post-adaptation phase. The anticipatory adjustment was reduced during adaptation in CD patients with tremor respect to CD patients without tremor and controls. The extent and rate of adaptation and the aftereffect in the post-adaptation phase were smaller in CD with tremor than in controls and CD without tremor. Patients with cervical dystonia and tremor display an abnormal predictive movement control. Our findings point to a possible role of cerebellum in the expression of a clinical phenotype in dystonia. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated imaging dark adaptometer for investigating hereditary retinal degenerations

Science.gov (United States)

Azevedo, Dario F. G.; Cideciyan, Artur V.; Regunath, Gopalakrishnan; Jacobson, Samuel G.

1995-05-01

We designed and built an automated imaging dark adaptometer (AIDA) to increase accuracy, reliability, versatility and speed of dark adaptation testing in patients with hereditary retinal degenerations. AIDA increases test accuracy by imaging the ocular fundus for precise positioning of bleaching and stimulus lights. It improves test reliability by permitting continuous monitoring of patient fixation. Software control of stimulus presentation provides broad testing versatility without sacrificing speed. AIDA promises to facilitate the measurement of dark adaptation in studies of the pathophysiology of retinal degenerations and in future treatment trials of these diseases.

In Situ Dark Adaptation Enhances the Efficiency of DNA Extraction from Mature Pin Oak (Quercus palustris Leaves, Facilitating the Identification of Partial Sequences of the 18S rRNA and Isoprene Synthase (IspS Genes

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Csengele E. Barta

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Mature oak (Quercus spp. leaves, although abundantly available during the plants’ developmental cycle, are rarely exploited as viable sources of genomic DNA. These leaves are rich in metabolites difficult to remove during standard DNA purification, interfering with downstream molecular genetics applications. The current work assessed whether in situ dark adaptation, to deplete sugar reserves and inhibit secondary metabolite synthesis could compensate for the difficulties encountered when isolating DNA from mature leaves rich in secondary metabolites. We optimized a rapid, commercial kit based method to extract genomic DNA from dark- and light-adapted leaves. We demonstrated that in situ dark adaptation increases the yield and quality of genomic DNA obtained from mature oak leaves, yielding templates of sufficiently high quality for direct downstream applications, such as PCR amplification and gene identification. The quality of templates isolated from dark-adapted pin oak leaves particularly improved the amplification of larger fragments in our experiments. From DNA extracts prepared with our optimized method, we identified for the first time partial segments of the genes encoding 18S rRNA and isoprene synthase (IspS from pin oak (Quercus palustris, whose full genome has not yet been sequenced.

Simpsons - episode Bart of darkness: a rear window to the heart of darkness

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Brunilda Reichmann

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on intertextual relations motivated by the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The novel has inspired the provoking episode Bart of Darkness from The Simpsons series, besides having given rise to an hononymous fim and to another filmic transposition called Apocalypse Now. In order to discuss this network of relations among texts, theoretical approaches proposed by Gérard Genette (2003 and Leyla Perrone-Moisés (1978, as well as Brian McFarlane’s studies on adaptation (1996 have been useful

Dark group: dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macorra, A. de la

2004-01-01

We study the possibility that a dark group, a gauge group with particles interacting with the standard model particles only via gravity, is responsible for containing the dark energy and dark matter required by present day observations. We show that it is indeed possible and we determine the constrains for the dark group. The non-perturbative effects generated by a strong gauge coupling constant can de determined and a inverse power law scalar potential IPL for the dark meson fields is generated parameterizing the dark energy. On the other hand it is the massive particles, e.g., dark baryons, of the dark gauge group that give the corresponding dark matter. The mass of the dark particles is of the order of the condensation scale Λ c and the temperature is smaller then the photon's temperature. The dark matter is of the warm matter type. The only parameters of the model are the number of particles of the dark group. The allowed values of the different parameters are severely restricted. The dark group energy density at Λ c must be Ω DGc ≤0.17 and the evolution and acceptable values of dark matter and dark energy leads to a constrain of Λ c and the IPL parameter n giving Λ c =O(1-10 3 ) eV and 0.28≤n≤1.04

Dipolar dark matter with massive bigravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchet, Luc; Heisenberg, Lavinia

2015-01-01

Massive gravity theories have been developed as viable IR modifications of gravity motivated by dark energy and the problem of the cosmological constant. On the other hand, modified gravity and modified dark matter theories were developed with the aim of solving the problems of standard cold dark matter at galactic scales. Here we propose to adapt the framework of ghost-free massive bigravity theories to reformulate the problem of dark matter at galactic scales. We investigate a promising alternative to dark matter called dipolar dark matter (DDM) in which two different species of dark matter are separately coupled to the two metrics of bigravity and are linked together by an internal vector field. We show that this model successfully reproduces the phenomenology of dark matter at galactic scales (i.e. MOND) as a result of a mechanism of gravitational polarisation. The model is safe in the gravitational sector, but because of the particular couplings of the matter fields and vector field to the metrics, a ghost in the decoupling limit is present in the dark matter sector. However, it might be possible to push the mass of the ghost beyond the strong coupling scale by an appropriate choice of the parameters of the model. Crucial questions to address in future work are the exact mass of the ghost, and the cosmological implications of the model

The dark universe dark matter and dark energy

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2008-01-01

According to the standard cosmological model, 95% of the present mass density of the universe is dark: roughly 70% of the total in the form of dark energy and 25% in the form of dark matter. In a series of four lectures, I will begin by presenting a brief review of cosmology, and then I will review the observational evidence for dark matter and dark energy. I will discuss some of the proposals for dark matter and dark energy, and connect them to high-energy physics. I will also present an overview of an observational program to quantify the properties of dark energy.

Flavored dark matter beyond Minimal Flavor Violation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrawal, Prateek; Blanke, Monika; Gemmler, Katrin

2014-01-01

We study the interplay of flavor and dark matter phenomenology for models of flavored dark matter interacting with quarks. We allow an arbitrary flavor structure in the coupling of dark matter with quarks. This coupling is assumed to be the only new source of violation of the Standard Model flavor symmetry extended by a U(3) χ associated with the dark matter. We call this ansatz Dark Minimal Flavor Violation (DMFV) and highlight its various implications, including an unbroken discrete symmetry that can stabilize the dark matter. As an illustration we study a Dirac fermionic dark matter χ which transforms as triplet under U(3) χ , and is a singlet under the Standard Model. The dark matter couples to right-handed down-type quarks via a colored scalar mediator with a coupling. We identify a number of ''flavor-safe'' scenarios for the structure of which are beyond Minimal Flavor Violation. Also, for dark matter and collider phenomenology we focus on the well-motivated case of b-flavored dark matter. Furthermore, the combined flavor and dark matter constraints on the parameter space of turn out to be interesting intersections of the individual ones. LHC constraints on simplified models of squarks and sbottoms can be adapted to our case, and monojet searches can be relevant if the spectrum is compressed

Memetics clarification of abnormal behavior

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2007-01-01

AIM: Biological medicine is hard to fully and scientifically explain the etiological factor and pathogenesis of abnormal behaviors; while, researches on philosophy and psychology (including memetics) are beneficial to better understand and explain etiological factor and pathogenesis of abnormal behaviors. At present, the theory of philosophy and psychology is to investigate the entity of abnormal behavior based on the views of memetics.METHODS: Abnormal behavior was researched in this study based on three aspects, including instinctive behavior disorder, poorly social-adapted behavior disorder and mental or body disease associated behavior disorder. Most main viewpoints of memetics were derived from "The Meme Machine", which was written by Susan Blackmore. When questions about abnormal behaviors induced by mental and psychological diseases and conduct disorder of teenagers were discussed, some researching achievements which were summarized by authors previously were added in this study, such as aggressive behaviors, pathologically aggressive behaviors, etc.RESULTS: The abnormal behaviors mainly referred to a part of people's substandard behaviors which were not according with the realistic social environment, culture background and the pathologic behaviors resulted from people's various psychological diseases. According to the theory of "meme", it demonstrated that the relevant behavioral obstacles of various psychological diseases, for example, the unusual behavior of schizophrenia, were caused, because the old meme was destroyed thoroughly but the new meme was unable to establish; psychoneurosis and personality disorder were resulted in hard establishment of meme; the behavioral obstacles which were ill-adapted to society, for example, various additional and homosexual behaviors, were because of the selfish replications and imitations of "additional meme" and "homosexual meme"; various instinct behavioral and congenital intelligent obstacles were not significance

Dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comelli, D.; Pietroni, M.; Riotto, A.

2003-01-01

It is a puzzle why the densities of dark matter and dark energy are nearly equal today when they scale so differently during the expansion of the universe. This conundrum may be solved if there is a coupling between the two dark sectors. In this Letter we assume that dark matter is made of cold relics with masses depending exponentially on the scalar field associated to dark energy. Since the dynamics of the system is dominated by an attractor solution, the dark matter particle mass is forced to change with time as to ensure that the ratio between the energy densities of dark matter and dark energy become a constant at late times and one readily realizes that the present-day dark matter abundance is not very sensitive to its value when dark matter particles decouple from the thermal bath. We show that the dependence of the present abundance of cold dark matter on the parameters of the model differs drastically from the familiar results where no connection between dark energy and dark matter is present. In particular, we analyze the case in which the cold dark matter particle is the lightest supersymmetric particle

Abnormal sound detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Izumi; Matsui, Yuji.

1995-01-01

Only components synchronized with rotation of pumps are sampled from detected acoustic sounds, to judge the presence or absence of abnormality based on the magnitude of the synchronized components. A synchronized component sampling means can remove resonance sounds and other acoustic sounds generated at a synchronously with the rotation based on the knowledge that generated acoustic components in a normal state are a sort of resonance sounds and are not precisely synchronized with the number of rotation. On the other hand, abnormal sounds of a rotating body are often caused by compulsory force accompanying the rotation as a generation source, and the abnormal sounds can be detected by extracting only the rotation-synchronized components. Since components of normal acoustic sounds generated at present are discriminated from the detected sounds, reduction of the abnormal sounds due to a signal processing can be avoided and, as a result, abnormal sound detection sensitivity can be improved. Further, since it is adapted to discriminate the occurrence of the abnormal sound from the actually detected sounds, the other frequency components which are forecast but not generated actually are not removed, so that it is further effective for the improvement of detection sensitivity. (N.H.)

Role of extrinsic noise in the sensitivity of the rod pathway: rapid dark adaptation of nocturnal vision in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeves, Adam; Grayhem, Rebecca

2016-03-01

Rod-mediated 500 nm test spots were flashed in Maxwellian view at 5 deg eccentricity, both on steady 10.4 deg fields of intensities (I) from 0.00001 to 1.0 scotopic troland (sc td) and from 0.2 s to 1 s after extinguishing the field. On dim fields, thresholds of tiny (5') tests were proportional to √I (Rose-DeVries law), while thresholds after extinction fell within 0.6 s to the fully dark-adapted absolute threshold. Thresholds of large (1.3 deg) tests were proportional to I (Weber law) and extinction thresholds, to √I. rod thresholds are elevated by photon-driven noise from dim fields that disappears at field extinction; large spot thresholds are additionally elevated by neural light adaptation proportional to √I. At night, recovery from dimly lit fields is fast, not slow.

Weak lensing: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Dark Gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heavens, Alan

2009-01-01

In this non-specialist review I look at how weak lensing can provide information on the dark sector of the Universe. The review concentrates on what can be learned about Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Dark Gravity, and why. On Dark Matter, results on the confrontation of theoretical profiles with observation are reviewed, and measurements of neutrino masses discussed. On Dark Energy, the interest is whether this could be Einstein's cosmological constant, and prospects for high-precision studies of the equation of state are considered. On Dark Gravity, we consider the exciting prospects for future weak lensing surveys to distinguish General Relativity from extra-dimensional or other gravity theories.

ABNORMAL MICROFAUNAL SHELLS AS EARLY WARNING INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES SURROUNDING BERAU DELTA, EAST KALIMANTAN

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Kresna Tri Dewi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A total of 25 sediment samples from surrounding Berau Delta, East Kalimantan have been used for microfaunal study. It is found some abnormal shells of ostracoda, foraminifera and other forms with darkish shells (black, dark green and dark brown. These forms were analyzed using SEM-Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX or EDS to know their chemical composition. The result shows that these abnormal forms composed of CaO, SiO2, C, FeO, Al2O3, K2O, and small amount of Na2O and Cl. They may derive from different sources: CaO and MgO from neutralized component during the environmental management to handle the Acid Mine Drainage (AMD. The other components may derive from coal ash during combustion process or other activities. From this result, the small amount (less than 5% of abnormal shells may be used as early warning indicator of environmental changes in the study area.

Dark matter and dark radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ackerman, Lotty; Buckley, Matthew R.; Carroll, Sean M.; Kamionkowski, Marc

2009-01-01

We explore the feasibility and astrophysical consequences of a new long-range U(1) gauge field ('dark electromagnetism') that couples only to dark matter, not to the standard model. The dark matter consists of an equal number of positive and negative charges under the new force, but annihilations are suppressed if the dark-matter mass is sufficiently high and the dark fine-structure constant α-circumflex is sufficiently small. The correct relic abundance can be obtained if the dark matter also couples to the conventional weak interactions, and we verify that this is consistent with particle-physics constraints. The primary limit on α-circumflex comes from the demand that the dark matter be effectively collisionless in galactic dynamics, which implies α-circumflex -3 for TeV-scale dark matter. These values are easily compatible with constraints from structure formation and primordial nucleosynthesis. We raise the prospect of interesting new plasma effects in dark-matter dynamics, which remain to be explored.

Quantum Field Theory of Interacting Dark Matter/Dark Energy: Dark Monodromies

CERN Document Server

D'Amico, Guido; Kaloper, Nemanja

2016-11-28

We discuss how to formulate a quantum field theory of dark energy interacting with dark matter. We show that the proposals based on the assumption that dark matter is made up of heavy particles with masses which are very sensitive to the value of dark energy are strongly constrained. Quintessence-generated long range forces and radiative stability of the quintessence potential require that such dark matter and dark energy are completely decoupled. However, if dark energy and a fraction of dark matter are very light axions, they can have significant mixings which are radiatively stable and perfectly consistent with quantum field theory. Such models can naturally occur in multi-axion realizations of monodromies. The mixings yield interesting signatures which are observable and are within current cosmological limits but could be constrained further by future observations.

Dark matter that can form dark stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gondolo, Paolo; Huh, Ji-Haeng; Kim, Hyung Do; Scopel, Stefano

2010-01-01

The first stars to form in the Universe may be powered by the annihilation of weakly interacting dark matter particles. These so-called dark stars, if observed, may give us a clue about the nature of dark matter. Here we examine which models for particle dark matter satisfy the conditions for the formation of dark stars. We find that in general models with thermal dark matter lead to the formation of dark stars, with few notable exceptions: heavy neutralinos in the presence of coannihilations, annihilations that are resonant at dark matter freeze-out but not in dark stars, some models of neutrinophilic dark matter annihilating into neutrinos only and lighter than about 50 GeV. In particular, we find that a thermal DM candidate in standard Cosmology always forms a dark star as long as its mass is heavier than ≅ 50 GeV and the thermal average of its annihilation cross section is the same at the decoupling temperature and during the dark star formation, as for instance in the case of an annihilation cross section with a non-vanishing s-wave contribution

Decaying dark matter from dark instantons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carone, Christopher D.; Erlich, Joshua; Primulando, Reinard

2010-01-01

We construct an explicit, TeV-scale model of decaying dark matter in which the approximate stability of the dark matter candidate is a consequence of a global symmetry that is broken only by instanton-induced operators generated by a non-Abelian dark gauge group. The dominant dark matter decay channels are to standard model leptons. Annihilation of the dark matter to standard model states occurs primarily through the Higgs portal. We show that the mass and lifetime of the dark matter candidate in this model can be chosen to be consistent with the values favored by fits to data from the PAMELA and Fermi-LAT experiments.

EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA); Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. and improvement of visual adaptation to the dark (ID 2750) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tetens, Inge

claims in relation to anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. and improvement of visual adaptation to the dark. The scientific substantiation is based on the information provided by the Member States in the consolidated list of Article 13 health claims and references that EFSA has received from Member States...... or directly from stakeholders. The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. The Panel considers that anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. are sufficiently characterised. The claimed effect is “eye health”. The target population is assumed to be the general...... population. In the context of the proposed wordings, the Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to an improvement of visual adaptation to the dark. The Panel considers that improvement of visual adaptation to the dark is a beneficial physiological effect. No human studies were provided from which...

Nyx: Adaptive mesh, massively-parallel, cosmological simulation code

Science.gov (United States)

Almgren, Ann; Beckner, Vince; Friesen, Brian; Lukic, Zarija; Zhang, Weiqun

2017-12-01

Nyx code solves equations of compressible hydrodynamics on an adaptive grid hierarchy coupled with an N-body treatment of dark matter. The gas dynamics in Nyx use a finite volume methodology on an adaptive set of 3-D Eulerian grids; dark matter is represented as discrete particles moving under the influence of gravity. Particles are evolved via a particle-mesh method, using Cloud-in-Cell deposition/interpolation scheme. Both baryonic and dark matter contribute to the gravitational field. In addition, Nyx includes physics for accurately modeling the intergalactic medium; in optically thin limits and assuming ionization equilibrium, the code calculates heating and cooling processes of the primordial-composition gas in an ionizing ultraviolet background radiation field.

Dark matter and dark energy: The critical questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michael S. Turner

2002-01-01

Stars account for only about 0.5% of the content of the Universe; the bulk of the Universe is optically dark. The dark side of the Universe is comprised of: at least 0.1% light neutrinos; 3.5% ± 1% baryons; 29% ± 4% cold dark matter; and 66% ± 6% dark energy. Now that we have characterized the dark side of the Universe, the challenge is to understand it. The critical questions are: (1) What form do the dark baryons take? (2) What is (are) the constituent(s) of the cold dark matter? (3) What is the nature of the mysterious dark energy that is causing the Universe to speed up

Repeatability of Retinal Sensitivity Measurements Using a Medmont Dark-Adapted Chromatic Perimeter in Healthy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration Cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Rose S; Guymer, Robyn H; Luu, Chi D

2018-05-01

To determine the intrasession and intersession test-retest repeatability of retinal sensitivity measurements using a dark-adapted chromatic perimeter (DACP). For intrasession testing, retinal sensitivity within the central 24° for the 505-nm stimulus was measured after 20, 30, and 40 minutes of dark adaptation (DA) and for the 625-nm stimulus was measured after the first and second 505-nm tests. For intersession testing, retinal sensitivity for both stimuli was measured after 30 minutes of DA at baseline and 1 month. The point-wise sensitivity (PWS) difference and coefficient of repeatability (CoR) of each stimulus and group were determined. For intrasession testing, 10 age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and eight control subjects were recruited. The overall CoR for the 505-nm stimulus was 8.4 dB for control subjects and 9.1 dB for AMD cases, and for the 625-nm stimulus was 6.7 dB for control subjects and 9.5 dB for AMD cases. For intersession testing, seven AMD cases and 13 control subjects returned an overall CoR for the 505-nm stimulus of 8.2 dB for the control and 11.7 dB for the AMD group. For the 625-nm stimulus the CoR was 6.2 dB for the control group and 8.4 dB for the AMD group. Approximately 80% of all test points had a PWS difference of ±5 dB between the two intrasession or intersession measurements for both stimuli. The CoR for the DACP is larger than that reported for scotopic perimeters; however, the majority of test points had a PWS difference of ±5 dB between tests. The DACP offers an opportunity to measure static and dynamic rod function at multiple locations with an acceptable reproducibility level.

Dark Dark Wood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

2017 student Bachelor film. Synopsis: Young princess Maria has had about enough of her royal life – it’s all lesson, responsibilities and duties on top of each other, every hour of every day. Overwhelmed Maria is swept away on an adventure into the monster-filled dark, dark woods. During 2017...

Modified dark matter: Relating dark energy, dark matter and baryonic matter

Science.gov (United States)

Edmonds, Douglas; Farrah, Duncan; Minic, Djordje; Ng, Y. Jack; Takeuchi, Tatsu

Modified dark matter (MDM) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by gravitational thermodynamics. For an accelerating universe with positive cosmological constant (Λ), such phenomenological considerations lead to the emergence of a critical acceleration parameter related to Λ. Such a critical acceleration is an effective phenomenological manifestation of MDM, and it is found in correlations between dark matter and baryonic matter in galaxy rotation curves. The resulting MDM mass profiles, which are sensitive to Λ, are consistent with observational data at both the galactic and cluster scales. In particular, the same critical acceleration appears both in the galactic and cluster data fits based on MDM. Furthermore, using some robust qualitative arguments, MDM appears to work well on cosmological scales, even though quantitative studies are still lacking. Finally, we comment on certain nonlocal aspects of the quanta of modified dark matter, which may lead to novel nonparticle phenomenology and which may explain why, so far, dark matter detection experiments have failed to detect dark matter particles.

Interacting dark matter disguised as warm dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehm, Celine; Riazuelo, Alain; Hansen, Steen H.; Schaeffer, Richard

2002-01-01

We explore some of the consequences of dark-matter-photon interactions on structure formation, focusing on the evolution of cosmological perturbations and performing both an analytical and a numerical study. We compute the cosmic microwave background anisotropies and matter power spectrum in this class of models. We find, as the main result, that when dark matter and photons are coupled, dark matter perturbations can experience a new damping regime in addition to the usual collisional Silk damping effect. Such dark matter particles (having quite large photon interactions) behave like cold dark matter or warm dark matter as far as the cosmic microwave background anisotropies or matter power spectrum are concerned, respectively. These dark-matter-photon interactions leave specific imprints at sufficiently small scales on both of these two spectra, which may allow us to put new constraints on the acceptable photon-dark-matter interactions. Under the conservative assumption that the abundance of 10 12 M · galaxies is correctly given by the cold dark matter, and without any knowledge of the abundance of smaller objects, we obtain the limit on the ratio of the dark-matter-photon cross section to the dark matter mass σ γ-DM /m DM -6 σ Th /(100 GeV)≅6x10 -33 cm 2 GeV -1

Dark fluid: A complex scalar field to unify dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arbey, Alexandre

2006-01-01

In this article, we examine a model which proposes a common explanation for the presence of additional attractive gravitational effects - generally considered to be due to dark matter - in galaxies and in clusters, and for the presence of a repulsive effect at cosmological scales - generally taken as an indication of the presence of dark energy. We therefore consider the behavior of a so-called dark fluid based on a complex scalar field with a conserved U(1)-charge and associated to a specific potential, and show that it can at the same time account for dark matter in galaxies and in clusters, and agree with the cosmological observations and constraints on dark energy and dark matter

Dark Mass Creation During EWPT Via Dark Energy Interaction

OpenAIRE

Kisslinger, Leonard S.; Casper, Steven

2013-01-01

We add Dark Matter Dark Energy terms with a quintessence field interacting with a Dark Matter field to a MSSM EW Lagrangian previously used to calculate the magnetic field created during the EWPT. From the expectation value of the quintessence field we estimate the Dark Matter mass for parameters used in previous work on Dark Matter-Dark Energy interactions.

Dark matter as a weakly coupled dark baryon

Science.gov (United States)

Mitridate, Andrea; Redi, Michele; Smirnov, Juri; Strumia, Alessandro

2017-10-01

Dark Matter might be an accidentally stable baryon of a new confining gauge interaction. We extend previous studies exploring the possibility that the DM is made of dark quarks heavier than the dark confinement scale. The resulting phenomenology contains new unusual elements: a two-stage DM cosmology (freeze-out followed by dark condensation), a large DM annihilation cross section through recombination of dark quarks (allowing to fit the positron excess). Light dark glue-balls are relatively long lived and give extra cosmological effects; DM itself can remain radioactive.

Dark energy and dark matter in galaxy halos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tetradis, N.

2006-01-01

We consider the possibility that the dark matter is coupled through its mass to a scalar field associated with the dark energy of the Universe. In order for such a field to play a role at the present cosmological distances, it must be effectively massless at galactic length scales. We discuss the effect of the field on the distribution of dark matter in galaxy halos. We show that the profile of the distribution outside the galaxy core remains largely unaffected and the approximately flat rotation curves persist. The dispersion of the dark matter velocity is enhanced by a potentially large factor relative to the case of zero coupling between dark energy and dark matter. The counting rates in terrestrial dark matter detectors are similarly enhanced. Existing bounds on the properties of dark matter candidates can be extended to the coupled case, by taking into account the enhancement factor

Statefinder diagnostic for cosmology with the abnormally weighting energy hypothesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Daojun; Liu Weizhong

2008-01-01

In this paper, we apply the statefinder diagnostic to the cosmology with the abnormally weighting energy hypothesis (AWE cosmology), in which dark energy in the observational (ordinary matter) frame results from the violation of the weak equivalence principle by pressureless matter. It is found that there exist closed loops in the statefinder plane, which is an interesting characteristic of the evolution trajectories of statefinder parameters and can be used to distinguish AWE cosmology from other cosmological models

DarkSide search for dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexander, T.; Alton, D.; Arisaka, K.; Back, H. O.; Beltrame, P.; Benziger, J.; Bonfini, G.; Brigatti, A.; Brodsky, J.; Bussino, S.; Cadonati, L.; Calaprice, F.; Candela, A.; Cao, H.; Cavalcante, P.; Chepurnov, A.; Chidzik, S.; Cocco, A. G.; Condon, C.; D' Angelo, D.; Davini, S.; Vincenzi, M. De; Haas, E. De; Derbin, A.; Pietro, G. Di; Dratchnev, I.; Durben, D.; Empl, A.; Etenko, A.; Fan, A.; Fiorillo, G.; Franco, D.; Fomenko, K.; Forster, G.; Gabriele, F.; Galbiati, C.; Gazzana, S.; Ghiano, C.; Goretti, A.; Grandi, L.; Gromov, M.; Guan, M.; Guo, C.; Guray, G.; Hungerford, E. V.; Ianni, Al; Ianni, An; Joliet, C.; Kayunov, A.; Keeter, K.; Kendziora, C.; Kidner, S.; Klemmer, R.; Kobychev, V.; Koh, G.; Komor, M.; Korablev, D.; Korga, G.; Li, P.; Loer, B.; Lombardi, P.; Love, C.; Ludhova, L.; Luitz, S.; Lukyanchenko, L.; Lund, A.; Lung, K.; Ma, Y.; Machulin, I.; Mari, S.; Maricic, J.; Martoff, C. J.; Meregaglia, A.; Meroni, E.; Meyers, P.; Mohayai, T.; Montanari, D.; Montuschi, M.; Monzani, M. E.; Mosteiro, P.; Mount, B.; Muratova, V.; Nelson, A.; Nemtzow, A.; Nurakhov, N.; Orsini, M.; Ortica, F.; Pallavicini, M.; Pantic, E.; Parmeggiano, S.; Parsells, R.; Pelliccia, N.; Perasso, L.; Perasso, S.; Perfetto, F.; Pinsky, L.; Pocar, A.; Pordes, S.; Randle, K.; Ranucci, G.; Razeto, A.; Romani, A.; Rossi, B.; Rossi, N.; Rountree, S. D.; Saggese, P.; Saldanha, R.; Salvo, C.; Sands, W.; Seigar, M.; Semenov, D.; Shields, E.; Skorokhvatov, M.; Smirnov, O.; Sotnikov, A.; Sukhotin, S.; Suvarov, Y.; Tartaglia, R.; Tatarowicz, J.; Testera, G.; Thompson, J.; Tonazzo, A.; Unzhakov, E.; Vogelaar, R. B.; Wang, H.; Westerdale, S.; Wojcik, M.; Wright, A.; Xu, J.; Yang, C.; Zavatarelli, S.; Zehfus, M.; Zhong, W.; Zuzel, G.

2013-11-22

The DarkSide staged program utilizes a two-phase time projection chamber (TPC) with liquid argon as the target material for the scattering of dark matter particles. Efficient background reduction is achieved using low radioactivity underground argon as well as several experimental handles such as pulse shape, ratio of ionization over scintillation signal, 3D event reconstruction, and active neutron and muon vetos. The DarkSide-10 prototype detector has proven high scintillation light yield, which is a particularly important parameter as it sets the energy threshold for the pulse shape discrimination technique. The DarkSide-50 detector system, currently in commissioning phase at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory, will reach a sensitivity to dark matter spin-independent scattering cross section of 10^-45 cm² within 3 years of operation.

A CTRP5 gene S163R mutation knock-in mouse model for late-onset retinal degeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Chavali, Venkata R M; Khan, Naheed W; Cukras, Catherine A; Bartsch, Dirk-Uwe; Jablonski, Monica M; Ayyagari, Radha

2011-05-15

Late-onset retinal macular degeneration (L-ORD) is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder caused by a single missense mutation (S163R) in the CTRP5/C1QTNF5 protein. Early phenotypic features of L-ORD include: dark adaptation abnormalities, nyctalopia, and drusen deposits in the peripheral macular region. Apart from posterior segment abnormalities, these patients also develop abnormally long anterior lens zonules. In the sixth decade of life the rod and cone function declines, accompanied by electroretinogram (ERG) abnormalities. Some patients also develop choroidal neovascularization and glaucoma. In order to understand the disease pathology and mechanisms involved in retinal dystrophy, we generated a knock-in (Ctrp5(+/-)) mouse model carrying the disease-associated mutation in the mouse Ctrp5/C1QTNF5 gene. These mice develop slower rod-b wave recovery consistent with early dark adaptation abnormalities, accumulation of hyperautofluorescence spots, retinal pigment epithelium abnormalities, drusen, Bruch's membrane abnormalities, loss of photoreceptors, and retinal vascular leakage. The Ctrp5(+/-) mice, which have most of the pathological features of age-related macular degeneration, are unique and may serve as a valuable model both to understand the molecular pathology of late-onset retinal degeneration and to evaluate therapies.

Sex-specific local life-history adaptation in surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana).

Science.gov (United States)

Riesch, Rüdiger; Reznick, David N; Plath, Martin; Schlupp, Ingo

2016-03-10

Cavefishes have long been used as model organisms showcasing adaptive diversification, but does adaptation to caves also facilitate the evolution of reproductive isolation from surface ancestors? We raised offspring of wild-caught surface- and cave-dwelling ecotypes of the neotropical fish Poecilia mexicana to sexual maturity in a 12-month common garden experiment. Fish were raised under one of two food regimes (high vs. low), and this was crossed with differences in lighting conditions (permanent darkness vs. 12:12 h light:dark cycle) in a 2 × 2 factorial design, allowing us to elucidate potential patterns of local adaptation in life histories. Our results reveal a pattern of sex-specific local life-history adaptation: Surface molly females had the highest fitness in the treatment best resembling their habitat of origin (high food and a light:dark cycle), and suffered from almost complete reproductive failure in darkness, while cave molly females were not similarly affected in any treatment. Males of both ecotypes, on the other hand, showed only weak evidence for local adaptation. Nonetheless, local life-history adaptation in females likely contributes to ecological diversification in this system and other cave animals, further supporting the role of local adaptation due to strong divergent selection as a major force in ecological speciation.

Is Self-Interacting Dark Matter Undergoing Dark Fusion?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDermott, Samuel D.

2017-11-02

We suggest that two-to-two dark matter fusion may be the relaxation process that resolves the small-scale structure problems of the cold collisionless dark matter paradigm. In order for the fusion cross section to scale correctly across many decades of astrophysical masses from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, we require the fractional binding energy released to be greater than v^n ~ [10^{-(2-3)}]^n, where n=1,2 depends on local dark sector chemistry. The size of the dark-sector interaction cross sections must be sigma ~ 0.1-1 barn, moderately larger than for Standard Model deuteron fusion, indicating a dark nuclear scale Lambda ~ O(100 MeV). Dark fusion firmly predicts constant sigma v below the characteristic velocities of galaxy clusters. Observations of the inner structure of galaxy groups with velocity dispersion of several hundred kilometer per second, of which a handful have been identified, could differentiate dark fusion from a dark photon model.

Dynamics of defect-induced dark solitons in an exciton-polariton condensate

Science.gov (United States)

Opala, Andrzej; Pieczarka, Maciej; Bobrovska, Nataliya; Matuszewski, Michał

2018-04-01

We study theoretically the emission of dark solitons induced by a moving defect in a nonresonantly pumped exciton-polariton condensate. The number of created dark solitons per unit of time is found to be strongly dependent on the pump power. We relate the observed dynamics of this process to the oscillations of the drag force experienced by the condensate. We investigate the stability of the polariton quantum fluid and present various types of dynamics depending on the condensate and moving obstacle parameters. Furthermore, we provide analytical expressions for dark soliton dynamics using the variational method adapted to the nonequilibrium polariton system. The determined dynamical equations are found to be in excellent agreement with the results of numerical simulations.

Coupling q-Deformed Dark Energy to Dark Matter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emre Dil

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a novel coupled dark energy model which is assumed to occur as a q-deformed scalar field and investigate whether it will provide an expanding universe phase. We consider the q-deformed dark energy as coupled to dark matter inhomogeneities. We perform the phase-space analysis of the model by numerical methods and find the late-time accelerated attractor solutions. The attractor solutions imply that the coupled q-deformed dark energy model is consistent with the conventional dark energy models satisfying an acceleration phase of universe. At the end, we compare the cosmological parameters of deformed and standard dark energy models and interpret the implications.

Dark matters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, Joseph

2010-01-01

One of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos is that it is mostly dark. That is, not only is the night sky dark, but also most of the matter and the energy in the universe is dark. For every atom visible in planets, stars and galaxies today there exists at least five or six times as much 'Dark Matter' in the universe. Astronomers and particle physicists today are seeking to unravel the nature of this mysterious but pervasive dark matter, which has profoundly influenced the formation of structure in the universe. Dark energy remains even more elusive, as we lack candidate fields that emerge from well established physics. I will describe various attempts to measure dark matter by direct and indirect means, and discuss the prospects for progress in unravelling dark energy.

Sub-horizon evolution of cold dark matter perturbations through dark matter-dark energy equivalence epoch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piattella, O.F.; Martins, D.L.A.; Casarini, L.

2014-01-01

We consider a cosmological model of the late universe constituted by standard cold dark matter plus a dark energy component with constant equation of state w and constant effective speed of sound. By neglecting fluctuations in the dark energy component, we obtain an equation describing the evolution of sub-horizon cold dark matter perturbations through the epoch of dark matter-dark energy equality. We explore its analytic solutions and calculate an exact w-dependent correction for the dark matter growth function, logarithmic growth function and growth index parameter through the epoch considered. We test our analytic approximation with the numerical solution and find that the discrepancy is less than 1% for 0k = during the cosmic evolution up to a = 100

Dark clouds in particle physics and cosmology: the issues of dark matter and dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xinmin

2011-01-01

Unveiling the nature of dark matter and dark energy is one of the main tasks of particle physics and cosmology in the 21st century. We first present an overview of the history and current status of research in cosmology, at the same time emphasizing the new challenges in particle physics. Then we focus on the scientific issues of dark energy, dark matter and anti-matter, and review the recent progress made in these fields. Finally, we discuss the prospects for future research on the experimental probing of dark matter and dark energy in China. (authors)

Unification of dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Fuminobu; Yanagida, T.T.

2006-01-01

We propose a scenario in which dark energy and dark matter are described in a unified manner. The ultralight pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (pNG) boson, A, naturally explains the observed magnitude of dark energy, while the bosonic supersymmetry partner of the pNG boson, B, can be a dominant component of dark matter. The decay of B into a pair of electron and positron may explain the 511 keV γ ray from the Galactic Center

Tales from the dark side: Privacy dark strategies and privacy dark patterns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bösch, Christoph; Erb, Benjamin; Kargl, Frank

2016-01-01

Privacy strategies and privacy patterns are fundamental concepts of the privacy-by-design engineering approach. While they support a privacy-aware development process for IT systems, the concepts used by malicious, privacy-threatening parties are generally less understood and known. We argue...... that understanding the “dark side”, namely how personal data is abused, is of equal importance. In this paper, we introduce the concept of privacy dark strategies and privacy dark patterns and present a framework that collects, documents, and analyzes such malicious concepts. In addition, we investigate from...... a psychological perspective why privacy dark strategies are effective. The resulting framework allows for a better understanding of these dark concepts, fosters awareness, and supports the development of countermeasures. We aim to contribute to an easier detection and successive removal of such approaches from...

Revival of the unified dark energy-dark matter model?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bento, M.C.; Bertolami, O.; Sen, A.A.

2004-01-01

We consider the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) proposal for unification of dark energy and dark matter and show that it admits an unique decomposition into dark energy and dark matter components once phantomlike dark energy is excluded. Within this framework, we study structure formation and show that difficulties associated to unphysical oscillations or blowup in the matter power spectrum can be circumvented. Furthermore, we show that the dominance of dark energy is related to the time when energy density fluctuations start deviating from the linear δ∼a behavior

Cold dark matter plus not-so-clumpy dark relics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamanti, Roberta; Ando, Shin'ichiro; Weniger, Christoph; Gariazzo, Stefano; Mena, Olga

2017-01-01

Various particle physics models suggest that, besides the (nearly) cold dark matter that accounts for current observations, additional but sub-dominant dark relics might exist. These could be warm, hot, or even contribute as dark radiation. We present here a comprehensive study of two-component dark matter scenarios, where the first component is assumed to be cold, and the second is a non-cold thermal relic. Considering the cases where the non-cold dark matter species could be either a fermion or a boson, we derive consistent upper limits on the non-cold dark relic energy density for a very large range of velocity dispersions, covering the entire range from dark radiation to cold dark matter. To this end, we employ the latest Planck Cosmic Microwave Background data, the recent BOSS DR11 and other Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements, and also constraints on the number of Milky Way satellites, the latter of which provides a measure of the suppression of the matter power spectrum at the smallest scales due to the free-streaming of the non-cold dark matter component. We present the results on the fraction f ncdm of non-cold dark matter with respect to the total dark matter for different ranges of the non-cold dark matter masses. We find that the 2σ limits for non-cold dark matter particles with masses in the range 1–10 keV are f ncdm ≤0.29 (0.23) for fermions (bosons), and for masses in the 10–100 keV range they are f ncdm ≤0.43 (0.45), respectively.

Cold dark matter plus not-so-clumpy dark relics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diamanti, Roberta; Ando, Shin' ichiro; Weniger, Christoph [GRAPPA, Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam (Netherlands); Gariazzo, Stefano; Mena, Olga, E-mail: r.diamanti@uva.nl, E-mail: s.ando@uva.nl, E-mail: gariazzo@to.infn.it, E-mail: omena@ific.uv.es, E-mail: c.weniger@uva.nl [Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), CSIC-Universitat de Valencia, Apartado de Correos 22085, E-46071, Valencia (Spain)

2017-06-01

Various particle physics models suggest that, besides the (nearly) cold dark matter that accounts for current observations, additional but sub-dominant dark relics might exist. These could be warm, hot, or even contribute as dark radiation. We present here a comprehensive study of two-component dark matter scenarios, where the first component is assumed to be cold, and the second is a non-cold thermal relic. Considering the cases where the non-cold dark matter species could be either a fermion or a boson, we derive consistent upper limits on the non-cold dark relic energy density for a very large range of velocity dispersions, covering the entire range from dark radiation to cold dark matter. To this end, we employ the latest Planck Cosmic Microwave Background data, the recent BOSS DR11 and other Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements, and also constraints on the number of Milky Way satellites, the latter of which provides a measure of the suppression of the matter power spectrum at the smallest scales due to the free-streaming of the non-cold dark matter component. We present the results on the fraction f {sub ncdm} of non-cold dark matter with respect to the total dark matter for different ranges of the non-cold dark matter masses. We find that the 2σ limits for non-cold dark matter particles with masses in the range 1–10 keV are f {sub ncdm}≤0.29 (0.23) for fermions (bosons), and for masses in the 10–100 keV range they are f {sub ncdm}≤0.43 (0.45), respectively.

The dark side of cosmology: dark matter and dark energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Spergel, David N

2015-03-06

A simple model with only six parameters (the age of the universe, the density of atoms, the density of matter, the amplitude of the initial fluctuations, the scale dependence of this amplitude, and the epoch of first star formation) fits all of our cosmological data . Although simple, this standard model is strange. The model implies that most of the matter in our Galaxy is in the form of "dark matter," a new type of particle not yet detected in the laboratory, and most of the energy in the universe is in the form of "dark energy," energy associated with empty space. Both dark matter and dark energy require extensions to our current understanding of particle physics or point toward a breakdown of general relativity on cosmological scales. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Adaptive optics imaging of healthy and abnormal regions of retinal nerve fiber bundles of patients with glaucoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Monica F; Chui, Toco Y P; Alhadeff, Paula; Rosen, Richard B; Ritch, Robert; Dubra, Alfredo; Hood, Donald C

2015-01-08

To better understand the nature of glaucomatous damage of the macula, especially the structural changes seen between relatively healthy and clearly abnormal (AB) retinal regions, using an adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope (AO-SLO). Adaptive optics SLO images and optical coherence tomography (OCT) vertical line scans were obtained on one eye of seven glaucoma patients, with relatively deep local arcuate defects on the 10-2 visual field test in one (six eyes) or both hemifields (one eye). Based on the OCT images, the retinal nerve fiber (RNF) layer was divided into two regions: (1) within normal limits (WNL), relative RNF layer thickness within mean control values ±2 SD; and (2) AB, relative thickness less than -2 SD value. As seen on AO-SLO, the pattern of AB RNF bundles near the border of the WNL and AB regions differed across eyes. There were normal-appearing bundles in the WNL region of all eyes and AB-appearing bundles near the border with the AB region. This region with AB bundles ranged in extent from a few bundles to the entire AB region in the case of one eye. All other eyes had a large AB region without bundles. However, in two of these eyes, a few bundles were seen within this region of otherwise missing bundles. The AO-SLO images revealed details of glaucomatous damage that are difficult, if not impossible, to see with current OCT technology. Adaptive optics SLO may prove useful in following progression in clinical trials, or in disease management, if AO-SLO becomes widely available and easy to use. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

The dark cube: dark and light character profiles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danilo Garcia

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background. Research addressing distinctions and similarities between people’s malevolent character traits (i.e., the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy has detected inconsistent linear associations to temperament traits. Additionally, these dark traits seem to have a common core expressed as uncooperativeness. Hence, some researchers suggest that the dark traits are best represented as one global construct (i.e., the unification argument rather than as ternary construct (i.e., the uniqueness argument. We put forward the dark cube (cf. Cloninger’s character cube comprising eight dark profiles that can be used to compare individuals who differ in one dark character trait while holding the other two constant. Our aim was to investigate in which circumstances individuals who are high in each one of the dark character traits differ in Cloninger’s “light” character traits: self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence. We also investigated if people’s dark character profiles were associated to their light character profiles. Method. A total of 997 participants recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk responded to the Short Dark Triad and the Short Character Inventory. Participants were allocated to eight different dark profiles and eight light profiles based on their scores in each of the traits and any possible combination of high and low scores. We used three-way interaction regression analyses and t-tests to investigate differences in light character traits between individuals with different dark profiles. As a second step, we compared the individuals’ dark profile with her/his character profile using an exact cell-wise analysis conducted in the ROPstat software (http://www.ropstat.com. Results. Individuals who expressed high levels of Machiavellianism and those who expressed high levels of psychopathy also expressed low self-directedness and low cooperativeness. Individuals with high

Cold dark matter plus not-so-clumpy dark relics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diamanti, R.; Ando, S.; Gariazzo, S.; Mena, O.; Weniger, C.

Various particle physics models suggest that, besides the (nearly) cold dark matter that accounts for current observations, additional but sub-dominant dark relics might exist. These could be warm, hot, or even contribute as dark radiation. We present here a comprehensive study of two-component dark

Stochastic dark energy from inflationary quantum fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Glavan, Dražen; Prokopec, Tomislav; Starobinsky, Alexei A.

2018-05-01

We study the quantum backreaction from inflationary fluctuations of a very light, non-minimally coupled spectator scalar and show that it is a viable candidate for dark energy. The problem is solved by suitably adapting the formalism of stochastic inflation. This allows us to self-consistently account for the backreaction on the background expansion rate of the Universe where its effects are large. This framework is equivalent to that of semiclassical gravity in which matter vacuum fluctuations are included at the one loop level, but purely quantum gravitational fluctuations are neglected. Our results show that dark energy in our model can be characterized by a distinct effective equation of state parameter (as a function of redshift) which allows for testing of the model at the level of the background.

Supplying Dark Energy from Scalar Field Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Gogberashvili, Merab; Sakharov, Alexander S.

2017-01-01

We consider the hypothesis that dark matter and dark energy consists of ultra-light self-interacting scalar particles. It is found that the Klein-Gordon equation with only two free parameters (mass and self-coupling) on a Schwarzschild background, at the galactic length-scales has the solution which corresponds to Bose-Einstein condensate, behaving as dark matter, while the constant solution at supra-galactic scales can explain dark energy.

Dark stars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maselli, Andrea; Pnigouras, Pantelis; Nielsen, Niklas Grønlund

2017-01-01

to the formation of compact objects predominantly made of dark matter. Considering both fermionic and bosonic (scalar φ4) equations of state, we construct the equilibrium structure of rotating dark stars, focusing on their bulk properties and comparing them with baryonic neutron stars. We also show that these dark......Theoretical models of self-interacting dark matter represent a promising answer to a series of open problems within the so-called collisionless cold dark matter paradigm. In case of asymmetric dark matter, self-interactions might facilitate gravitational collapse and potentially lead...... objects admit the I-Love-Q universal relations, which link their moments of inertia, tidal deformabilities, and quadrupole moments. Finally, we prove that stars built with a dark matter equation of state are not compact enough to mimic black holes in general relativity, thus making them distinguishable...

Dark nebulae, dark lanes, and dust belts

CERN Document Server

Cooke, Antony

2012-01-01

As probably the only book of its type, this work is aimed at the observer who wants to spend time with something less conventional than the usual fare. Because we usually see objects in space by means of illumination of one kind or another, it has become routine to see them only in these terms. However, part of almost everything that we see is the defining dimension of dark shading, or even the complete obscuration of entire regions in space. Thus this book is focused on everything dark in space: those dark voids in the stellar fabric that mystified astronomers of old; the dark lanes reported in many star clusters; the magical dust belts or dusty regions that have given so many galaxies their identities; the great swirling 'folds' that we associate with bright nebulae; the small dark feature detectable even in some planetary nebulae; and more. Many observers pay scant attention to dark objects and details. Perhaps they are insufficiently aware of them or of the viewing potential they hold, but also it may be...

Sourcing dark matter and dark energy from α-attractors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishra, Swagat S.; Sahni, Varun [Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007 (India); Shtanov, Yuri, E-mail: swagat@iucaa.in, E-mail: varun@iucaa.in, E-mail: shtanov@bitp.kiev.ua [Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kiev 03680 (Ukraine)

2017-06-01

In [1], Kallosh and Linde drew attention to a new family of superconformal inflationary potentials, subsequently called α-attractors [2]. The α-attractor family can interpolate between a large class of inflationary models. It also has an important theoretical underpinning within the framework of supergravity. We demonstrate that the α-attractors have an even wider appeal since they may describe dark matter and perhaps even dark energy. The dark matter associated with the α-attractors, which we call α-dark matter (αDM), shares many of the attractive features of fuzzy dark matter, with V (φ) = ½ m {sup 2}φ{sup 2}, while having none of its drawbacks. Like fuzzy dark matter, αDM can have a large Jeans length which could resolve the cusp-core and substructure problems faced by standard cold dark matter. αDM also has an appealing tracker property which enables it to converge to the late-time dark matter asymptote, ( w ) ≅ 0, from a wide range of initial conditions. It thus avoids the enormous fine-tuning problems faced by the m {sup 2}φ{sup 2} potential in describing dark matter.

Sourcing dark matter and dark energy from α-attractors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishra, Swagat S.; Sahni, Varun; Shtanov, Yuri

2017-01-01

In [1], Kallosh and Linde drew attention to a new family of superconformal inflationary potentials, subsequently called α-attractors [2]. The α-attractor family can interpolate between a large class of inflationary models. It also has an important theoretical underpinning within the framework of supergravity. We demonstrate that the α-attractors have an even wider appeal since they may describe dark matter and perhaps even dark energy. The dark matter associated with the α-attractors, which we call α-dark matter (αDM), shares many of the attractive features of fuzzy dark matter, with V (φ) = ½ m 2 φ 2 , while having none of its drawbacks. Like fuzzy dark matter, αDM can have a large Jeans length which could resolve the cusp-core and substructure problems faced by standard cold dark matter. αDM also has an appealing tracker property which enables it to converge to the late-time dark matter asymptote, ( w ) ≅ 0, from a wide range of initial conditions. It thus avoids the enormous fine-tuning problems faced by the m 2 φ 2 potential in describing dark matter.

Gravitational wave from dark sector with dark pion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsumura, Koji [Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Yamada, Masatoshi [Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Yamaguchi, Yuya, E-mail: ko2@gauge.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp, E-mail: m.yamada@thphys.uni-heidelberg.de, E-mail: yy@particle.sci.hokudai.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan)

2017-07-01

In this work, we investigate the spectra of gravitational waves produced by chiral symmetry breaking in dark quantum chromodynamics (dQCD) sector. The dark pion (π) can be a dark matter candidate as weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) or strongly interacting massive particle (SIMP). For a WIMP scenario, we introduce the dQCD sector coupled to the standard model (SM) sector with classical scale invariance and investigate the annihilation process of the dark pion via the 2π → 2 SM process. For a SIMP scenario, we investigate the 3π → 2π annihilation process of the dark pion as a SIMP using chiral perturbation theory. We find that in the WIMP scenario the gravitational wave background spectra can be observed by future space gravitational wave antennas. On the other hand, when the dark pion is the SIMP dark matter with the constraints for the chiral perturbative limit and pion-pion scattering cross section, the chiral phase transition becomes crossover and then the gravitational waves are not produced.

Dark Matter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Einasto J.

2011-06-01

Full Text Available I give a review of the development of the concept of dark matter. The dark matter story passed through several stages from a minor observational puzzle to a major challenge for theory of elementary particles. Modern data suggest that dark matter is the dominant matter component in the Universe, and that it consists of some unknown non-baryonic particles. Dark matter is the dominant matter component in the Universe, thus properties of dark matter particles determine the structure of the cosmic web.

Dark Energy vs. Dark Matter: Towards a Unifying Scalar Field?

OpenAIRE

Arbey, A.

2008-01-01

The standard model of cosmology suggests the existence of two components, "dark matter" and "dark energy", which determine the fate of the Universe. Their nature is still under investigation, and no direct proof of their existences has emerged yet. There exist alternative models which reinterpret the cosmological observations, for example by replacing the dark energy/dark matter hypothesis by the existence of a unique dark component, the dark fluid, which is able to mimic the behaviour of bot...

Novel Probes of Gravity and Dark Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jain, Bhuvnesh; et al.

2013-09-20

The discovery of cosmic acceleration has stimulated theorists to consider dark energy or modifications to Einstein's General Relativity as possible explanations. The last decade has seen advances in theories that go beyond smooth dark energy -- modified gravity and interactions of dark energy. While the theoretical terrain is being actively explored, the generic presence of fifth forces and dark sector couplings suggests a set of distinct observational signatures. This report focuses on observations that differ from the conventional probes that map the expansion history or large-scale structure. Examples of such novel probes are: detection of scalar fields via lab experiments, tests of modified gravity using stars and galaxies in the nearby universe, comparison of lensing and dynamical masses of galaxies and clusters, and the measurements of fundamental constants at high redshift. The observational expertise involved is very broad as it spans laboratory experiments, high resolution astronomical imaging and spectroscopy and radio observations. In the coming decade, searches for these effects have the potential for discovering fundamental new physics. We discuss how the searches can be carried out using experiments that are already under way or with modest adaptations of existing telescopes or planned experiments. The accompanying paper on the Growth of Cosmic Structure describes complementary tests of gravity with observations of large-scale structure.

Conformal Gravity: Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert K. Nesbet

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This short review examines recent progress in understanding dark matter, dark energy, and galactic halos using theory that departs minimally from standard particle physics and cosmology. Strict conformal symmetry (local Weyl scaling covariance, postulated for all elementary massless fields, retains standard fermion and gauge boson theory but modifies Einstein–Hilbert general relativity and the Higgs scalar field model, with no new physical fields. Subgalactic phenomenology is retained. Without invoking dark matter, conformal gravity and a conformal Higgs model fit empirical data on galactic rotational velocities, galactic halos, and Hubble expansion including dark energy.

[Does dark field microscopy according to Enderlein allow for cancer diagnosis? A prospective study].

Science.gov (United States)

El-Safadi, Samer; Tinneberg, Hans-Rudolf; von Georgi, Richard; Münstedt, Karsten; Brück, Friede

2005-06-01

Dark field microscopy according to Enderlin claims to be able to detect forthcoming or beginning cancer at an early stage through minute abnormalities in the blood. In Germany and the USA, this method is used by an increasing number of physicians and health practitioners (non-medically qualified complementary practitioners), because this easy test seems to give important information about patients' health status. Can dark field microscopy reliably detect cancer? In the course of a prospective study on iridology, blood samples were drawn for dark field microscopy in 110 patients. A health practitioner with several years of training in the field carried out the examination without prior information about the patients. Out of 12 patients with present tumor metastasis as confirmed by radiological methods (CT, MRI or ultra-sound) 3 were correctly identified. Analysis of sensitivity (0.25), specificity (0.64), positive (0.09) and negative (0.85) predictive values revealed unsatisfactory results. Dark field micoroscopy does not seem to reliably detect the presence of cancer. Clinical use of the method can therefore not be recommended until future studies are conducted.

Effective dark energy equation of state in interacting dark energy models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avelino, P.P.; Silva, H.M.R. da

2012-01-01

In models where dark matter and dark energy interact non-minimally, the total amount of matter in a fixed comoving volume may vary from the time of recombination to the present time due to energy transfer between the two components. This implies that, in interacting dark energy models, the fractional matter density estimated using the cosmic microwave background assuming no interaction between dark matter and dark energy will in general be shifted with respect to its true value. This may result in an incorrect determination of the equation of state of dark energy if the interaction between dark matter and dark energy is not properly accounted for, even if the evolution of the Hubble parameter as a function of redshift is known with arbitrary precision. In this Letter we find an exact expression, as well as a simple analytical approximation, for the evolution of the effective equation of state of dark energy, assuming that the energy transfer rate between dark matter and dark energy is described by a simple two-parameter model. We also provide analytical examples where non-phantom interacting dark energy models mimic the background evolution and primary cosmic microwave background anisotropies of phantom dark energy models.

Effective dark energy equation of state in interacting dark energy models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Avelino, P.P., E-mail: ppavelin@fc.up.pt [Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Departamento de Fisica e Astronomia da Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Silva, H.M.R. da, E-mail: hilberto.silva@gmail.com [Departamento de Fisica e Astronomia da Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal)

2012-07-24

In models where dark matter and dark energy interact non-minimally, the total amount of matter in a fixed comoving volume may vary from the time of recombination to the present time due to energy transfer between the two components. This implies that, in interacting dark energy models, the fractional matter density estimated using the cosmic microwave background assuming no interaction between dark matter and dark energy will in general be shifted with respect to its true value. This may result in an incorrect determination of the equation of state of dark energy if the interaction between dark matter and dark energy is not properly accounted for, even if the evolution of the Hubble parameter as a function of redshift is known with arbitrary precision. In this Letter we find an exact expression, as well as a simple analytical approximation, for the evolution of the effective equation of state of dark energy, assuming that the energy transfer rate between dark matter and dark energy is described by a simple two-parameter model. We also provide analytical examples where non-phantom interacting dark energy models mimic the background evolution and primary cosmic microwave background anisotropies of phantom dark energy models.

Impeded Dark Matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopp, Joachim; Liu, Jia [PRISMA Cluster of Excellence & Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics,Johannes Gutenberg University,Staudingerweg 7, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Slatyer, Tracy R. [Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Wang, Xiao-Ping [PRISMA Cluster of Excellence & Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics,Johannes Gutenberg University,Staudingerweg 7, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Xue, Wei [Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2016-12-12

We consider dark matter models in which the mass splitting between the dark matter particles and their annihilation products is tiny. Compared to the previously proposed Forbidden Dark Matter scenario, the mass splittings we consider are much smaller, and are allowed to be either positive or negative. To emphasize this modification, we dub our scenario “Impeded Dark Matter”. We demonstrate that Impeded Dark Matter can be easily realized without requiring tuning of model parameters. For negative mass splitting, we demonstrate that the annihilation cross-section for Impeded Dark Matter depends linearly on the dark matter velocity or may even be kinematically forbidden, making this scenario almost insensitive to constraints from the cosmic microwave background and from observations of dwarf galaxies. Accordingly, it may be possible for Impeded Dark Matter to yield observable signals in clusters or the Galactic center, with no corresponding signal in dwarfs. For positive mass splitting, we show that the annihilation cross-section is suppressed by the small mass splitting, which helps light dark matter to survive increasingly stringent constraints from indirect searches. As specific realizations for Impeded Dark Matter, we introduce a model of vector dark matter from a hidden SU(2) sector, and a composite dark matter scenario based on a QCD-like dark sector.

Impeded Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopp, Joachim; Liu, Jia; Slatyer, Tracy R.; Wang, Xiao-Ping; Xue, Wei

2016-01-01

We consider dark matter models in which the mass splitting between the dark matter particles and their annihilation products is tiny. Compared to the previously proposed Forbidden Dark Matter scenario, the mass splittings we consider are much smaller, and are allowed to be either positive or negative. To emphasize this modification, we dub our scenario “Impeded Dark Matter”. We demonstrate that Impeded Dark Matter can be easily realized without requiring tuning of model parameters. For negative mass splitting, we demonstrate that the annihilation cross-section for Impeded Dark Matter depends linearly on the dark matter velocity or may even be kinematically forbidden, making this scenario almost insensitive to constraints from the cosmic microwave background and from observations of dwarf galaxies. Accordingly, it may be possible for Impeded Dark Matter to yield observable signals in clusters or the Galactic center, with no corresponding signal in dwarfs. For positive mass splitting, we show that the annihilation cross-section is suppressed by the small mass splitting, which helps light dark matter to survive increasingly stringent constraints from indirect searches. As specific realizations for Impeded Dark Matter, we introduce a model of vector dark matter from a hidden SU(2) sector, and a composite dark matter scenario based on a QCD-like dark sector.

Turning off the lights: How dark is dark matter?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDermott, Samuel D.; Yu Haibo; Zurek, Kathryn M.

2011-01-01

We consider current observational constraints on the electromagnetic charge of dark matter. The velocity dependence of the scattering cross section through the photon gives rise to qualitatively different constraints than standard dark matter scattering through massive force carriers. In particular, recombination epoch observations of dark matter density perturbations require that ε, the ratio of the dark matter to electronic charge, is less than 10 -6 for m X =1 GeV, rising to ε -4 for m X =10 TeV. Though naively one would expect that dark matter carrying a charge well below this constraint could still give rise to large scattering in current direct detection experiments, we show that charged dark matter particles that could be detected with upcoming experiments are expected to be evacuated from the Galactic disk by the Galactic magnetic fields and supernova shock waves and hence will not give rise to a signal. Thus dark matter with a small charge is likely not a source of a signal in current or upcoming dark matter direct detection experiments.

PP064. Total vascular resistances in early pregnancy: A key to understand abnormal cardiovascular adaptation associated with spontaneous abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo Presti, Damiano; Scala, Roberta Licia; Tiralongo, Grazia Maria; Pisani, Ilaria; Gagliardi, Giulia; Novelli, Gian Paolo; Vasapollo, Barbara; Valensise, Herbert

2013-04-01

From early pregnancy, maternal hemodynamic profile begins to change. The absence of these changes leads to increased risk of complication during the gestation. Aim of this study is to understand in early pregnancy the behaviour of total vascular resistances (TVR) as a sign of maternal cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy. A cross section study was conducted. We followed 160 healthy women with singleton pregnancy during the first trimester of gestation. We evaluated cardiac output (CO) and TVR at 7, 9 and 11 weeks of gestation. We obtained the following haemodynamic measurements with the USCOM system, a non invasive method: heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), CO and TVR. 160 healthy pregnant women were selected, 8 patients, were excluded for a bad signal. Absolute values of the haemodynamic measures are shown in Fig. 1. 41 patients underwent spontaneous embryonic demise. This last group of patients showed in 54% (group A) TVR values within the normal limits (TVR1200) and CO values below the normal adaptation to pregnancy. Table 1 shows hemodynamic measures for the group A and group B; we found differences in term of CO, TVR and PAS between the two groups. Elevated TVR might indicate an abnormal vascular adaptation already in first weeks of pregnancy. Moreover, in women who undergo to abortion, elevated TVR could be use to distinguish genetic or environmental causes of miscarriage. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Unified Description of Dark Energy and Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Petry, Walter

2008-01-01

Dark energy in the universe is assumed to be vacuum energy. The energy-momentum of vacuum is described by a scale-dependent cosmological constant. The equations of motion imply for the density of matter (dust) the sum of the usual matter density (luminous matter) and an additional matter density (dark matter) similar to the dark energy. The scale-dependent cosmological constant is given up to an exponent which is approximated by the experimentally decided density parameters of dark matter and...

Dark energy and dark matter from primordial QGP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaidya, Vaishali, E-mail: vaidvavaishali24@gmail.com; Upadhyaya, G. K., E-mail: gopalujiain@yahoo.co.in [School of Studies in Physics, Vikram University Ujjain (India)

2015-07-31

Coloured relics servived after hadronization might have given birth to dark matter and dark energy. Theoretical ideas to solve mystery of cosmic acceleration, its origin and its status with reference to recent past are of much interest and are being proposed by many workers. In the present paper, we present a critical review of work done to understand the earliest appearance of dark matter and dark energy in the scenario of primordial quark gluon plasma (QGP) phase after Big Bang.

Codecaying Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Dror, Jeff Asaf; Kuflik, Eric; Ng, Wee Hao

2016-11-18

We propose a new mechanism for thermal dark matter freeze-out, called codecaying dark matter. Multicomponent dark sectors with degenerate particles and out-of-equilibrium decays can codecay to obtain the observed relic density. The dark matter density is exponentially depleted through the decay of nearly degenerate particles rather than from Boltzmann suppression. The relic abundance is set by the dark matter annihilation cross section, which is predicted to be boosted, and the decay rate of the dark sector particles. The mechanism is viable in a broad range of dark matter parameter space, with a robust prediction of an enhanced indirect detection signal. Finally, we present a simple model that realizes codecaying dark matter.

Interactions between dark energy and dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldi, Marco

2009-03-20

We have investigated interacting dark energy cosmologies both concerning their impact on the background evolution of the Universe and their effects on cosmological structure growth. For the former aspect, we have developed a cosmological model featuring a matter species consisting of particles with a mass that increases with time. In such model the appearance of a Growing Matter component, which is negligible in early cosmology, dramatically slows down the evolution of the dark energy scalar field at a redshift around six, and triggers the onset of the accelerated expansion of the Universe, therefore addressing the Coincidence Problem. We propose to identify this Growing Matter component with cosmic neutrinos, in which case the present dark energy density can be related to the measured average mass of neutrinos. For the latter aspect, we have implemented the new physical features of interacting dark energy models into the cosmological N-body code GADGET-2, and we present the results of a series of high-resolution simulations for a simple realization of dark energy interaction. As a consequence of the new physics, cold dark matter and baryon distributions evolve differently both in the linear and in the non-linear regime of structure formation. Already on large scales, a linear bias develops between these two components, which is further enhanced by the non-linear evolution. We also find, in contrast with previous work, that the density profiles of cold dark matter halos are less concentrated in coupled dark energy cosmologies compared with {lambda}{sub CDM}. Also, the baryon fraction in halos in the coupled models is significantly reduced below the universal baryon fraction. These features alleviate tensions between observations and the {lambda}{sub CDM} model on small scales. Our methodology is ideally suited to explore the predictions of coupled dark energy models in the fully non-linear regime, which can provide powerful constraints for the viable parameter

Interactions between dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldi, Marco

2009-01-01

We have investigated interacting dark energy cosmologies both concerning their impact on the background evolution of the Universe and their effects on cosmological structure growth. For the former aspect, we have developed a cosmological model featuring a matter species consisting of particles with a mass that increases with time. In such model the appearance of a Growing Matter component, which is negligible in early cosmology, dramatically slows down the evolution of the dark energy scalar field at a redshift around six, and triggers the onset of the accelerated expansion of the Universe, therefore addressing the Coincidence Problem. We propose to identify this Growing Matter component with cosmic neutrinos, in which case the present dark energy density can be related to the measured average mass of neutrinos. For the latter aspect, we have implemented the new physical features of interacting dark energy models into the cosmological N-body code GADGET-2, and we present the results of a series of high-resolution simulations for a simple realization of dark energy interaction. As a consequence of the new physics, cold dark matter and baryon distributions evolve differently both in the linear and in the non-linear regime of structure formation. Already on large scales, a linear bias develops between these two components, which is further enhanced by the non-linear evolution. We also find, in contrast with previous work, that the density profiles of cold dark matter halos are less concentrated in coupled dark energy cosmologies compared with Λ CDM . Also, the baryon fraction in halos in the coupled models is significantly reduced below the universal baryon fraction. These features alleviate tensions between observations and the Λ CDM model on small scales. Our methodology is ideally suited to explore the predictions of coupled dark energy models in the fully non-linear regime, which can provide powerful constraints for the viable parameter space of such scenarios

Unified dark energy-dark matter model with inverse quintessence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ansoldi, Stefano [ICRA — International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, INFN — Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, and Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica, Università degli Studi di Udine, via delle Scienze 206, I-33100 Udine (UD) (Italy); Guendelman, Eduardo I., E-mail: ansoldi@fulbrightmail.org, E-mail: guendel@bgu.ac.il [Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negeev, Beer-Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2013-05-01

We consider a model where both dark energy and dark matter originate from the coupling of a scalar field with a non-canonical kinetic term to, both, a metric measure and a non-metric measure. An interacting dark energy/dark matter scenario can be obtained by introducing an additional scalar that can produce non constant vacuum energy and associated variations in dark matter. The phenomenology is most interesting when the kinetic term of the additional scalar field is ghost-type, since in this case the dark energy vanishes in the early universe and then grows with time. This constitutes an ''inverse quintessence scenario'', where the universe starts from a zero vacuum energy density state, instead of approaching it in the future.

Unified dark energy-dark matter model with inverse quintessence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansoldi, Stefano; Guendelman, Eduardo I.

2013-01-01

We consider a model where both dark energy and dark matter originate from the coupling of a scalar field with a non-canonical kinetic term to, both, a metric measure and a non-metric measure. An interacting dark energy/dark matter scenario can be obtained by introducing an additional scalar that can produce non constant vacuum energy and associated variations in dark matter. The phenomenology is most interesting when the kinetic term of the additional scalar field is ghost-type, since in this case the dark energy vanishes in the early universe and then grows with time. This constitutes an ''inverse quintessence scenario'', where the universe starts from a zero vacuum energy density state, instead of approaching it in the future

Measuring the speed of dark: Detecting dark energy perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Putter, Roland de; Huterer, Dragan; Linder, Eric V.

2010-01-01

The nature of dark energy can be probed not only through its equation of state but also through its microphysics, characterized by the sound speed of perturbations to the dark energy density and pressure. As the sound speed drops below the speed of light, dark energy inhomogeneities increase, affecting both cosmic microwave background and matter power spectra. We show that current data can put no significant constraints on the value of the sound speed when dark energy is purely a recent phenomenon, but can begin to show more interesting results for early dark energy models. For example, the best fit model for current data has a slight preference for dynamics [w(a)≠-1], degrees of freedom distinct from quintessence (c s ≠1), and early presence of dark energy [Ω de (a<<1)≠0]. Future data may open a new window on dark energy by measuring its spatial as well as time variation.

Is Self-Interacting Dark Matter Undergoing Dark Fusion?

OpenAIRE

McDermott, Samuel D.

2018-01-01

We suggest that two-to-two dark matter fusion may be the relaxation process that resolves the small-scale structure problems of the cold collisionless dark matter paradigm. In order for the fusion cross section to scale correctly across many decades of astrophysical masses from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, we require the fractional binding energy released to be greater than vn∼(10−(2−3))n, where n=1, 2 depends on local dark sector chemistry. The size of the dark-sector interaction cross...

Spatiotemporal configuration dependent pairing of nerve events in dark-adapted human vision

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouman, M.A.

2002-01-01

In the model presented here, in the dark any single quantum absorption in a rod or cone produces a subliminal excitation. Subliminal excitations from both halves of a twin unit pair in the retina for the perception of light from the stimulus. A twin unit contains either two red or two green cones.

Adaptation to experimental jet-lag in R6/2 mice despite circadian dysrhythmia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nigel I Wood

Full Text Available The R6/2 transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD shows a disintegration of circadian rhythms that can be delayed by pharmacological and non-pharmacological means. Since the molecular machinery underlying the circadian clocks is intact, albeit progressively dysfunctional, we wondered if light phase shifts could modulate the deterioration in daily rhythms in R6/2 mice. Mice were subjected to four x 4 hour advances in light onset. R6/2 mice adapted to phase advances, although angles of entrainment increased with age. A second cohort was subjected to a jet-lag paradigm (6 hour delay or advance in light onset, then reversal after 2 weeks. R6/2 mice adapted to the original shift, but could not adjust accurately to the reversal. Interestingly, phase shifts ameliorated the circadian rhythm breakdown seen in R6/2 mice under normal LD conditions. Our previous finding that the circadian period (tau of 16 week old R6/2 mice shortens to approximately 23 hours may explain how they adapt to phase advances and maintain regular circadian rhythms. We tested this using a 23 hour period light/dark cycle. R6/2 mice entrained to this cycle, but onsets of activity continued to advance, and circadian rhythms still disintegrated. Therefore, the beneficial effects of phase-shifting are not due solely to the light cycle being closer to the tau of the mice. Our data show that R6/2 mice can adapt to changes in the LD schedule, even beyond the age when their circadian rhythms would normally disintegrate. Nevertheless, they show abnormal responses to changes in light cycles. These might be caused by a shortened tau, impaired photic re-synchronization, impaired light detection and/or reduced masking by evening light. If similar abnormalities are present in HD patients, they may suffer exaggerated jet-lag. Since the underlying molecular clock mechanism remains intact, light may be a useful treatment for circadian dysfunction in HD.

Nonlocal astrophysics dark matter, dark energy and physical vacuum

CERN Document Server

Alexeev, Boris V

2017-01-01

Non-Local Astrophysics: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Physical Vacuum highlights the most significant features of non-local theory, a highly effective tool for solving many physical problems in areas where classical local theory runs into difficulties. The book provides the fundamental science behind new non-local astrophysics, discussing non-local kinetic and generalized hydrodynamic equations, non-local parameters in several physical systems, dark matter, dark energy, black holes and gravitational waves. Devoted to the solution of astrophysical problems from the position of non-local physics Provides a solution for dark matter and dark energy Discusses cosmological aspects of the theory of non-local physics Includes a solution for the problem of the Hubble Universe expansion, and of the dependence of the orbital velocity from the center of gravity

New interactions in the dark sector mediated by dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brookfield, Anthony W.; Bruck, Carsten van de; Hall, Lisa M. H.

2008-01-01

Cosmological observations have revealed the existence of a dark matter sector, which is commonly assumed to be made up of one particle species only. However, this sector might be more complicated than we currently believe: there might be more than one dark matter species (for example, two components of cold dark matter or a mixture of hot and cold dark matter) and there may be new interactions between these particles. In this paper we study the possibility of multiple dark matter species and interactions mediated by a dark energy field. We study both the background and the perturbation evolution in these scenarios. We find that the background evolution of a system of multiple dark matter particles (with constant couplings) mimics a single fluid with a time-varying coupling parameter. However, this is no longer true on the perturbative level. We study the case of attractive and repulsive forces as well as a mixture of cold and hot dark matter particles

DARKNESS: A Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector Integral Field Spectrograph for High-contrast Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Meeker, Seth R.; Mazin, Benjamin A.; Walter, Alex B.; Strader, Paschal; Fruitwala, Neelay; Bockstiegel, Clint; Szypryt, Paul; Ulbricht, Gerhard; Coiffard, Grégoire; Bumble, Bruce; Cancelo, Gustavo; Zmuda, Ted; Treptow, Ken; Wilcer, Neal; Collura, Giulia; Dodkins, Rupert; Lipartito, Isabel; Zobrist, Nicholas; Bottom, Michael; Shelton, J. Chris; Mawet, Dimitri; van Eyken, Julian C.; Vasisht, Gautam; Serabyn, Eugene

2018-06-01

We present DARKNESS (the DARK-speckle Near-infrared Energy-resolving Superconducting Spectrophotometer), the first of several planned integral field spectrographs to use optical/near-infrared Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) for high-contrast imaging. The photon counting and simultaneous low-resolution spectroscopy provided by MKIDs will enable real-time speckle control techniques and post-processing speckle suppression at frame rates capable of resolving the atmospheric speckles that currently limit high-contrast imaging from the ground. DARKNESS is now operational behind the PALM-3000 extreme adaptive optics system and the Stellar Double Coronagraph at Palomar Observatory. Here, we describe the motivation, design, and characterization of the instrument, early on-sky results, and future prospects.

The Dark Cube: dark character profiles and OCEAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danilo Garcia

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background The Big Five traits (i.e., openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism: OCEAN have been suggested to provide a meaningful taxonomy for studying the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Nevertheless, current research consists of mixed and inconsistent associations between the Dark Triad and OCEAN. Here we used the Dark Cube (Garcia & Rosenberg, 2016, a model of malevolent character theoretically based on Cloninger’s biopsychosocial model of personality and in the assumption of a ternary structure of malevolent character. We use the dark cube profiles to investigate differences in OCEAN between individuals who differ in one dark character trait while holding the other two constant (i.e., conditional relationships. Method Participants (N = 330 responded to the Short Dark Triad Inventory and the Big Five Inventory and were grouped according to the eight possible combinations using their dark trait scores (M, high Machiavellianism; m, low Machiavellianism; N, high narcissism; n, low narcissism; P, high psychopathy; p, low psychopathy: MNP “maleficent”, MNp “manipulative narcissistic”, MnP “anti-social”, Mnp “Machiavellian”, mNP “psychopathic narcissistic”, mNp “narcissistic”, mnP “psychopathic”, and mnp “benevolent”. Results High narcissism-high extraversion and high psychopathy-low agreeableness were consistently associated across comparisons. The rest of the comparisons showed a complex interaction. For example, high Machiavellianism-high neuroticism only when both narcissism and psychopathy were low (Mnp vs. mnp, high narcissism-high conscientiousness only when both Machiavellianism and psychopathy were also high (MNP vs. MnP, and high psychopathy-high neuroticism only when Machiavellianism was low and narcissism was high (mNP vs. mNp. Conclusions We suggest that the Dark Cube is a useful tool in the investigation of a consistent Dark Triad Theory

The Dark Cube: dark character profiles and OCEAN.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Danilo; González Moraga, Fernando R

2017-01-01

The Big Five traits (i.e., openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism: OCEAN) have been suggested to provide a meaningful taxonomy for studying the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Nevertheless, current research consists of mixed and inconsistent associations between the Dark Triad and OCEAN. Here we used the Dark Cube (Garcia & Rosenberg, 2016), a model of malevolent character theoretically based on Cloninger's biopsychosocial model of personality and in the assumption of a ternary structure of malevolent character. We use the dark cube profiles to investigate differences in OCEAN between individuals who differ in one dark character trait while holding the other two constant (i.e., conditional relationships). Participants ( N  = 330) responded to the Short Dark Triad Inventory and the Big Five Inventory and were grouped according to the eight possible combinations using their dark trait scores (M, high Machiavellianism; m, low Machiavellianism; N, high narcissism; n, low narcissism; P, high psychopathy; p, low psychopathy): MNP "maleficent", MNp "manipulative narcissistic", MnP "anti-social", Mnp "Machiavellian", mNP "psychopathic narcissistic", mNp "narcissistic", mnP "psychopathic", and mnp "benevolent". High narcissism-high extraversion and high psychopathy-low agreeableness were consistently associated across comparisons. The rest of the comparisons showed a complex interaction. For example, high Machiavellianism-high neuroticism only when both narcissism and psychopathy were low (Mnp vs. mnp), high narcissism-high conscientiousness only when both Machiavellianism and psychopathy were also high (MNP vs. MnP), and high psychopathy-high neuroticism only when Machiavellianism was low and narcissism was high (mNP vs. mNp). We suggest that the Dark Cube is a useful tool in the investigation of a consistent Dark Triad Theory. This approach suggests that the only clear relationships were narcissism

Interacting agegraphic dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Hao; Cai, Rong-Gen

2009-01-01

A new dark energy model, named ''agegraphic dark energy'', has been proposed recently, based on the so-called Karolyhazy uncertainty relation, which arises from quantum mechanics together with general relativity. In this note, we extend the original agegraphic dark energy model by including the interaction between agegraphic dark energy and pressureless (dark) matter. In the interacting agegraphic dark energy model, there are many interesting features different from the original agegraphic dark energy model and holographic dark energy model. The similarity and difference between agegraphic dark energy and holographic dark energy are also discussed. (orig.)

The interaction between dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Jianhua; Wang Bin

2010-01-01

In this review we first present a general formalism to study the growth of dark matter perturbations in the presence of interactions between dark matter(DM) and dark energy(DE). We also study the signature of such interaction on the temperature anisotropies of the large scale cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find that the effect of such interaction has significant signature on both the growth of dark matter structure and the late Integrated Sachs Wolfe effect(ISW). We further discuss the potential possibility to detect the coupling by cross-correlating CMB maps with tracers of the large scale structure. We finally confront this interacting model with WMAP 5-year data as well as other data sets. We find that in the 1σ range, the constrained coupling between dark sectors can solve the coincidence problem.

Dark matter detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forster, G.

1995-01-01

A fundamental question of astrophysics and cosmology is the nature of dark matter. Astrophysical observations show clearly the existence of some kind of dark matter, though they cannot yet reveal its nature. Dark matter can consist of baryonic particles, or of other (known or unknown) elementary particles. Baryonic dark matter probably exists in the form of dust, gas, or small stars. Other elementary particles constituting the dark matter can possibly be measured in terrestrial experiments. Possibilities for dark matter particles are neutrinos, axions and weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). While a direct detection of relic neutrinos seems at the moment impossible, there are experiments looking for baryonic dark matter in the form of Massive Compact Halo Objects, and for particle dark matter in the form of axions and WIMPS. (orig.)

Dark information of black hole radiation raised by dark energy

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yu-Han; Chen, Jin-Fu; Sun, Chang-Pu

2018-06-01

The "lost" information of black hole through the Hawking radiation was discovered being stored in the correlation among the non-thermally radiated particles (Parikh and Wilczek, 2000 [31], Zhang et al., 2009 [16]). This correlation information, which has not yet been proved locally observable in principle, is named by dark information. In this paper, we systematically study the influences of dark energy on black hole radiation, especially on the dark information. Calculating the radiation spectrum in the existence of dark energy by the approach of canonical typicality, which is reconfirmed by the quantum tunneling method, we find that the dark energy will effectively lower the Hawking temperature, and thus makes the black hole has longer life time. It is also discovered that the non-thermal effect of the black hole radiation is enhanced by dark energy so that the dark information of the radiation is increased. Our observation shows that, besides the mechanical effect (e.g., gravitational lensing effect), the dark energy rises the stored dark information, which could be probed by a non-local coincidence measurement similar to the coincidence counting of the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss experiment in quantum optics.

Decreased Visual Function Scores on a Low Luminance Questionnaire Is Associated with Impaired Dark Adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazdanie, Mohammad; Alvarez, Jason; Agrón, Elvira; Wong, Wai T; Wiley, Henry E; Ferris, Frederick L; Chew, Emily Y; Cukras, Catherine

2017-09-01

We investigate whether responses on a Low Luminance Questionnaire (LLQ) in patients with a range of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) severity are associated with their performance on focal dark adaptation (DA) testing and with choroidal thickness. Cross-sectional, single-center, observational study. A total of 113 participants older than 50 years of age with a range of AMD severity. Participants answered the LLQ on the same day they underwent DA testing using a focal dark adaptometer measuring rod intercept time (RIT). We performed univariable and multivariable analyses of the LLQ scores and age, RIT, AMD severity, subfoveal choroidal thickness [SFCT], phakic status, and best-corrected visual acuity. The primary outcome of this study was the score on the 32-question LLQ. Each item in the LLQ is designated to 1 of 6 subscales describing functional problems in low luminance: driving, emotional distress, mobility, extreme lighting, peripheral vision, and general dim lighting. Scores were computed for each subscale, in addition to a weighted total mean score. Responses from 113 participants (mean age, 76.2±9.3 years; 58.4% were female) and 113 study eyes were analyzed. Univariable analysis demonstrated that lower scores on all LLQ subscales were correlated with prolonged DA testing (longer RIT) and decreased choroidal thickness. All associations were statistically significant except for the association of choroidal thickness and "peripheral vision." The strongest association was the LLQ subscale of driving with RIT (r =-0.97, P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis for each of the LLQ subscale outcomes, adjusted for age, included RIT, with total LLQ score, "driving," "extreme lighting," and "mobility" also including choroidal thickness. In all multivariable analyses, RIT had a stronger association than choroidal thickness. This cross-sectional analysis demonstrates associations of patient-reported functional deficits, as assessed on the LLQ, with both reduced DA and

Signatures of dark radiation in neutrino and dark matter detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Yanou; Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef

2018-05-01

We consider the generic possibility that the Universe's energy budget includes some form of relativistic or semi-relativistic dark radiation (DR) with nongravitational interactions with standard model (SM) particles. Such dark radiation may consist of SM singlets or a nonthermal, energetic component of neutrinos. If such DR is created at a relatively recent epoch, it can carry sufficient energy to leave a detectable imprint in experiments designed to search for very weakly interacting particles: dark matter and underground neutrino experiments. We analyze this possibility in some generality, assuming that the interactive dark radiation is sourced by late decays of an unstable particle, potentially a component of dark matter, and considering a variety of possible interactions between the dark radiation and SM particles. Concentrating on the sub-GeV energy region, we derive constraints on different forms of DR using the results of the most sensitive neutrino and dark matter direct detection experiments. In particular, for interacting dark radiation carrying a typical momentum of ˜30 MeV /c , both types of experiments provide competitive constraints. This study also demonstrates that non-standard sources of neutrino emission (e.g., via dark matter decay) are capable of creating a "neutrino floor" for dark matter direct detection that is closer to current bounds than is expected from standard neutrino sources.

Abnormal Bleeding during Menopause Hormone Therapy: Insights for Clinical Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastião Freitas De Medeiros

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective Our objective was to review the involved mechanisms and propose actions for controlling/treating abnormal uterine bleeding during climacteric hormone therapy. Methods A systemic search of the databases SciELO, MEDLINE, and Pubmed was performed for identifying relevant publications on normal endometrial bleeding, abnormal uterine bleeding, and hormone therapy bleeding. Results Before starting hormone therapy, it is essential to exclude any abnormal organic condition, identify women at higher risk for bleeding, and adapt the regimen to suit eachwoman's characteristics. Abnormal bleeding with progesterone/progestogen only, combined sequential, or combined continuous regimens may be corrected by changing the progestogen, adjusting the progestogen or estrogen/progestogen doses, or even switching the initial regimen to other formulation. Conclusion To diminish the occurrence of abnormal bleeding during hormone therapy (HT, it is important to tailor the regimen to the needs of individual women and identify those with higher risk of bleeding. The use of new agents as adjuvant therapies for decreasing abnormal bleeding in women on HT awaits future studies.

Dark energy and extended dark matter halos

Science.gov (United States)

Chernin, A. D.; Teerikorpi, P.; Valtonen, M. J.; Dolgachev, V. P.; Domozhilova, L. M.; Byrd, G. G.

2012-03-01

The cosmological mean matter (dark and baryonic) density measured in the units of the critical density is Ωm = 0.27. Independently, the local mean density is estimated to be Ωloc = 0.08-0.23 from recent data on galaxy groups at redshifts up to z = 0.01-0.03 (as published by Crook et al. 2007, ApJ, 655, 790 and Makarov & Karachentsev 2011, MNRAS, 412, 2498). If the lower values of Ωloc are reliable, as Makarov & Karachentsev and some other observers prefer, does this mean that the Local Universe of 100-300 Mpc across is an underdensity in the cosmic matter distribution? Or could it nevertheless be representative of the mean cosmic density or even be an overdensity due to the Local Supercluster therein. We focus on dark matter halos of groups of galaxies and check how much dark mass the invisible outer layers of the halos are able to host. The outer layers are usually devoid of bright galaxies and cannot be seen at large distances. The key factor which bounds the size of an isolated halo is the local antigravity produced by the omnipresent background of dark energy. A gravitationally bound halo does not extend beyond the zero-gravity surface where the gravity of matter and the antigravity of dark energy balance, thus defining a natural upper size of a system. We use our theory of local dynamical effects of dark energy to estimate the maximal sizes and masses of the extended dark halos. Using data from three recent catalogs of galaxy groups, we show that the calculated mass bounds conform with the assumption that a significant amount of dark matter is located in the invisible outer parts of the extended halos, sufficient to fill the gap between the observed and expected local matter density. Nearby groups of galaxies and the Virgo cluster have dark halos which seem to extend up to their zero-gravity surfaces. If the extended halo is a common feature of gravitationally bound systems on scales of galaxy groups and clusters, the Local Universe could be typical or even

Asymmetric Dark Matter and Dark Radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blennow, Mattias; Martinez, Enrique Fernandez; Mena, Olga; Redondo, Javier; Serra, Paolo

2012-01-01

Asymmetric Dark Matter (ADM) models invoke a particle-antiparticle asymmetry, similar to the one observed in the Baryon sector, to account for the Dark Matter (DM) abundance. Both asymmetries are usually generated by the same mechanism and generally related, thus predicting DM masses around 5 GeV in order to obtain the correct density. The main challenge for successful models is to ensure efficient annihilation of the thermally produced symmetric component of such a light DM candidate without violating constraints from collider or direct searches. A common way to overcome this involves a light mediator, into which DM can efficiently annihilate and which subsequently decays into Standard Model particles. Here we explore the scenario where the light mediator decays instead into lighter degrees of freedom in the dark sector that act as radiation in the early Universe. While this assumption makes indirect DM searches challenging, it leads to signals of extra radiation at BBN and CMB. Under certain conditions, precise measurements of the number of relativistic species, such as those expected from the Planck satellite, can provide information on the structure of the dark sector. We also discuss the constraints of the interactions between DM and Dark Radiation from their imprint in the matter power spectrum

Correlation between dark matter and dark radiation in string compactifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allahverdi, Rouzbeh; Cicoli, Michele; Dutta, Bhaskar; Sinha, Kuver

2014-01-01

Reheating in string compactifications is generically driven by the decay of the lightest modulus which produces Standard Model particles, dark matter and light hidden sector degrees of freedom that behave as dark radiation. This common origin allows us to find an interesting correlation between dark matter and dark radiation. By combining present upper bounds on the effective number of neutrino species N eff with lower bounds on the reheating temperature as a function of the dark matter mass m DM from Fermi data, we obtain strong constraints on the (N eff , m DM )-plane. Most of the allowed region in this plane corresponds to non-thermal scenarios with Higgsino-like dark matter. Thermal dark matter can be allowed only if N eff tends to its Standard Model value. We show that the above situation is realised in models with perturbative moduli stabilisation where the production of dark radiation is unavoidable since bulk closed string axions remain light and do not get eaten up by anomalous U(1)s

Dark influences: imprints of dark satellites on dwarf galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Starkenburg, T. K.; Helmi, A.

Context. In the context of the current Λ cold dark matter cosmological model small dark matter halos are abundant and satellites of dwarf galaxies are expected to be predominantly dark. Since low mass galaxies have smaller baryon fractions, interactions with these satellites may leave particularly

A novel approach for classification of abnormalities in digitized ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Feature extraction is an important process for the overall system performance in classification. The objective of this article is to reveal the effectiveness of texture feature analysis for detecting the abnormalities in digitized mammograms using Self Adaptive Resource Allocation Network (SRAN) classifier. Thus, we proposed a ...

Adiabatic instability in coupled dark energy/dark matter models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bean, Rachel; Flanagan, Eanna E.; Trodden, Mark

2008-01-01

We consider theories in which there exists a nontrivial coupling between the dark matter sector and the sector responsible for the acceleration of the Universe. Such theories can possess an adiabatic regime in which the quintessence field always sits at the minimum of its effective potential, which is set by the local dark matter density. We show that if the coupling strength is much larger than gravitational, then the adiabatic regime is always subject to an instability. The instability, which can also be thought of as a type of Jeans instability, is characterized by a negative sound speed squared of an effective coupled dark matter/dark energy fluid, and results in the exponential growth of small scale modes. We discuss the role of the instability in specific coupled cold dark matter and mass varying neutrino models of dark energy and clarify for these theories the regimes in which the instability can be evaded due to nonadiabaticity or weak coupling.

Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bashir, A.; Cotti, U.; De Leon, C. L.; Raya, A; Villasenor, L.

2008-01-01

One of the biggest scientific mysteries of our time resides in the identification of the particles that constitute a large fraction of the mass of our Universe, generically known as dark matter. We review the observations and the experimental data that imply the existence of dark matter. We briefly discuss the properties of the two best dark-matter candidate particles and the experimental techniques presently used to try to discover them. Finally, we mention a proposed project that has recently emerged within the Mexican community to look for dark matter

Metastable dark energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo G. Landim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We build a model of metastable dark energy, in which the observed vacuum energy is the value of the scalar potential at the false vacuum. The scalar potential is given by a sum of even self-interactions up to order six. The deviation from the Minkowski vacuum is due to a term suppressed by the Planck scale. The decay time of the metastable vacuum can easily accommodate a mean life time compatible with the age of the universe. The metastable dark energy is also embedded into a model with SU(2R symmetry. The dark energy doublet and the dark matter doublet naturally interact with each other. A three-body decay of the dark energy particle into (cold and warm dark matter can be as long as large fraction of the age of the universe, if the mediator is massive enough, the lower bound being at intermediate energy level some orders below the grand unification scale. Such a decay shows a different form of interaction between dark matter and dark energy, and the model opens a new window to investigate the dark sector from the point-of-view of particle physics.

Partially acoustic dark matter, interacting dark radiation, and large scale structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chacko, Zackaria [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland,Stadium Dr., College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Cui, Yanou [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland,Stadium Dr., College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California-Riverside,University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521 (United States); Perimeter Institute, 31 Caroline Street, North Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5 (Canada); Hong, Sungwoo [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland,Stadium Dr., College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Okui, Takemichi [Department of Physics, Florida State University,College Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32306 (United States); Tsai, Yuhsinz [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland,Stadium Dr., College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2016-12-21

The standard paradigm of collisionless cold dark matter is in tension with measurements on large scales. In particular, the best fit values of the Hubble rate H{sub 0} and the matter density perturbation σ{sub 8} inferred from the cosmic microwave background seem inconsistent with the results from direct measurements. We show that both problems can be solved in a framework in which dark matter consists of two distinct components, a dominant component and a subdominant component. The primary component is cold and collisionless. The secondary component is also cold, but interacts strongly with dark radiation, which itself forms a tightly coupled fluid. The growth of density perturbations in the subdominant component is inhibited by dark acoustic oscillations due to its coupling to the dark radiation, solving the σ{sub 8} problem, while the presence of tightly coupled dark radiation ameliorates the H{sub 0} problem. The subdominant component of dark matter and dark radiation continue to remain in thermal equilibrium until late times, inhibiting the formation of a dark disk. We present an example of a simple model that naturally realizes this scenario in which both constituents of dark matter are thermal WIMPs. Our scenario can be tested by future stage-IV experiments designed to probe the CMB and large scale structure.

Partially acoustic dark matter, interacting dark radiation, and large scale structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chacko, Zackaria; Cui, Yanou; Hong, Sungwoo; Okui, Takemichi; Tsai, Yuhsinz

2016-01-01

The standard paradigm of collisionless cold dark matter is in tension with measurements on large scales. In particular, the best fit values of the Hubble rate H 0 and the matter density perturbation σ 8 inferred from the cosmic microwave background seem inconsistent with the results from direct measurements. We show that both problems can be solved in a framework in which dark matter consists of two distinct components, a dominant component and a subdominant component. The primary component is cold and collisionless. The secondary component is also cold, but interacts strongly with dark radiation, which itself forms a tightly coupled fluid. The growth of density perturbations in the subdominant component is inhibited by dark acoustic oscillations due to its coupling to the dark radiation, solving the σ 8 problem, while the presence of tightly coupled dark radiation ameliorates the H 0 problem. The subdominant component of dark matter and dark radiation continue to remain in thermal equilibrium until late times, inhibiting the formation of a dark disk. We present an example of a simple model that naturally realizes this scenario in which both constituents of dark matter are thermal WIMPs. Our scenario can be tested by future stage-IV experiments designed to probe the CMB and large scale structure.

Inflation, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy in the String Landscape

OpenAIRE

Liddle, Andrew R; Ureña-López, L Arturo

2006-01-01

We consider the conditions needed to unify the description of dark matter, dark energy and inflation in the context of the string landscape. We find that incomplete decay of the inflaton field gives the possibility that a single field is responsible for all three phenomena. By contrast, unifying dark matter and dark energy into a single field, separate from the inflaton, appears rather difficult.

Dark Sky Protection and Education - Izera Dark Sky Park

Science.gov (United States)

Berlicki, Arkadiusz; Kolomanski, Sylwester; Mrozek, Tomasz; Zakowicz, Grzegorz

2015-08-01

Darkness of the night sky is a natural component of our environment and should be protected against negative effects of human activities. The night darkness is necessary for balanced life of plants, animals and people. Unfortunately, development of human civilization and technology has led to the substantial increase of the night-sky brightness and to situation where nights are no more dark in many areas of the World. This phenomenon is called "light pollution" and it can be rank among such problems as chemical pollution of air, water and soil. Besides the environment, the light pollution can also affect e.g. the scientific activities of astronomers - many observatories built in the past began to be located within the glow of city lights making the night observations difficult, or even impossible.In order to protect the natural darkness of nights many so-called "dark sky parks" were established, where the darkness is preserved, similar to typical nature reserves. The role of these parks is not only conservation but also education, supporting to make society aware of how serious the problem of the light pollution is.History of the dark sky areas in Europe began on November 4, 2009 in Jizerka - a small village situated in the Izera Mountains, when Izera Dark Sky Park (IDSP) was established - it was the first transboundary dark sky park in the World. The idea of establishing that dark sky park in the Izera Mountains originated from a need to give to the society in Poland and Czech Republic the knowledge about the light pollution. Izera Dark Sky Park is a part of the astro-tourism project "Astro Izery" that combines tourist attraction of Izera Valley and astronomical education under the wonderful starry Izera sky. Besides the IDSP, the project Astro Izery consists of the set of simple astronomical instruments (gnomon, sundial), natural educational trail "Solar System Model", and astronomical events for the public. In addition, twice a year we organize a 3-4 days

Results from the DarkSide-50 Dark Matter Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fan, Alden [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

2016-01-01

While there is tremendous astrophysical and cosmological evidence for dark matter, its precise nature is one of the most significant open questions in modern physics. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are a particularly compelling class of dark matter candidates with masses of the order 100 GeV and couplings to ordinary matter at the weak scale. Direct detection experiments are aiming to observe the low energy (<100 keV) scattering of dark matter off normal matter. With the liquid noble technology leading the way in WIMP sensitivity, no conclusive signals have been observed yet. The DarkSide experiment is looking for WIMP dark matter using a liquid argon target in a dual-phase time projection chamber located deep underground at Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy. Currently filled with argon obtained from underground sources, which is greatly reduced in radioactive ³⁹Ar, DarkSide-50 recently made the most sensitive measurement of the ³⁹Ar activity in underground argon and used it to set the strongest WIMP dark matter limit using liquid argon to date. This work describes the full chain of analysis used to produce the recent dark matter limit, from reconstruction of raw data to evaluation of the final exclusion curve. The DarkSide- 50 apparatus is described in detail, followed by discussion of the low level reconstruction algorithms. The algorithms are then used to arrive at three broad analysis results: The electroluminescence signals in DarkSide-50 are used to perform a precision measurement of ii longitudinal electron diffusion in liquid argon. A search is performed on the underground argon data to identify the delayed coincidence signature of ⁸⁵Kr decays to the ⁸⁵mRb state, a crucial ingredient in the measurement of the ³⁹Ar activity in the underground argon. Finally, a full description of the WIMP search is given, including development of cuts, efficiencies, energy scale, and exclusion

Evolution of robust circadian clocks in Drosophila melanogaster populations reared in constant dark for over 330 generations

Science.gov (United States)

Shindey, Radhika; Varma, Vishwanath; Nikhil, K. L.; Sharma, Vijay Kumar

2016-10-01

Robustness is considered to be an important feature of biological systems which may evolve when the functionality of a trait is associated with higher fitness across multiple environmental conditions. Thus, the ability to maintain stable biological phenotypes across environments is thought to be of adaptive value. Previously, we have reported higher intrinsic activity levels (activity levels of free-running rhythm in constant darkness) and power of rhythm (as assessed by amplitude of the periodogram) in Drosophila melanogaster populations (stocks) reared in constant darkness (DD stocks) as compared to those reared in constant light (LL stocks) and 12:12-h light-dark cycles (LD stocks) for over 19 years (˜330 generations). In the current study, we intended to examine whether the enhanced levels of activity observed in DD stocks persist under various environments such as photoperiods, ambient temperatures, non-24-h light-dark (LD) cycles, and semi-natural conditions (SN). We found that DD stocks largely retain their phenotype of enhanced activity levels across most of the above-mentioned environments suggesting the evolution of robust circadian clocks in DD stocks. Furthermore, we compared the peak activity levels of the three stocks across different environmental conditions relative to their peaks in constant darkness and found that the change in peak activity levels upon entrainment was not significantly different across the three stocks for any of the examined environmental conditions. This suggests that the enhancement of activity levels in DD stocks is not due to differential sensitivity to environment. Thus, these results suggest that rearing in constant darkness (DD) leads to evolution of robust circadian clocks suggesting a possible adaptive value of possessing such rhythms under constant dark environments.

Conflict adaptation in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrahamse, Elger; Ruitenberg, Marit; Boddewyn, Sarah; Oreel, Edith; de Schryver, Maarten; Morrens, Manuel; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe

2017-11-01

Cognitive control impairments may contribute strongly to the overall cognitive deficits observed in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the current study we explore a specific cognitive control function referred to as conflict adaptation. Previous studies on conflict adaptation in schizophrenia showed equivocal results, and, moreover, were plagued by confounded research designs. Here we assessed for the first time conflict adaptation in schizophrenia with a design that avoided the major confounds of feature integration and stimulus-response contingency learning. Sixteen patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and sixteen healthy, matched controls performed a vocal Stroop task to determine the congruency sequence effect - a marker of conflict adaptation. A reliable congruency sequence effect was observed for both healthy controls and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. These findings indicate that schizophrenia is not necessarily accompanied by impaired conflict adaptation. As schizophrenia has been related to abnormal functioning in core conflict adaptation areas such as anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, further research is required to better understand the precise impact of such abnormal brain functioning at the behavioral level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

arXiv Supplying Dark Energy from Scalar Field Dark Matter

CERN Document Server

Gogberashvili, Merab

We consider the hypothesis that dark matter and dark energy consists of ultra-light self-interacting scalar particles. It is found that the Klein-Gordon equation with only two free parameters (mass and self-coupling) on a Schwarzschild background, at the galactic length-scales has the solution which corresponds to Bose-Einstein condensate, behaving as dark matter, while the constant solution at supra-galactic scales can explain dark energy.

Conversion of Gravitons into Dark Photons in Cosmological Dark Magnetic Fields

OpenAIRE

Masaki, Emi; Soda, Jiro

2018-01-01

It is well known that gravitons can convert into photons, and vice versa, in the presence of cosmological magnetic fields. We study this conversion process in the context of atomic dark matter scenario. In this scenario, we can expect cosmological dark magnetic fields, which are free from the stringent constraint from the cosmic microwave observations. We find that gravitons can effectively convert into dark photons in the presence of cosmological dark magnetic fields. The graviton-dark photo...

Neutrino masses and superheavy dark matter in the 3-3-1-1 model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huong, D.T.; Dong, P.V. [Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Institute of Physics, Hanoi (Viet Nam)

2017-04-15

In this work, we interpret the 3-3-1-1 model when the B - L and 3-3-1 breaking scales behave simultaneously as the inflation scale. This setup not only realizes the previously achieved consequences of inflation and leptogenesis, but also provides new insights in superheavy dark matter and neutrino masses. We argue that the 3-3-1-1 model can incorporate a scalar sextet, which induces both small masses for the neutrinos via a combined type I and II seesaw and large masses for the new neutral fermions. Additionally, all the new particles have large masses in the inflation scale. The lightest particle among the W-particles that have abnormal (i.e., wrong) B - L number in comparison to those of the standard model particles may be superheavy dark matter as it is stabilized by W-parity. The dark matter candidate may be a Majorana fermion, a neutral scalar, or a neutral gauge boson, which was properly created in the early universe due to gravitational effects on the vacuum or thermal production after cosmic inflation. (orig.)

Late forming dark matter in theories of neutrino dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Subinoy; Weiner, Neal

2011-01-01

We study the possibility of late forming dark matter, where a scalar field, previously trapped in a metastable state by thermal or finite density effects, goes through a phase transition near the era matter-radiation equality and begins to oscillate about its true minimum. Such a theory is motivated generally if the dark energy is of a similar form, but has not yet made the transition to dark matter, and, in particular, arises automatically in recently considered theories of neutrino dark energy. If such a field comprises the present dark matter, the matter power spectrum typically shows a sharp break at small, presently nonlinear scales, below which power is highly suppressed and previously contained acoustic oscillations. If, instead, such a field forms a subdominant component of the total dark matter, such acoustic oscillations may imprint themselves in the linear regime.

Linear scale bounds on dark matter--dark radiation interactions and connection with the small scale crisis of cold dark matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hannestad, Steen; Archidiacono, Maria; Bohr, Sebastian

2017-01-01

One of the open questions in modern cosmology is the small scale crisis of the cold dark matter paradigm. Increasing attention has recently been devoted to self-interacting dark matter models as a possible answer. However, solving the so-called "missing satellites" problem requires in addition...... the presence of an extra relativistic particle (dubbed dark radiation) scattering with dark matter in the early universe. Here we investigate the impact of different theoretical models devising dark matter dark radiation interactions on large scale cosmological observables. We use cosmic microwave background...... data to put constraints on the dark radiation component and its coupling to dark matter. We find that the values of the coupling allowed by the data imply a cut-off scale of the halo mass function consistent with the one required to match the observations of satellites in the Milky Way....

Dark Matter Caustics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Natarajan, Aravind

2010-01-01

The continuous infall of dark matter with low velocity dispersion in galactic halos leads to the formation of high density structures called caustics. Dark matter caustics are of two kinds : outer and inner. Outer caustics are thin spherical shells surrounding galaxies while inner caustics have a more complicated structure that depends on the dark matter angular momentum distribution. The presence of a dark matter caustic in the plane of the galaxy modifies the gas density in its neighborhood which may lead to observable effects. Caustics are also relevant to direct and indirect dark matter searches.

Abnormal ovarian cancer screening test result: women's informational, psychological and practical needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Patricia Y; Graves, Kristi D; Pavlik, Edward J; Andrykowski, Michael A

2007-01-01

Considerable effort has been devoted to the identification of cost-effective approaches to screening for ovarian cancer (OC). Transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) is one such screening approach. Approximately 5-7% of routine TVS screening tests yield abnormal results. Some women experience significant distress after receipt of an abnormal TVS screening test. Four focus groups provided in-depth, qualitative data regarding the informational, psychological, and practical needs of women after the receipt of an abnormal TVS result. Through question and content analytic procedures, we identified four themes: anticipation, emotional response, role of the screening technician, and impact of prior cancer experiences. Results provide initial guidance toward development of interventions to promote adaptive responses after receipt of an abnormal cancer screening test result.

Unifying dark energy and dark matter with the modified Ricci model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Linsen; Wu, Puxun; Yu, Hongwei

2011-01-01

In this paper, two modified Ricci models are considered as the candidates of unified dark matter-dark energy. In model one, the energy density is given by ρ MR =3M pl (αH 2 + βH), whereas, in model two, by ρ MR =3M pl ((α)/(6)R + γH H -1 ). We find that they can explain both dark matter and dark energy successfully. A constant equation of state of dark energy is obtained in model one, which means that it gives the same background evolution as the wCDM model, while model two can give an evolutionary equation of state of dark energy with the phantom divide line crossing in the near past. (orig.)

Why we need to see the dark matter to understand the dark energy

OpenAIRE

Kunz, Martin

2007-01-01

The cosmological concordance model contains two separate constituents which interact only gravitationally with themselves and everything else, the dark matter and the dark energy. In the standard dark energy models, the dark matter makes up some 20% of the total energy budget today, while the dark energy is responsible for about 75%. Here we show that these numbers are only robust for specific dark energy models and that in general we cannot measure the abundance of the dark constituents sepa...

Dark matter and neutrino mass from the smallest non-Abelian chiral dark sector

Science.gov (United States)

Berryman, Jeffrey M.; de Gouvêa, André; Kelly, Kevin J.; Zhang, Yue

2017-10-01

All pieces of concrete evidence for phenomena outside the standard model (SM)—neutrino masses and dark matter—are consistent with the existence of new degrees of freedom that interact very weakly, if at all, with those in the SM. We propose that these new degrees of freedom organize themselves into a simple dark sector, a chiral S U (3 )×S U (2 ) gauge theory with the smallest nontrivial fermion content. Similar to the SM, the dark S U (2 ) is spontaneously broken while the dark S U (3 ) confines at low energies. At the renormalizable level, the dark sector contains massless fermions—dark leptons—and stable massive particles—dark protons. We find that dark protons with masses between 10 and 100 TeV satisfy all current cosmological and astrophysical observations concerning dark matter even if dark protons are a symmetric thermal relic. The dark leptons play the role of right-handed neutrinos and allow simple realizations of the seesaw mechanism or the possibility that neutrinos are Dirac fermions. In the latter case, neutrino masses are also parametrically different from charged-fermion masses and the lightest neutrino is predicted to be massless. Since the new "neutrino" and "dark-matter" degrees of freedom interact with one another, these two new-physics phenomena are intertwined. Dark leptons play a nontrivial role in early Universe cosmology while indirect searches for dark matter involve, decisively, dark-matter annihilations into dark leptons. These, in turn, may lead to observable signatures at high-energy neutrino and gamma-ray observatories, especially once one accounts for the potential Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation cross section, derived from the low-energy dark-sector effective theory, a possibility we explore quantitatively in some detail.

Asymmetric dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplan, David E.; Luty, Markus A.; Zurek, Kathryn M.

2009-01-01

We consider a simple class of models in which the relic density of dark matter is determined by the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. In these models a B-L asymmetry generated at high temperatures is transferred to the dark matter, which is charged under B-L. The interactions that transfer the asymmetry decouple at temperatures above the dark matter mass, freezing in a dark matter asymmetry of order the baryon asymmetry. This explains the observed relation between the baryon and dark matter densities for the dark matter mass in the range 5-15 GeV. The symmetric component of the dark matter can annihilate efficiently to light pseudoscalar Higgs particles a or via t-channel exchange of new scalar doublets. The first possibility allows for h 0 →aa decays, while the second predicts a light charged Higgs-like scalar decaying to τν. Direct detection can arise from Higgs exchange in the first model or a nonzero magnetic moment in the second. In supersymmetric models, the would-be lightest supersymmetric partner can decay into pairs of dark matter particles plus standard model particles, possibly with displaced vertices.

Why we need to see the dark matter to understand the dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunz, M

2008-01-01

Abstract. The cosmological concordance model contains two separate constituents which interact only gravitationally with themselves and everything else, the dark matter and the dark energy. In the standard dark energy models, the dark matter makes up some 20% of the total energy budget today, while the dark energy is responsible for about 75%. Here we show that these numbers are only robust for specific dark energy models and that in general we cannot measure the abundance of the dark constituents separately without making strong assumptions

Interacting Agegraphic Dark Energy

OpenAIRE

Wei, Hao; Cai, Rong-Gen

2007-01-01

A new dark energy model, named "agegraphic dark energy", has been proposed recently, based on the so-called K\\'{a}rolyh\\'{a}zy uncertainty relation, which arises from quantum mechanics together with general relativity. In this note, we extend the original agegraphic dark energy model by including the interaction between agegraphic dark energy and pressureless (dark) matter. In the interacting agegraphic dark energy model, there are many interesting features different from the original agegrap...

Detecting dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, Roger L.

2000-01-01

Dark matter is one of the most pressing problems in modern cosmology and particle physic research. This talk will motivate the existence of dark matter by reviewing the main experimental evidence for its existence, the rotation curves of galaxies and the motions of galaxies about one another. It will then go on to review the corroborating theoretical motivations before combining all the supporting evidence to explore some of the possibilities for dark matter along with its expected properties. This will lay the ground work for dark matter detection. A number of differing techniques are being developed and used to detect dark matter. These will be briefly discussed before the focus turns to cryogenic detection techniques. Finally, some preliminary results and expectations will be given for the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment

Coupled dark matter-dark energy in light of near Universe observations

CERN Document Server

Honorez, Laura Lopez; Mena, Olga; Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul

2010-01-01

Cosmological analysis based on currently available observations are unable to rule out a sizeable coupling among the dark energy and dark matter fluids. We explore a variety of coupled dark matter-dark energy models, which satisfy cosmic microwave background constraints, in light of low redshift and near universe observations. We illustrate the phenomenology of different classes of dark coupling models, paying particular attention in distinguishing between effects that appear only on the expansion history and those that appear in the growth of structure. We find that while a broad class of dark coupling models are effectively models where general relativity (GR) is modified --and thus can be probed by a combination of tests for the expansion history and the growth of structure--, there is a class of dark coupling models where gravity is still GR, but the growth of perturbations is, in principle modified. While this effect is small in the specific models we have considered, one should bear in mind that an inco...

Dark matter and dark energy a challenge for modern cosmology

CERN Document Server

Gorini, Vittorio; Moschella, Ugo; Matarrese, Sabino

2011-01-01

This book brings together reviews from leading international authorities on the developments in the study of dark matter and dark energy, as seen from both their cosmological and particle physics side. Studying the physical and astrophysical properties of the dark components of our Universe is a crucial step towards the ultimate goal of unveiling their nature. The work developed from a doctoral school sponsored by the Italian Society of General Relativity and Gravitation. The book starts with a concise introduction to the standard cosmological model, as well as with a presentation of the theory of linear perturbations around a homogeneous and isotropic background. It covers the particle physics and cosmological aspects of dark matter and (dynamical) dark energy, including a discussion of how modified theories of gravity could provide a possible candidate for dark energy. A detailed presentation is also given of the possible ways of testing the theory in terms of cosmic microwave background, galaxy redshift su...

Leptogenesis, Dark Energy, Dark Matter and the neutrinos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, Utpal

2007-01-01

In this review we discuss how the models of neutrino masses can accommodate solutions to the problem of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe, dark energy or cosmological constant problem and dark matter candidates. The matter-antimatter asymmetry is explained by leptogenesis, originating from the lepton number violation associated with the neutrino masses. The dark energy problem is correlated with a mass varying neutrinos, which could originate from a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson. In some radiative models of neutrino masses, there exists a Higgs doublet that does not acquire any vacuum expectation value. This field could be inert and the lightest inert particle could then be a dark matter candidate. We reviewed these scenarios in connection with models of neutrino masses with right-handed neutrinos and with triplet Higgs scalars

Dark Matter "Collider" from Inelastic Boosted Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Doojin; Park, Jong-Chul; Shin, Seodong

2017-10-20

We propose a novel dark matter (DM) detection strategy for models with a nonminimal dark sector. The main ingredients in the underlying DM scenario are a boosted DM particle and a heavier dark sector state. The relativistic DM impinged on target material scatters off inelastically to the heavier state, which subsequently decays into DM along with lighter states including visible (standard model) particles. The expected signal event, therefore, accompanies a visible signature by the secondary cascade process associated with a recoiling of the target particle, differing from the typical neutrino signal not involving the secondary signature. We then discuss various kinematic features followed by DM detection prospects at large-volume neutrino detectors with a model framework where a dark gauge boson is the mediator between the standard model particles and DM.

Constraints on the coupling between dark energy and dark matter from CMB data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murgia, R.; Gariazzo, S.; Fornengo, N.

2016-01-01

We investigate a phenomenological non-gravitational coupling between dark energy and dark matter, where the interaction in the dark sector is parameterized as an energy transfer either from dark matter to dark energy or the opposite. The models are constrained by a whole host of updated cosmological data: cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies and polarization, high-redshift supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions and gravitational lensing. Both models are found to be compatible with all cosmological observables, but in the case where dark matter decays into dark energy, the tension with the independent determinations of H 0 and σ 8 , already present for standard cosmology, increases: this model in fact predicts lower H 0 and higher σ 8 , mostly as a consequence of the higher amount of dark matter at early times, leading to a stronger clustering during the evolution. Instead, when dark matter is fed by dark energy, the reconstructed values of H 0 and σ 8 nicely agree with their local determinations, with a full reconciliation between high- and low-redshift observations. A non-zero coupling between dark energy and dark matter, with an energy flow from the former to the latter, appears therefore to be in better agreement with cosmological data

Quark seesaw mechanism, dark U (1 ) symmetry, and the baryon-dark matter coincidence

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Pei-Hong; Mohapatra, Rabindra N.

2017-09-01

We attempt to understand the baryon-dark matter coincidence problem within the quark seesaw extension of the standard model where parity invariance is used to solve the strong C P problem. The S U (2 )L×S U (2 )R×U (1 )B -L gauge symmetry of this model is extended by a dark U (1 )X group plus inclusion of a heavy neutral vector-like fermion χL ,R charged under the dark group which plays the role of dark matter. All fermions are Dirac type in this model. Decay of heavy scalars charged under U (1 )X leads to simultaneous asymmetry generation of the dark matter and baryons after sphaleron effects are included. The U (1 )X group not only helps to stabilize the dark matter but also helps in the elimination of the symmetric part of the dark matter via χ -χ ¯ annihilation. For dark matter mass near the proton mass, it explains why the baryon and dark matter abundances are of similar magnitude (the baryon-dark matter coincidence problem). This model is testable in low threshold (sub-keV) direct dark matter search experiments.

Self-interacting dark matter constraints in a thick dark disk scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Vattis, Kyriakos; Koushiappas, Savvas M.

2018-05-01

A thick dark matter disk is predicted in cold dark matter simulations as the outcome of the interaction between accreted satellites and the stellar disk in Milky Way-sized halos. We study the effects of a self-interacting thick dark disk on the energetic neutrino flux from the Sun. We find that for particle masses between 100 GeV and 1 TeV and dark matter annihilation to τ+τ-, either the self-interaction may not be strong enough to solve the small-scale structure motivation or a dark disk cannot be present in the Milky Way.

Dark Matter Searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moriyama, Shigetaka

2008-01-01

Recent cosmological as well as historical observations of rotational curves of galaxies strongly suggest the existence of dark matter. It is also widely believed that dark matter consists of unknown elementary particles. However, astrophysical observations based on gravitational effects alone do not provide sufficient information on the properties of dark matter. In this study, the status of dark matter searches is investigated by observing high-energy neutrinos from the sun and the earth and by observing nuclear recoils in laboratory targets. The successful detection of dark matter by these methods facilitates systematic studies of its properties. Finally, the XMASS experiment, which is due to start at the Kamioka Observatory, is introduced

Self-interacting asymmetric dark matter coupled to a light massive dark photon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petraki, Kalliopi; Pearce, Lauren; Kusenko, Alexander

2014-01-01

Dark matter (DM) with sizeable self-interactions mediated by a light species offers a compelling explanation of the observed galactic substructure; furthermore, the direct coupling between DM and a light particle contributes to the DM annihilation in the early universe. If the DM abundance is due to a dark particle-antiparticle asymmetry, the DM annihilation cross-section can be arbitrarily large, and the coupling of DM to the light species can be significant. We consider the case of asymmetric DM interacting via a light (but not necessarily massless) Abelian gauge vector boson, a dark photon. In the massless dark photon limit, gauge invariance mandates that DM be multicomponent, consisting of positive and negative dark ions of different species which partially bind in neutral dark atoms. We argue that a similar conclusion holds for light dark photons; in particular, we establish that the multi-component and atomic character of DM persists in much of the parameter space where the dark photon is sufficiently light to mediate sizeable DM self-interactions. We discuss the cosmological sequence of events in this scenario, including the dark asymmetry generation, the freeze-out of annihilations, the dark recombination and the phase transition which gives mass to the dark photon. We estimate the effect of self-interactions in DM haloes, taking into account this cosmological history. We place constraints based on the observed ellipticity of large haloes, and identify the regimes where DM self-scattering can affect the dynamics of smaller haloes, bringing theory in better agreement with observations. Moreover, we estimate the cosmological abundance of dark photons in various regimes, and derive pertinent bounds

Light dark Higgs boson in minimal sub-GeV dark matter scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Darmé, Luc; Rao, Soumya; Roszkowski, Leszek

2018-03-01

Minimal scenarios with light (sub-GeV) dark matter whose relic density is obtained from thermal freeze-out must include new light mediators. In particular, a very well-motivated case is that of a new "dark" massive vector gauge boson mediator. The mass term for such mediator is most naturally obtained by a "dark Higgs mechanism" which leads to the presence of an often long-lived dark Higgs boson whose mass scale is the same as that of the mediator. We study the phenomenology and experimental constraints on two minimal, self-consistent dark sectors that include such a light dark Higgs boson. In one the dark matter is a pseudo-Dirac fermion, in the other a complex scalar. We find that the constraints from BBN and CMB are considerably relaxed in the framework of such minimal dark sectors. We present detection prospects for the dark Higgs boson in existing and projected proton beam-dump experiments. We show that future searches at experiments like Xenon1T or LDMX can probe all the relevant parameter space, complementing the various upcoming indirect constraints from astrophysical observations.

Dark catalysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Prateek; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Randall, Lisa; Scholtz, Jakub, E-mail: prateekagrawal@fas.harvard.edu, E-mail: fcyrraci@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: randall@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: jscholtz@physics.harvard.edu [Department of Physics, Harvard University, 17 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-08-01

Recently it was shown that dark matter with mass of order the weak scale can be charged under a new long-range force, decoupled from the Standard Model, with only weak constraints from early Universe cosmology. Here we consider the implications of an additional charged particle C that is light enough to lead to significant dissipative dynamics on galactic times scales. We highlight several novel features of this model, which can be relevant even when the C particle constitutes only a small fraction of the number density (and energy density). We assume a small asymmetric abundance of the C particle whose charge is compensated by a heavy X particle so that the relic abundance of dark matter consists mostly of symmetric X and X-bar , with a small asymmetric component made up of X and C . As the universe cools, it undergoes asymmetric recombination binding the free C s into ( XC ) dark atoms efficiently. Even with a tiny asymmetric component, the presence of C particles catalyzes tight coupling between the heavy dark matter X and the dark photon plasma that can lead to a significant suppression of the matter power spectrum on small scales and lead to some of the strongest bounds on such dark matter theories. We find a viable parameter space where structure formation constraints are satisfied and significant dissipative dynamics can occur in galactic haloes but show a large region is excluded. Our model shows that subdominant components in the dark sector can dramatically affect structure formation.

Signature of the interaction between dark energy and dark matter in observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdalla, Elcio; Abramo, L. Raul; Souza, Jose C. C. de

2010-01-01

We investigate the effect of an interaction between dark energy and dark matter upon the dynamics of galaxy clusters. This effect is computed through the Layser-Irvine equation, which describes how an astrophysical system reaches virial equilibrium and was modified to include the dark interactions. Using observational data from almost 100 purportedly relaxed galaxy clusters we put constraints on the strength of the couplings in the dark sector. We compare our results with those from other observations and find that a positive (in the sense of energy flow from dark energy to dark matter) nonvanishing interaction is consistent with the data within several standard deviations.

Dancing in the dark: darkness as a signal in plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Seluzicki, Adam; Burko, Yogev; Chory, Joanne

2017-11-01

Daily cycles of light and dark provide an organizing principle and temporal constraints under which life on Earth evolved. While light is often the focus of plant studies, it is only half the story. Plants continuously adjust to their surroundings, taking both dawn and dusk as cues to organize their growth, development and metabolism to appropriate times of day. In this review, we examine the effects of darkness on plant physiology and growth. We describe the similarities and differences between seedlings grown in the dark versus those grown in light-dark cycles, and the evolution of etiolated growth. We discuss the integration of the circadian clock into other processes, looking carefully at the points of contact between clock genes and growth-promoting gene-regulatory networks in temporal gating of growth. We also examine daily starch accumulation and degradation, and the possible contribution of dark-specific metabolic controls in regulating energy and growth. Examining these studies together reveals a complex and continuous balancing act, with many signals, dark included, contributing information and guiding the plant through its life cycle. The extraordinary interconnection between light and dark is manifest during cycles of day and night and during seedling emergence above versus below the soil surface. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cosmological anisotropy from non-comoving dark matter and dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harko, Tiberiu; Lobo, Francisco S. N.

2013-01-01

We consider a cosmological model in which the two major fluid components of the Universe, dark energy and dark matter, flow with distinct four-velocities. This cosmological configuration is equivalent to a single anisotropic fluid, expanding with a four-velocity that is an appropriate combination of the two fluid four-velocities. The energy density of the single cosmological fluid is larger than the sum of the energy densities of the two perfect fluids, i.e., dark energy and dark matter, respectively, and contains a correction term due to the anisotropy generated by the differences in the four-velocities. Furthermore, the gravitational field equations of the two-fluid anisotropic cosmological model are obtained for a Bianchi type I geometry. By assuming that the non-comoving motion of the dark energy and dark matter induces small perturbations in the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker type cosmological background, and that the anisotropy parameter is small, the equations of the cosmological perturbations due to the non-comoving nature of the two major components are obtained. The time evolution of the metric perturbations is explicitly obtained for the cases of the exponential and power law background cosmological expansion. The imprints of a non-comoving dark energy - dark matter on the Cosmic Microwave Background and on the luminosity distance are briefly discussed, and the temperature anisotropies and the quadrupole are explicitly obtained in terms of the metric perturbations of the flat background metric. Therefore, if there is a slight difference between the four-velocities of the dark energy and dark matter, the Universe would acquire some anisotropic characteristics, and its geometry will deviate from the standard FLRW one. In fact, the recent Planck results show that the presence of an intrinsic large scale anisotropy in the Universe cannot be excluded a priori, so that the model presented in this work can be considered as a

Extra Dimensions are Dark: II Fermionic Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Rizzo, Thomas G.

2018-01-01

Extra dimensions can be very useful tools when constructing new physics models. Previously, we began investigating toy models for the 5-D analog of the kinetic mixing/vector portal scenario where the interactions of bulk dark matter with the brane-localized fields of the Standard Model are mediated by a massive $U(1)_D$ dark photon also living in the bulk. In that setup, where the dark matter was taken to be a complex scalar, a number of nice features were obtained such as $U(1)_D$ breaking b...

Observational constraints on dark matter-dark energy scattering cross section

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Suresh [BITS Pilani, Department of Mathematics, Rajasthan (India); Nunes, Rafael C. [Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Departamento de Fisica, Juiz de Fora, MG (Brazil)

2017-11-15

In this letter, we report precise and robust observational constraints on the dark matter-dark energy scattering cross section, using the latest data from cosmic microwave background (CMB) Planck temperature and polarization, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) measurements and weak gravitational lensing data from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS). The scattering scenario consists of a pure momentum exchange between the dark components, and we find σ{sub d} < 10{sup -29} cm{sup 2} (m{sub dm}c{sup 2}/GeV) at 95% CL from the joint analysis (CMB + BAO + CFHTLenS), where m{sub dm} is a typical dark matter particle mass. We notice that the scattering among the dark components may influence the growth of large scale structure in the Universe, leaving the background cosmology unaltered. (orig.)

Large-scale instability in interacting dark energy and dark matter fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Väliviita, Jussi; Majerotto, Elisabetta; Maartens, Roy

2008-01-01

If dark energy interacts with dark matter, this gives a new approach to the coincidence problem. But interacting dark energy models can suffer from pathologies. We consider the case where the dark energy is modelled as a fluid with constant equation of state parameter w. Non-interacting constant-w models are well behaved in the background and in the perturbed universe. But the combination of constant w and a simple interaction with dark matter leads to an instability in the dark sector perturbations at early times: the curvature perturbation blows up on super-Hubble scales. Our results underline how important it is to carefully analyse the relativistic perturbations when considering models of coupled dark energy. The instability that we find has been missed in some previous work where the perturbations were not consistently treated. The unstable mode dominates even if adiabatic initial conditions are used. The instability also arises regardless of how weak the coupling is. This non-adiabatic instability is different from previously discovered adiabatic instabilities on small scales in the strong-coupling regime

Signals of dark matter in a supersymmetric two dark matter model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuoka, Hiroki; Suematsu, Daijiro; Toma, Takashi

2011-01-01

Supersymmetric radiative neutrino mass models have often two dark matter candidates. One is the usual lightest neutralino with odd R parity and the other is a new neutral particle whose stability is guaranteed by a discrete symmetry that forbids tree-level neutrino Yukawa couplings. If their relic abundance is comparable, dark matter phenomenology can be largely different from the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). We study this in a supersymmetric radiative neutrino mass model with the conserved R parity and a Z 2 symmetry weakly broken by the anomaly effect. The second dark matter with odd parity of this new Z 2 is metastable and decays to the neutralino dark matter. Charged particles and photons associated to this decay can cause the deviation from the expected background of the cosmic rays. Direct search of the neutralino dark matter is also expected to show different features from the MSSM since the relic abundance is not composed of the neutralino dark matter only. We discuss the nature of dark matter in this model by analyzing these signals quantitatively

Dark coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavela, M.B.; Hernández, D.; Honorez, L. Lopez; Mena, O.; Rigolin, S.

2009-01-01

The two dark sectors of the universe—dark matter and dark energy—may interact with each other. Background and linear density perturbation evolution equations are developed for a generic coupling. We then establish the general conditions necessary to obtain models free from non-adiabatic instabilities. As an application, we consider a viable universe in which the interaction strength is proportional to the dark energy density. The scenario does not exhibit ''phantom crossing'' and is free from instabilities, including early ones. A sizeable interaction strength is compatible with combined WMAP, HST, SN, LSS and H(z) data. Neutrino mass and/or cosmic curvature are allowed to be larger than in non-interacting models. Our analysis sheds light as well on unstable scenarios previously proposed

Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holt, S. S.; Bennett, C. L.

1995-01-01

These proceedings represent papers presented at the Astrophysics conference in Maryland, organized by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland. The topics covered included low mass stars as dark matter, dark matter in galaxies and clusters, cosmic microwave background anisotropy, cold and hot dark matter, and the large scale distribution and motions of galaxies. There were eighty five papers presented. Out of these, 10 have been abstracted for the Energy Science and Technology database

Dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yun

2010-01-01

Dark energy research aims to illuminate the mystery of the observed cosmic acceleration, one of the fundamental problems in physics and astronomy today. This book presents a systematic and detailed review of the current state of dark energy research, with the focus on the examination of the major observational techniques for probing dark energy. It can be used as a textbook to train students and others who wish to enter this extremely active field in cosmology.

Strategies for dark matter detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.

1988-01-01

The present status of alternative forms of dark matter, both baryonic and nonbaryonic, is reviewed. Alternative arguments are presented for the predominance of either cold dark matter (CDM) or of baryonic dark matter (BDM). Strategies are described for dark matter detection, both for dark matter that consists of weakly interacting relic particles and for dark matter that consists of dark stellar remnants

β-Glucan and Dark Chocolate: A Randomized Crossover Study on Short-Term Satiety and Energy Intake

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asli Akyol

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aims of this study were to adapt a traditional recipe into a healthier form by adding 3 g of oat β-glucan, substituting milk chocolate to dark chocolate with 70% cocoa, and to examine the effect of these alterations on short-term satiety and energy intake. Materials and Methods: Study subjects (n = 25 were tested in a randomized, crossover design with four products closely matched for energy content. Four different versions of a traditional recipe including milk chocolate-control (CON, oat β-glucan (B-GLU, dark chocolate (DARK or oat β-glucan and dark chocolate (B-GLU + DARK were given to subjects on different test days. After subjects were asked to report visual analog scale (VAS scores on sensory outcomes and related satiety for four hours ad libitum, lunch was served and energy intake of individuals was measured. Results: VAS scores indicated that none of the test foods exerted an improved effect on satiety feelings. However, energy intake of individuals during ad libitum lunch was significantly lower in dark chocolate groups (CON: 849.46 ± 47.45 kcal versus DARK: 677.69 ± 48.45 kcal and B-GLU + DARK: 691.08 ± 47.45 kcal, p = 0.014. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that substituting dark chocolate for milk chocolate is more effective in inducing satiety during subsequent food intake in healthy subjects.

β-Glucan and dark chocolate: a randomized crossover study on short-term satiety and energy intake.

Science.gov (United States)

Akyol, Asli; Dasgin, Halil; Ayaz, Aylin; Buyuktuncer, Zehra; Besler, H Tanju

2014-09-23

The aims of this study were to adapt a traditional recipe into a healthier form by adding 3 g of oat β-glucan, substituting milk chocolate to dark chocolate with 70% cocoa, and to examine the effect of these alterations on short-term satiety and energy intake. Study subjects (n = 25) were tested in a randomized, crossover design with four products closely matched for energy content. Four different versions of a traditional recipe including milk chocolate-control (CON), oat β-glucan (B-GLU), dark chocolate (DARK) or oat β-glucan and dark chocolate (B-GLU + DARK) were given to subjects on different test days. After subjects were asked to report visual analog scale (VAS) scores on sensory outcomes and related satiety for four hours ad libitum, lunch was served and energy intake of individuals was measured. VAS scores indicated that none of the test foods exerted an improved effect on satiety feelings. However, energy intake of individuals during ad libitum lunch was significantly lower in dark chocolate groups (CON: 849.46 ± 47.45 kcal versus DARK: 677.69 ± 48.45 kcal and B-GLU + DARK: 691.08 ± 47.45 kcal, p = 0.014). The study demonstrated that substituting dark chocolate for milk chocolate is more effective in inducing satiety during subsequent food intake in healthy subjects.

Exothermic dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, Peter W.; Saraswat, Prashant; Harnik, Roni; Rajendran, Surjeet

2010-01-01

We propose a novel mechanism for dark matter to explain the observed annual modulation signal at DAMA/LIBRA which avoids existing constraints from every other dark matter direct detection experiment including CRESST, CDMS, and XENON10. The dark matter consists of at least two light states with mass ∼few GeV and splittings ∼5 keV. It is natural for the heavier states to be cosmologically long-lived and to make up an O(1) fraction of the dark matter. Direct detection rates are dominated by the exothermic reactions in which an excited dark matter state downscatters off of a nucleus, becoming a lower energy state. In contrast to (endothermic) inelastic dark matter, the most sensitive experiments for exothermic dark matter are those with light nuclei and low threshold energies. Interestingly, this model can also naturally account for the observed low-energy events at CoGeNT. The only significant constraint on the model arises from the DAMA/LIBRA unmodulated spectrum but it can be tested in the near future by a low-threshold analysis of CDMS-Si and possibly other experiments including CRESST, COUPP, and XENON100.

Hybrid Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Chao, Wei

2018-01-01

Dark matter can be produced in the early universe via the freeze-in or freeze-out mechanisms. Both scenarios were investigated in references, but the production of dark matters via the combination of these two mechanisms are not addressed. In this paper we propose a hybrid dark matter model where dark matters have two components with one component produced thermally and the other one produced non-thermally. We present for the first time the analytical calculation for the relic abundance of th...

Holographic dark energy interacting with dark matter in a closed Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cruz, Norman; Lepe, Samuel; Pena, Francisco; Saavedra, Joel

2008-01-01

A cosmological model of an holographic dark energy interacting with dark matter throughout a decaying term of the form Q=3(λ 1 ρ DE +λ 2 ρ m )H is investigated. General constraint on the parameters of the model are found when accelerated expansion is imposed and we found a phantom scenario, without any reference to a specific equation of state for the dark energy. The behavior of equation of state for dark energy is also discussed

Concentrated dark matter: Enhanced small-scale structure from codecaying dark matter

OpenAIRE

Dror, Jeff A.; Kuflik, Eric; Melcher, Brandon; Watson, Scott

2018-01-01

We study the cosmological consequences of codecaying dark matter—a recently proposed mechanism for depleting the density of dark matter through the decay of nearly degenerate particles. A generic prediction of this framework is an early dark matter dominated phase in the history of the Universe, that results in the enhanced growth of dark matter perturbations on small scales. We compute the duration of the early matter dominated phase and show that the perturbations are robust against washout...

Secretly asymmetric dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Prateek; Kilic, Can; Swaminathan, Sivaramakrishnan; Trendafilova, Cynthia

2017-01-01

We study a mechanism where the dark matter number density today arises from asymmetries generated in the dark sector in the early Universe, even though the total dark matter number remains zero throughout the history of the Universe. The dark matter population today can be completely symmetric, with annihilation rates above those expected from thermal weakly interacting massive particles. We give a simple example of this mechanism using a benchmark model of flavored dark matter. We discuss the experimental signatures of this setup, which arise mainly from the sector that annihilates the symmetric component of dark matter.

Dark energy and dark matter perturbations in singular universes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denkiewicz, Tomasz

2015-01-01

We discuss the evolution of density perturbations of dark matter and dark energy in cosmological models which admit future singularities in a finite time. Up to now geometrical tests of the evolution of the universe do not differentiate between singular universes and ΛCDM scenario. We solve perturbation equations using the gauge invariant formalism. The analysis shows that the detailed reconstruction of the evolution of perturbations within singular cosmologies, in the dark sector, can exhibit important differences between the singular universes models and the ΛCDM cosmology. This is encouraging for further examination and gives hope for discriminating between those models with future galaxy weak lensing experiments like the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and Euclid or CMB observations like PRISM and CoRE

Hidden charged dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Jonathan L.; Kaplinghat, Manoj; Tu, Huitzu; Yu, Hai-Bo

2009-01-01

Can dark matter be stabilized by charge conservation, just as the electron is in the standard model? We examine the possibility that dark matter is hidden, that is, neutral under all standard model gauge interactions, but charged under an exact (\\rm U)(1) gauge symmetry of the hidden sector. Such candidates are predicted in WIMPless models, supersymmetric models in which hidden dark matter has the desired thermal relic density for a wide range of masses. Hidden charged dark matter has many novel properties not shared by neutral dark matter: (1) bound state formation and Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation after chemical freeze out may reduce its relic density, (2) similar effects greatly enhance dark matter annihilation in protohalos at redshifts of z ∼ 30, (3) Compton scattering off hidden photons delays kinetic decoupling, suppressing small scale structure, and (4) Rutherford scattering makes such dark matter self-interacting and collisional, potentially impacting properties of the Bullet Cluster and the observed morphology of galactic halos. We analyze all of these effects in a WIMPless model in which the hidden sector is a simplified version of the minimal supersymmetric standard model and the dark matter is a hidden sector stau. We find that charged hidden dark matter is viable and consistent with the correct relic density for reasonable model parameters and dark matter masses in the range 1 GeV ∼ X ∼< 10 TeV. At the same time, in the preferred range of parameters, this model predicts cores in the dark matter halos of small galaxies and other halo properties that may be within the reach of future observations. These models therefore provide a viable and well-motivated framework for collisional dark matter with Sommerfeld enhancement, with novel implications for astrophysics and dark matter searches

The DarkStars code: a publicly available dark stellar evolution package

CERN Document Server

Scott, Pat; Fairbairn, Malcolm

2009-01-01

We announce the public release of the 'dark' stellar evolution code DarkStars. The code simultaneously solves the equations of WIMP capture and annihilation in a star with those of stellar evolution assuming approximate hydrostatic equilibrium. DarkStars includes the most extensive WIMP microphysics of any dark evolution code to date. The code employs detailed treatments of the capture process from a range of WIMP velocity distributions, as well as composite WIMP distribution and conductive energy transport schemes based on the WIMP mean-free path in the star. We give a brief description of the input physics and practical usage of the code, as well as examples of its application to dark stars at the Galactic centre.

Very heavy dark Skyrmions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dick, Rainer

2017-01-01

A dark sector with a solitonic component provides a means to circumvent the problem of generically low annihilation cross sections of very heavy dark matter particles. At the same time, enhanced annihilation cross sections are necessary for indirect detection of very heavy dark matter components beyond 100 TeV. Non-thermally produced dark matter in this mass range could therefore contribute to the cosmic γ-ray and neutrino flux above 100 TeV, and massive Skyrmions provide an interesting framework for the discussion of these scenarios. Therefore a Higgs portal and a neutrino portal for very heavy Skyrmion dark matter are discussed. The Higgs portal model demonstrates a dark mediator bottleneck, where limitations on particle annihilation cross sections will prevent a signal from the potentially large soliton annihilation cross sections. This problem can be avoided in models where the dark mediator decays. This is illustrated by the neutrino portal for Skyrmion dark matter. (orig.)

Collapsed Dark Matter Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, Matthew R.; DiFranzo, Anthony

2018-02-01

The distributions of dark matter and baryons in the Universe are known to be very different: The dark matter resides in extended halos, while a significant fraction of the baryons have radiated away much of their initial energy and fallen deep into the potential wells. This difference in morphology leads to the widely held conclusion that dark matter cannot cool and collapse on any scale. We revisit this assumption and show that a simple model where dark matter is charged under a "dark electromagnetism" can allow dark matter to form gravitationally collapsed objects with characteristic mass scales much smaller than that of a Milky-Way-type galaxy. Though the majority of the dark matter in spiral galaxies would remain in the halo, such a model opens the possibility that galaxies and their associated dark matter play host to a significant number of collapsed substructures. The observational signatures of such structures are not well explored but potentially interesting.

Collapsed Dark Matter Structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, Matthew R; DiFranzo, Anthony

2018-02-02

The distributions of dark matter and baryons in the Universe are known to be very different: The dark matter resides in extended halos, while a significant fraction of the baryons have radiated away much of their initial energy and fallen deep into the potential wells. This difference in morphology leads to the widely held conclusion that dark matter cannot cool and collapse on any scale. We revisit this assumption and show that a simple model where dark matter is charged under a "dark electromagnetism" can allow dark matter to form gravitationally collapsed objects with characteristic mass scales much smaller than that of a Milky-Way-type galaxy. Though the majority of the dark matter in spiral galaxies would remain in the halo, such a model opens the possibility that galaxies and their associated dark matter play host to a significant number of collapsed substructures. The observational signatures of such structures are not well explored but potentially interesting.

Very heavy dark Skyrmions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dick, Rainer [University of Saskatchewan, Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

2017-12-15

A dark sector with a solitonic component provides a means to circumvent the problem of generically low annihilation cross sections of very heavy dark matter particles. At the same time, enhanced annihilation cross sections are necessary for indirect detection of very heavy dark matter components beyond 100 TeV. Non-thermally produced dark matter in this mass range could therefore contribute to the cosmic γ-ray and neutrino flux above 100 TeV, and massive Skyrmions provide an interesting framework for the discussion of these scenarios. Therefore a Higgs portal and a neutrino portal for very heavy Skyrmion dark matter are discussed. The Higgs portal model demonstrates a dark mediator bottleneck, where limitations on particle annihilation cross sections will prevent a signal from the potentially large soliton annihilation cross sections. This problem can be avoided in models where the dark mediator decays. This is illustrated by the neutrino portal for Skyrmion dark matter. (orig.)

Chaplygin dark star

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertolami, O.; Paramos, J.

2005-01-01

We study the general properties of a spherically symmetric body described through the generalized Chaplygin equation of state. We conclude that such an object, dubbed generalized Chaplygin dark star, should exist within the context of the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) model of unification of dark energy and dark matter, and derive expressions for its size and expansion velocity. A criteria for the survival of the perturbations in the GCG background that give origin to the dark star are developed, and its main features are analyzed

Dynamical evolution of quintessence dark energy in collapsing dark matter halos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Qiao; Fan Zuhui

2009-01-01

In this paper, we analyze the dynamical evolution of quintessence dark energy induced by the collapse of dark matter halos. Different from other previous studies, we develop a numerical strategy which allows us to calculate the dark energy evolution for the entire history of the spherical collapse of dark matter halos, without the need of separate treatments for linear, quasilinear, and nonlinear stages of the halo formation. It is found that the dark energy perturbations evolve with redshifts, and their specific behaviors depend on the quintessence potential as well as the collapsing process. The overall energy density perturbation is at the level of 10 -6 for cluster-sized halos. The perturbation amplitude decreases with the decrease of the halo mass. At a given redshift, the dark energy perturbation changes with the radius to the halo center, and can be either positive or negative depending on the contrast of ∂ t φ, ∂ r φ, and φ with respect to the background, where φ is the quintessence field. For shells where the contrast of ∂ r φ is dominant, the dark energy perturbation is positive and can be as high as about 10 -5 .

Holographic dark energy interacting with dark matter in a closed Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cruz, Norman [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencia, Universidad de Santiago, Casilla 307, Santiago (Chile); Lepe, Samuel [Instituto de Fisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Casilla 4950, Valparaiso (Chile); Pena, Francisco [Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Facultad de Ingenieria, Ciencias y Administracion, Universidad de La Frontera, Avda. Francisco Salazar 01145, Casilla 54-D Temuco (Chile); Saavedra, Joel [Instituto de Fisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Casilla 4950, Valparaiso (Chile)], E-mail: joel.saavedra@ucv.cl

2008-11-27

A cosmological model of an holographic dark energy interacting with dark matter throughout a decaying term of the form Q=3({lambda}{sub 1}{rho}{sub DE}+{lambda}{sub 2}{rho}{sub m})H is investigated. General constraint on the parameters of the model are found when accelerated expansion is imposed and we found a phantom scenario, without any reference to a specific equation of state for the dark energy. The behavior of equation of state for dark energy is also discussed.

Using Adaptive Tone Mapping to Enhance Edge-Preserving Color Image Automatically

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Min-Yao

2010-01-01

Full Text Available One common characteristic of most high-contrast images is the coexistence of dark shadows and bright light source in one scene. It is very difficult to present details in both dark and bright areas simultaneously on most display devices. In order to resolve this problem, a new method utilizing bilateral filter combined with adaptive tone-mapping method is proposed to improve image quality. First of all, bilateral filter is used to decompose image into two layers: large-scale layer and detail layer. Then, the large-scale layer image is divided into three regions: bright, mid-tone, and dark region. Finally, an appropriate tone-mapping method is chosen to process each region according to its individual property. Only large-scale layer image is enhanced by using adaptive tone mapping; therefore, the details of the original image can be preserved. The experiment results demonstrate the success of proposed method. Furthermore, the proposed method can also avoid posterization produced by methods using histogram equalization.

arXiv Signatures of Dark Radiation in Neutrino and Dark Matter Detectors

CERN Document Server

Cui, Yanou; Pradler, Josef

2018-05-03

We consider the generic possibility that the Universe’s energy budget includes some form of relativistic or semi-relativistic dark radiation (DR) with nongravitational interactions with standard model (SM) particles. Such dark radiation may consist of SM singlets or a nonthermal, energetic component of neutrinos. If such DR is created at a relatively recent epoch, it can carry sufficient energy to leave a detectable imprint in experiments designed to search for very weakly interacting particles: dark matter and underground neutrino experiments. We analyze this possibility in some generality, assuming that the interactive dark radiation is sourced by late decays of an unstable particle, potentially a component of dark matter, and considering a variety of possible interactions between the dark radiation and SM particles. Concentrating on the sub-GeV energy region, we derive constraints on different forms of DR using the results of the most sensitive neutrino and dark matter direct detection experiments. In pa...

Particle Physics Foundations of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Inflation (2/3)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

Ninety-five percent of the present mass-energy density of the Universe is dark. Twenty-five percent is in the form of dark matter holding together galaxies and other large scale structures, and 70% is in the form of dark energy driving an accelerated expansion of the universe. Dark matter and dark energy cannot be explained within the standard model of particle physics. In the first lecture I will review the evidence for dark matter and the observations that point to an explanation in the form of cold dark matter. I will then describe the expected properties of a hypothetical Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle, or WIMP, and review experimental and observational approaches to test the hypothesis. Finally, I will discuss how the LHC might shed light on the problem. In the second lecture I will review the theoretical foundations and observational evidence that the dominant component of the present mass density of the Universe has a negative pressure, which leads to an accelerated expansion of the Universe...

Particle Physics Foundations of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Inflation (3/3)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

Ninety-five percent of the present mass-energy density of the Universe is dark. Twenty-five percent is in the form of dark matter holding together galaxies and other large scale structures, and 70% is in the form of dark energy driving an accelerated expansion of the universe. Dark matter and dark energy cannot be explained within the standard model of particle physics. In the first lecture I will review the evidence for dark matter and the observations that point to an explanation in the form of cold dark matter. I will then describe the expected properties of a hypothetical Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle, or WIMP, and review experimental and observational approaches to test the hypothesis. Finally, I will discuss how the LHC might shed light on the problem. In the second lecture I will review the theoretical foundations and observational evidence that the dominant component of the present mass density of the Universe has a negative pressure, which leads to an accelerated expansion of the Universe...

Particle Physics Foundations of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Inflation (1/3)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

Ninety-five percent of the present mass-energy density of the Universe is dark. Twenty-five percent is in the form of dark matter holding together galaxies and other large scale structures, and 70% is in the form of dark energy driving an accelerated expansion of the universe. Dark matter and dark energy cannot be explained within the standard model of particle physics. In the first lecture I will review the evidence for dark matter and the observations that point to an explanation in the form of cold dark matter. I will then describe the expected properties of a hypothetical Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle, or WIMP, and review experimental and observational approaches to test the hypothesis. Finally, I will discuss how the LHC might shed light on the problem. In the second lecture I will review the theoretical foundations and observational evidence that the dominant component of the present mass density of the Universe has a negative pressure, which leads to an accelerated expansion of the Universe...

arXiv Signatures of Dark Radiation in Neutrino and Dark Matter Detectors

CERN Document Server

Cui, Yanou; Pradler, Josef

We consider the generic possibility that the Universe's energy budget includes some form of relativistic or semi-relativistic dark radiation (DR) with non-gravitational interactions with Standard Model (SM) particles. Such dark radiation may consist of SM singlets or a non-thermal, energetic component of neutrinos. If such DR is created at a relatively recent epoch, it can carry sufficient energy to leave a detectable imprint in experiments designed to search for very weakly interacting particles: dark matter and underground neutrino experiments. We analyze this possibility in some generality, assuming that the interactive dark radiation is sourced by late decays of an unstable particle, potentially a component of dark matter, and considering a variety of possible interactions between the dark radiation and SM particles. Concentrating on the sub-GeV energy region, we derive constraints on different forms of DR using the results of the most sensitive neutrino and dark matter direct detection experiments. In pa...

Interacting warm dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cruz, Norman; Palma, Guillermo; Zambrano, David; Avelino, Arturo

2013-01-01

We explore a cosmological model composed by a dark matter fluid interacting with a dark energy fluid. The interaction term has the non-linear λρ m α ρ e β form, where ρ m and ρ e are the energy densities of the dark matter and dark energy, respectively. The parameters α and β are in principle not constrained to take any particular values, and were estimated from observations. We perform an analytical study of the evolution equations, finding the fixed points and their stability properties in order to characterize suitable physical regions in the phase space of the dark matter and dark energy densities. The constants (λ,α,β) as well as w m and w e of the EoS of dark matter and dark energy respectively, were estimated using the cosmological observations of the type Ia supernovae and the Hubble expansion rate H(z) data sets. We find that the best estimated values for the free parameters of the model correspond to a warm dark matter interacting with a phantom dark energy component, with a well goodness-of-fit to data. However, using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) we find that this model is overcame by a warm dark matter – phantom dark energy model without interaction, as well as by the ΛCDM model. We find also a large dispersion on the best estimated values of the (λ,α,β) parameters, so even if we are not able to set strong constraints on their values, given the goodness-of-fit to data of the model, we find that a large variety of theirs values are well compatible with the observational data used

Dark matter and cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schramm, D.N.

1992-03-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the {Omega} = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between ``cold`` and ``hot`` non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed ``seeds`` that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations, such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed.

Dark matter and cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schramm, D.N.

1992-03-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the {Omega} = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between cold'' and hot'' non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed seeds'' that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations, such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed.

Dark matter and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, D.N.

1992-03-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the Ω = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between ''cold'' and ''hot'' non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed ''seeds'' that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations, such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed

Limits on dark radiation, early dark energy, and relativistic degrees of freedom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calabrese, Erminia; Melchiorri, Alessandro; Huterer, Dragan; Linder, Eric V.; Pagano, Luca

2011-01-01

Recent cosmological data analyses hint at the presence of an extra relativistic energy component in the early universe. This component is often parametrized as an excess of the effective neutrino number N eff over the standard value of 3.046. The excess relativistic energy could be an indication for an extra (sterile) neutrino, but early dark energy and barotropic dark energy also contribute to the relativistic degrees of freedom. We examine the capabilities of current and future data to constrain and discriminate between these explanations, and to detect the early dark energy density associated with them. We find that while early dark energy does not alter the current constraints on N eff , a dark radiation component, such as that provided by barotropic dark energy models, can substantially change current constraints on N eff , bringing its value back to agreement with the theoretical prediction. Both dark energy models also have implications for the primordial mass fraction of Helium Y p and the scalar perturbation index n s . The ongoing Planck satellite mission will be able to further discriminate between sterile neutrinos and early dark energy.

Evaluating dark energy probes using multidimensional dark energy parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, Andreas; Bernstein, Gary

2007-01-01

We investigate the value of future dark-energy experiments by modeling their ability to constrain the dark-energy equation of state. Similar work was recently reported by the Dark Energy Task Force (DETF) using a two dimensional parameterization of the equation-of-state evolution. We examine constraints in a nine-dimensional dark-energy parameterization, and find that the best experiments constrain significantly more than two dimensions in our 9D space. Consequently the impact of these experiments is substantially beyond that revealed in the DETF analysis, and the estimated cost per 'impact' drops by about a factor of 10 as one moves to the very best experiments. The DETF conclusions about the relative value of different techniques and of the importance of combining techniques are unchanged by our analysis

Coupled dark matter-dark energy in light of near universe observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honorez, Laura Lopez; Reid, Beth A.; Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul; Mena, Olga

2010-01-01

Cosmological analysis based on currently available observations are unable to rule out a sizeable coupling among the dark energy and dark matter fluids. We explore a variety of coupled dark matter-dark energy models, which satisfy cosmic microwave background constraints, in light of low redshift and near universe observations. We illustrate the phenomenology of different classes of dark coupling models, paying particular attention in distinguishing between effects that appear only on the expansion history and those that appear in the growth of structure. We find that while a broad class of dark coupling models are effectively models where general relativity (GR) is modified — and thus can be probed by a combination of tests for the expansion history and the growth of structure —, there is a class of dark coupling models where gravity is still GR, but the growth of perturbations is, in principle modified. While this effect is small in the specific models we have considered, one should bear in mind that an inconsistency between reconstructed expansion history and growth may not uniquely indicate deviations from GR. Our low redshift constraints arise from cosmic velocities, redshift space distortions and dark matter abundance in galaxy voids. We find that current data constrain the dimensionless coupling to be |ξ| < 0.2, but prospects from forthcoming data are for a significant improvement. Future, precise measurements of the Hubble constant, combined with high-precision constraints on the growth of structure, could provide the key to rule out dark coupling models which survive other tests. We shall exploit as well weak equivalence principle violation arguments, which have the potential to highly disfavour a broad family of coupled models

Dark Tourism in Budapest

OpenAIRE

Shen, Cen; Li, Jin

2011-01-01

A new trend is developing in the tourism market nowadays – dark tourism. The main purpose of the study was to explore the marketing strategies of dark tourism sites in Budapest based on the theoretical overview of dark tourism and data gathering of quantitative research. The study started with a theoretical overview of dark tourism in Budapest. Then, the authors focused on the case study of House of Terror, one of the most important dark tourism sites in Budapest. Last, the research has ...

Effects of the interaction between dark energy and dark matter on cosmological parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Jian-Hua; Wang, Bin

2008-01-01

We examine the effects of possible phenomenological interactions between dark energy and dark matter on cosmological parameters and their efficiency in solving the coincidence problem. We work with two simple parameterizations of the dynamical dark energy equation of state and the constant dark energy equation of state. Using observational data coming from the new 182 Gold type Ia supernova samples, the shift parameter of the Cosmic Microwave Background given by the three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe observations and the baryon acoustic oscillation measurement from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we perform a statistical joint analysis of different forms of phenomenological interaction between dark energy and dark matter

Dark matter: the astrophysical case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.

2012-01-01

The identification of dark matter is one of the most urgent problems in cosmology. I describe the astrophysical case for dark matter, from both an observational and a theoretical perspective. This overview will therefore focus on the observational motivations rather than the particle physics aspects of dark matter constraints on specific dark matter candidates. First, however, I summarize the astronomical evidence for dark matter, then I highlight the weaknesses of the standard cold dark matter model (LCDM) to provide a robust explanation of some observations. The greatest weakness in the dark matter saga is that we have not yet identified the nature of dark matter itself

DarkBit. A GAMBIT module for computing dark matter observables and likelihoods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bringmann, Torsten; Dal, Lars A. [University of Oslo, Department of Physics, Oslo (Norway); Conrad, Jan; Edsjoe, Joakim; Farmer, Ben [AlbaNova University Centre, Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, Stockholm (Sweden); Stockholm University, Department of Physics, Stockholm (Sweden); Cornell, Jonathan M. [McGill University, Department of Physics, Montreal, QC (Canada); Kahlhoefer, Felix; Wild, Sebastian [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Kvellestad, Anders; Savage, Christopher [NORDITA, Stockholm (Sweden); Putze, Antje [LAPTh, Universite de Savoie, CNRS, Annecy-le-Vieux (France); Scott, Pat [Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Department of Physics, London (United Kingdom); Weniger, Christoph [University of Amsterdam, GRAPPA, Institute of Physics, Amsterdam (Netherlands); White, Martin [University of Adelaide, Department of Physics, Adelaide, SA (Australia); Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Tera-scale, Parkville (Australia); Collaboration: The GAMBIT Dark Matter Workgroup

2017-12-15

We introduce DarkBit, an advanced software code for computing dark matter constraints on various extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics, comprising both new native code and interfaces to external packages. This release includes a dedicated signal yield calculator for gamma-ray observations, which significantly extends current tools by implementing a cascade-decay Monte Carlo, as well as a dedicated likelihood calculator for current and future experiments (gamLike). This provides a general solution for studying complex particle physics models that predict dark matter annihilation to a multitude of final states. We also supply a direct detection package that models a large range of direct detection experiments (DDCalc), and that provides the corresponding likelihoods for arbitrary combinations of spin-independent and spin-dependent scattering processes. Finally, we provide custom relic density routines along with interfaces to DarkSUSY, micrOMEGAs, and the neutrino telescope likelihood package nulike. DarkBit is written in the framework of the Global And Modular Beyond the Standard Model Inference Tool (GAMBIT), providing seamless integration into a comprehensive statistical fitting framework that allows users to explore new models with both particle and astrophysics constraints, and a consistent treatment of systematic uncertainties. In this paper we describe its main functionality, provide a guide to getting started quickly, and show illustrative examples for results obtained with DarkBit (both as a stand-alone tool and as a GAMBIT module). This includes a quantitative comparison between two of the main dark matter codes (DarkSUSY and micrOMEGAs), and application of DarkBit's advanced direct and indirect detection routines to a simple effective dark matter model. (orig.)

Hunting the dark Higgs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duerr, Michael; Grohsjean, Alexander; Kahlhoefer, Felix; Schmidt-Hoberg, Kai; Schwanenberger, Christian [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Penning, Bjoern [Bristol Univ. (United Kingdom). H.H. Wills Physics Lab.

2017-05-15

We discuss a novel signature of dark matter production at the LHC resulting from the emission of an additional Higgs boson in the dark sector. The presence of such a dark Higgs boson is motivated simultaneously by the need to generate the masses of the particles in the dark sector and the possibility to relax constraints from the dark matter relic abundance by opening up a new annihilation channel. If the dark Higgs boson decays into Standard Model states via a small mixing with the Standard Model Higgs boson, one obtains characteristic large-radius jets in association with missing transverse momentum that can be used to efficiently discriminate signal from backgrounds. We present the sensitivities achievable in LHC searches for dark Higgs bosons with already collected data and demonstrate that such searches can probe large regions of parameter space that are inaccessible to conventional mono-jet or di-jet searches.

Hunting the dark Higgs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duerr, Michael; Grohsjean, Alexander; Kahlhoefer, Felix; Schmidt-Hoberg, Kai; Schwanenberger, Christian; Penning, Bjoern

2017-05-01

We discuss a novel signature of dark matter production at the LHC resulting from the emission of an additional Higgs boson in the dark sector. The presence of such a dark Higgs boson is motivated simultaneously by the need to generate the masses of the particles in the dark sector and the possibility to relax constraints from the dark matter relic abundance by opening up a new annihilation channel. If the dark Higgs boson decays into Standard Model states via a small mixing with the Standard Model Higgs boson, one obtains characteristic large-radius jets in association with missing transverse momentum that can be used to efficiently discriminate signal from backgrounds. We present the sensitivities achievable in LHC searches for dark Higgs bosons with already collected data and demonstrate that such searches can probe large regions of parameter space that are inaccessible to conventional mono-jet or di-jet searches.

Dark U (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Chia-Feng; Ma, Ernest; Yuan, Tzu-Chiang

2015-01-01

In this talk we will explore the possibility of adding a local U(1) dark sector to the standard model with the Higgs boson as a portal connecting the visible standard model sector and the dark one. We will discuss existing experimental constraint on the model parameters from the invisible width of Higgs decay. Implications of such a dark U(1) sector on phenomenology at the Large Hardon Collider will be addressed. In particular, detailed results for the non-standard signals of multi-lepton-jets that arise from this simple dark sector will be presented. (paper)

Top-flavoured dark matter in Dark Minimal Flavour Violation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanke, Monika; Kast, Simon [Institut für Kernphysik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, D-76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Institut für Theoretische Teilchenphysik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,Engesserstraße 7, D-76128 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2017-05-31

We study a simplified model of top-flavoured dark matter in the framework of Dark Minimal Flavour Violation. In this setup the coupling of the dark matter flavour triplet to right-handed up-type quarks constitutes the only new source of flavour and CP violation. The parameter space of the model is restricted by LHC searches with missing energy final states, by neutral D meson mixing data, by the observed dark matter relic abundance, and by the absence of signal in direct detection experiments. We consider all of these constraints in turn, studying their implications for the allowed parameter space. Imposing the mass limits and coupling benchmarks from collider searches, we then conduct a combined analysis of all the other constraints, revealing their non-trivial interplay. Especially interesting is the combination of direct detection and relic abundance constraints, having a severe impact on the structure of the dark matter coupling matrix. We point out that future bounds from upcoming direct detection experiments, such as XENON1T, XENONnT, LUX-ZEPLIN, and DARWIN, will exclude a large part of the parameter space and push the DM mass to higher values.

Asymmetric Dark Matter and Dark Radiation

CERN Document Server

Blennow, Mattias; Mena, Olga; Redondo, Javier; Serra, Paolo

2012-01-01

Asymmetric Dark Matter (ADM) models invoke a particle-antiparticle asymmetry, similar to the one observed in the Baryon sector, to account for the Dark Matter (DM) abundance. Both asymmetries are usually generated by the same mechanism and generally related, thus predicting DM masses around 5 GeV in order to obtain the correct density. The main challenge for successful models is to ensure efficient annihilation of the thermally produced symmetric component of such a light DM candidate without violating constraints from collider or direct searches. A common way to overcome this involves a light mediator, into which DM can efficiently annihilate and which subsequently decays into Standard Model particles. Here we explore the scenario where the light mediator decays instead into lighter degrees of freedom in the dark sector that act as radiation in the early Universe. While this assumption makes indirect DM searches challenging, it leads to signals of extra radiation at BBN and CMB. Under certain conditions, pre...

Dark Sky Education | CTIO

Science.gov (United States)

Calendar Activities NOAO-S EPO Programs CADIAS Astro Chile Hugo E. Schwarz Telescope Dark Sky Education ‹› You are here CTIO Home » Outreach » NOAO-S EPO Programs » Dark Sky Education Dark Sky Education Dark Sky Education (in progress) Is an EPO Program. It runs Globe at Night, an annual program to

Dark discrete gauge symmetries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batell, Brian

2011-01-01

We investigate scenarios in which dark matter is stabilized by an Abelian Z N discrete gauge symmetry. Models are surveyed according to symmetries and matter content. Multicomponent dark matter arises when N is not prime and Z N contains one or more subgroups. The dark sector interacts with the visible sector through the renormalizable kinetic mixing and Higgs portal operators, and we highlight the basic phenomenology in these scenarios. In particular, multiple species of dark matter can lead to an unconventional nuclear recoil spectrum in direct detection experiments, while the presence of new light states in the dark sector can dramatically affect the decays of the Higgs at the Tevatron and LHC, thus providing a window into the gauge origin of the stability of dark matter.

Segmentation and abnormality detection of cervical cancer cells using fast elm with particle swarm optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukumar P.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Cervical cancer arises when the anomalous cells on the cervix mature unmanageable obviously in the renovation sector. The most probably used methods to detect abnormal cervical cells are the routine and there is no difference between the abnormal and normal nuclei. So that the abnormal nuclei found are brown in color while normal nuclei are blue in color. The spread or cells are examined and the image denoising is performed based on the Iterative Decision Based Algorithm. Image Segmentation is the method of paneling a digital image into compound sections. The major utilize of segmentation is to abridge or modify the demonstration of an image. The images are segmented by applying anisotropic diffusion on the Denoised image. Image can be enhanced using dark stretching to increase the quality of the image. It separates the cells into all nuclei region and abnormal nuclei region. The abnormal nuclei regions are further classified into touching and non-touching regions and touching regions undergoes feature selection process. The existing Support Vector Machines (SVM is classified few nuclei regions but the time to taken for execution is high. The abnormality detected from the image is calculated as 45% from the total abnormal nuclei. Thus the proposed method of Fast Particle Swarm Optimization with Extreme Learning Machines (Fast PSO-ELM to classify all nuclei regions further into touching region and separated region. The iterative method for to training the ELM and make it more efficient than the SVM method. In experimental result, the proposed method of Fast PSO-ELM may shows the accuracy as above 90% and execution time is calculated based on the abnormality (ratio of abnormal nuclei regions to all nuclei regions image. Therefore, Fast PSO-ELM helps to detect the cervical cancer cells with maximum accuracy.

Interacting diffusive unified dark energy and dark matter from scalar fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benisty, David; Guendelman, E.I. [Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Physics, Beersheba (Israel)

2017-06-15

Here we generalize ideas of unified dark matter-dark energy in the context of two measure theories and of dynamical space time theories. In two measure theories one uses metric independent volume elements and this allows one to construct unified dark matter-dark energy, where the cosmological constant appears as an integration constant associated with the equation of motion of the measure fields. The dynamical space-time theories generalize the two measure theories by introducing a vector field whose equation of motion guarantees the conservation of a certain Energy Momentum tensor, which may be related, but in general is not the same as the gravitational Energy Momentum tensor. We propose two formulations of this idea: (I) by demanding that this vector field be the gradient of a scalar, (II) by considering the dynamical space field appearing in another part of the action. Then the dynamical space time theory becomes a theory of Diffusive Unified dark energy and dark matter. These generalizations produce non-conserved energy momentum tensors instead of conserved energy momentum tensors which leads at the end to a formulation of interacting DE-DM dust models in the form of a diffusive type interacting Unified dark energy and dark matter scenario. We solved analytically the theories for perturbative solution and asymptotic solution, and we show that the ΛCDM is a fixed point of these theories at large times. Also a preliminary argument as regards the good behavior of the theory at the quantum level is proposed for both theories. (orig.)

Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Charles L. Bennett

2009-03-26

In 2006, we proposed to NASA a detailed concept study of ADEPT (the Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope), a potential space mission to reliably measure the time-evolution of dark energy by conducting the largest effective volume survey of the universe ever done. A peer-review panel of scientific, management, and technical experts reported back the highest possible 'excellent' rating for ADEPT. We have since made substantial advances in the scientific and technical maturity of the mission design. With this Department of Energy (DOE) award we were granted supplemental funding to support specific extended research items that were not included in the NASA proposal, many of which were intended to broadly advance future dark energy research, as laid out by the Dark Energy Task Force (DETF). The proposed work had three targets: (1) the adaptation of large-format infrared arrays to a 2 micron cut-off; (2) analytical research to improve the understanding of the dark energy figure-of- merit; and (3) extended studies of baryon acoustic oscillation systematic uncertainties. Since the actual award was only for {approx}10% of the proposed amount item (1) was dropped and item (2) work was severely restricted, consistent with the referee reviews of the proposal, although there was considerable contradictions between reviewer comments and several comments that displayed a lack of familiarity with the research. None the less, item (3) was the focus of the work. To characterize the nature of the dark energy, ADEPT is designed to observe baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in a large galaxy redshift survey and to obtain substantial numbers of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The 2003 Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) made a precise determination of the BAO 'standard ruler' scale, as it was imprinted on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at z {approx} 1090. The standard ruler was also imprinted on the pattern of galaxies, and was first

Dark cities? Developing a methodology for researching dark tourism in European cities

OpenAIRE

Kennell, James; Powell, Raymond

2016-01-01

Despite the recent growth of research into dark tourism (Dale & Robinson, 2011; Lennon & Foley, 2000; Stone, 2013; Tarlow, 2005) and the growth of the dark tourism market (Biran & Hyde, 2013; Stone 2005; Stone & Sharpley, 2008), there has been little interest shown in understanding the relationship between dark tourism and urban tourism (Page & Hall 2002). This paper presents the initial findings of a research project that investigates the dark tourism products offered by European cities. A s...

Dark-matter decay as a complementary probe of multicomponent dark sectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Dienes, Keith R; Kumar, Jason; Thomas, Brooks; Yaylali, David

2015-02-06

In single-component theories of dark matter, the 2→2 amplitudes for dark-matter production, annihilation, and scattering can be related to each other through various crossing symmetries. The detection techniques based on these processes are thus complementary. However, multicomponent theories exhibit an additional direction for dark-matter complementarity: the possibility of dark-matter decay from heavier to lighter components. We discuss how this new detection channel may be correlated with the others, and demonstrate that the enhanced complementarity which emerges can be an important ingredient in probing and constraining the parameter spaces of such models.

Constraining dark photon model with dark matter from CMB spectral distortions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ki-Young Choi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Many extensions of Standard Model (SM include a dark sector which can interact with the SM sector via a light mediator. We explore the possibilities to probe such a dark sector by studying the distortion of the CMB spectrum from the blackbody shape due to the elastic scatterings between the dark matter and baryons through a hidden light mediator. We in particular focus on the model where the dark sector gauge boson kinetically mixes with the SM and present the future experimental prospect for a PIXIE-like experiment along with its comparison to the existing bounds from complementary terrestrial experiments.

Effective description of dark matter self-interactions in small dark matter haloes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kummer, Janis

2017-07-01

Self-interacting dark matter may have striking astrophysical signatures, such as observ- able offsets between galaxies and dark matter in merging galaxy clusters. Numerical N-body simulations used to predict such observables typically treat the galaxies as collisionless test particles, a questionable assumption given that each galaxy is embedded in its own dark matter halo. To enable a more accurate treatment we develop an effective description of small dark matter haloes taking into account the two major effects due to dark matter self-scatterings: deceleration and evaporation. We point out that self-scatterings can have a sizeable impact on the trajectories of galaxies, diminishing the separation between galaxies and dark matter in merging clusters. This effect depends sensitively on the underlying particle physics, in particular the angular dependence of the self-scattering cross section, and cannot be predicted from the momentum transfer cross section alone.

Dark matter universe

Science.gov (United States)

Bahcall, Neta A.

2015-01-01

Most of the mass in the universe is in the form of dark matter—a new type of nonbaryonic particle not yet detected in the laboratory or in other detection experiments. The evidence for the existence of dark matter through its gravitational impact is clear in astronomical observations—from the early observations of the large motions of galaxies in clusters and the motions of stars and gas in galaxies, to observations of the large-scale structure in the universe, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. The extensive data consistently show the dominance of dark matter and quantify its amount and distribution, assuming general relativity is valid. The data inform us that the dark matter is nonbaryonic, is “cold” (i.e., moves nonrelativistically in the early universe), and interacts only weakly with matter other than by gravity. The current Lambda cold dark matter cosmology—a simple (but strange) flat cold dark matter model dominated by a cosmological constant Lambda, with only six basic parameters (including the density of matter and of baryons, the initial mass fluctuations amplitude and its scale dependence, and the age of the universe and of the first stars)—fits remarkably well all the accumulated data. However, what is the dark matter? This is one of the most fundamental open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Its existence requires an extension of our current understanding of particle physics or otherwise point to a modification of gravity on cosmological scales. The exploration and ultimate detection of dark matter are led by experiments for direct and indirect detection of this yet mysterious particle. PMID:26417091

Dark matter universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahcall, Neta A

2015-10-06

Most of the mass in the universe is in the form of dark matter--a new type of nonbaryonic particle not yet detected in the laboratory or in other detection experiments. The evidence for the existence of dark matter through its gravitational impact is clear in astronomical observations--from the early observations of the large motions of galaxies in clusters and the motions of stars and gas in galaxies, to observations of the large-scale structure in the universe, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. The extensive data consistently show the dominance of dark matter and quantify its amount and distribution, assuming general relativity is valid. The data inform us that the dark matter is nonbaryonic, is "cold" (i.e., moves nonrelativistically in the early universe), and interacts only weakly with matter other than by gravity. The current Lambda cold dark matter cosmology--a simple (but strange) flat cold dark matter model dominated by a cosmological constant Lambda, with only six basic parameters (including the density of matter and of baryons, the initial mass fluctuations amplitude and its scale dependence, and the age of the universe and of the first stars)--fits remarkably well all the accumulated data. However, what is the dark matter? This is one of the most fundamental open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Its existence requires an extension of our current understanding of particle physics or otherwise point to a modification of gravity on cosmological scales. The exploration and ultimate detection of dark matter are led by experiments for direct and indirect detection of this yet mysterious particle.

The Angular Momentum of Baryons and Dark Matter Halos Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Kimm, Taysun; Devriendt, Julien; Slyz, Adrianne; Pichon, Christophe; Kassin, Susan A.; Dubois, Yohan

2011-01-01

Recent theoretical studies have shown that galaxies at high redshift are fed by cold, dense gas filaments, suggesting angular momentum transport by gas differs from that by dark matter. Revisiting this issue using high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamics simulations with adaptive-mesh refinement (AMR), we find that at the time of accretion, gas and dark matter do carry a similar amount of specific angular momentum, but that it is systematically higher than that of the dark matter halo as a whole. At high redshift, freshly accreted gas rapidly streams into the central region of the halo, directly depositing this large amount of angular momentum within a sphere of radius r = 0.1R(sub vir). In contrast, dark matter particles pass through the central region unscathed, and a fraction of them ends up populating the outer regions of the halo (r/R(sub vir) > 0.1), redistributing angular momentum in the process. As a result, large-scale motions of the cosmic web have to be considered as the origin of gas angular momentum rather than its virialised dark matter halo host. This generic result holds for halos of all masses at all redshifts, as radiative cooling ensures that a significant fraction of baryons remain trapped at the centre of the halos. Despite this injection of angular momentum enriched gas, we predict an amount for stellar discs which is in fair agreement with observations at z=0. This arises because the total specific angular momentum of the baryons (gas and stars) remains close to that of dark matter halos. Indeed, our simulations indicate that any differential loss of angular momentum amplitude between the two components is minor even though dark matter halos continuously lose between half and two-thirds of their specific angular momentum modulus as they evolve. In light of our results, a substantial revision of the standard theory of disc formation seems to be required. We propose a new scenario where gas efficiently carries the angular momentum generated

Cosmological Constraints on Decoupled Dark Photons and Dark Higgs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berger, Joshua [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Jedamzik, Karsten [Univ. Montpellier II (France). Lab. Univers. et Particules de Monpellier; Walker, Devin G.E. [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Dept. of Physics

2016-05-23

Any neutral boson such as a dark photon or dark Higgs that is part of a non-standard sector of particles can mix with its standard model counterpart. When very weakly mixed with the Standard Model, these particles are produced in the early Universe via the freeze-in mechanism and subsequently decay back to standard model particles. In this work, we place constraints on such mediator decays by considering bounds from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We find both nucleosynthesis and CMB can constrain dark photons with a kinetic mixing parameter between log ϵ ~ -10 to -17 for masses between 1 MeV and 100 GeV. Similarly, the dark Higgs mixing angle ϵ with the Standard Model Higgs is constrained between log ϵ ~ -6 to -15. Dramatic improvement on the bounds from CMB spectral distortions can be achieved with proposed experiments such as PIXIE.

Consequences of dark matter-dark energy interaction on cosmological parameters derived from type Ia supernova data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amendola, Luca; Campos, Gabriela Camargo; Rosenfeld, Rogerio

2007-01-01

Models where the dark matter component of the Universe interacts with the dark energy field have been proposed as a solution to the cosmic coincidence problem, since in the attractor regime both dark energy and dark matter scale in the same way. In these models the mass of the cold dark matter particles is a function of the dark energy field responsible for the present acceleration of the Universe, and different scenarios can be parametrized by how the mass of the cold dark matter particles evolves with time. In this article we study the impact of a constant coupling δ between dark energy and dark matter on the determination of a redshift dependent dark energy equation of state w DE (z) and on the dark matter density today from SNIa data. We derive an analytical expression for the luminosity distance in this case. In particular, we show that the presence of such a coupling increases the tension between the cosmic microwave background data from the analysis of the shift parameter in models with constant w DE and SNIa data for realistic values of the present dark matter density fraction. Thus, an independent measurement of the present dark matter density can place constraints on models with interacting dark energy

THE MAGIC OF DARK TOURISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika KULCSÁR

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The dark tourism is a form of tourism that is not unanimously accepted by the whole society, but in spite of this fact, the practitioners of dark tourism is a viable segment. Indeed the concept that defines dark tourism is none other than death, and perhaps this is why it will always be a segment that will not be attracted by this form of tourism. Many questions about dark tourism arise. Among them: (1 is dark tourism an area of science attractive for researches? (2 which is the typology of dark tourism? (3 what are the motivating factors that determine practicing dark tourism? This paper provides a detailed analysis of publication behaviour in the field of dark tourism. The article also includes the main results obtained by achieving a quantitative marketing research among students of Sfantu Gheorghe University Extension in order to know their opinion, attitude towards dark tourism.

Probes for dark matter physics

Science.gov (United States)

Khlopov, Maxim Yu.

The existence of cosmological dark matter is in the bedrock of the modern cosmology. The dark matter is assumed to be nonbaryonic and consists of new stable particles. Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) miracle appeals to search for neutral stable weakly interacting particles in underground experiments by their nuclear recoil and at colliders by missing energy and momentum, which they carry out. However, the lack of WIMP effects in their direct underground searches and at colliders can appeal to other forms of dark matter candidates. These candidates may be weakly interacting slim particles, superweakly interacting particles, or composite dark matter, in which new particles are bound. Their existence should lead to cosmological effects that can find probes in the astrophysical data. However, if composite dark matter contains stable electrically charged leptons and quarks bound by ordinary Coulomb interaction in elusive dark atoms, these charged constituents of dark atoms can be the subject of direct experimental test at the colliders. The models, predicting stable particles with charge ‑ 2 without stable particles with charges + 1 and ‑ 1 can avoid severe constraints on anomalous isotopes of light elements and provide solution for the puzzles of dark matter searches. In such models, the excessive ‑ 2 charged particles are bound with primordial helium in O-helium atoms, maintaining specific nuclear-interacting form of the dark matter. The successful development of composite dark matter scenarios appeals for experimental search for doubly charged constituents of dark atoms, making experimental search for exotic stable double charged particles experimentum crucis for dark atoms of composite dark matter.

Blueberry effects on dark vision and recovery after photobleaching: placebo-controlled crossover studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalt, Wilhelmina; McDonald, Jane E; Fillmore, Sherry A E; Tremblay, Francois

2014-11-19

Clinical evidence for anthocyanin benefits in night vision is controversial. This paper presents two human trials investigating blueberry anthocyanin effects on dark adaptation, functional night vision, and vision recovery after retinal photobleaching. One trial, S2 (n = 72), employed a 3 week intervention and a 3 week washout, two anthocyanin doses (271 and 7.11 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents (C3g eq)), and placebo. The other trial, L1 (n = 59), employed a 12 week intervention and an 8 week washout and tested one dose (346 mg C3g eq) and placebo. In both S2 and L1 neither dark adaptation nor night vision was improved by anthocyanin intake. However, in both trials anthocyanin consumption hastened the recovery of visual acuity after photobleaching. In S2 both anthocyanin doses were effective (P = 0.014), and in L1 recovery was improved at 8 weeks (P = 0.027) and 12 weeks (P = 0.030). Although photobleaching recovery was hastened by anthocyanins, it is not known whether this improvement would have an impact on everyday vision.

Low-Mass Dark Matter Search with the DarkSide-50 Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agnes, P.; et al.

2018-02-20

We present the results of a search for dark matter WIMPs in the mass range below 20 GeV/c^2 using a target of low-radioactivity argon. The data were obtained using the DarkSide-50 apparatus at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The analysis is based on the ionization signal, for which the DarkSide-50 time projection chamber is fully efficient at 0.1 keVee. The observed rate in the detector at 0.5 keVee is about 1.5 events/keVee/kg/day and is almost entirely accounted for by known background sources. We obtain a 90% C.L. exclusion limit above 1.8 GeV/c^2 for the spin-independent cross section of dark matter WIMPs on nucleons, extending the exclusion region for dark matter below previous limits in the range 1.8-6 GeV/c^2.

10th Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe

CERN Document Server

UCLA Dark Matter 2012

2012-01-01

These proceedings provide the latest results on dark matter and dark energy research. The UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy hosted its tenth Dark Matter and Dark Energy conference in Marina del Rey and brought together all the leaders in the field. The symposium provided a scientific forum for the latest discussions in the field.  Topics covered at the symposium:  •Status of measurements of the equation of state of dark energy and new experiments •The search for missing energy events at the LHC and implications for dark matter search •Theoretical calculations on all forms of dark matter (SUSY, axions, sterile neutrinos, etc.) •Status of the indirect search for dark matter •Status of the direct search for dark matter in detectors around the world •The low-mass wimp search region •The next generation of very large dark matter detectors •New underground laboratories for dark matter search  

Macro Dark Matter

CERN Document Server

Jacobs, David M; Lynn, Bryan W.

2015-01-01

Dark matter is a vital component of the current best model of our universe, $\\Lambda$CDM. There are leading candidates for what the dark matter could be (e.g. weakly-interacting massive particles, or axions), but no compelling observational or experimental evidence exists to support these particular candidates, nor any beyond-the-Standard-Model physics that might produce such candidates. This suggests that other dark matter candidates, including ones that might arise in the Standard Model, should receive increased attention. Here we consider a general class of dark matter candidates with characteristic masses and interaction cross-sections characterized in units of grams and cm$^2$, respectively -- we therefore dub these macroscopic objects as Macros. Such dark matter candidates could potentially be assembled out of Standard Model particles (quarks and leptons) in the early universe. A combination of earth-based, astrophysical, and cosmological observations constrain a portion of the Macro parameter space; ho...

Charming dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Jubb, Thomas; Kirk, Matthew; Lenz, Alexander

2017-12-01

We have considered a model of Dark Minimal Flavour Violation (DMFV), in which a triplet of dark matter particles couple to right-handed up-type quarks via a heavy colour-charged scalar mediator. By studying a large spectrum of possible constraints, and assessing the entire parameter space using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), we can place strong restrictions on the allowed parameter space for dark matter models of this type.

Light dark photon and fermionic dark radiation for the Hubble constant and the structure formation

OpenAIRE

Ko, P.; Tang, Yong

2018-01-01

Motivated by the tensions in the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the structure growth $\\sigma_8$ between $Planck$ results and other low redshift measurements, we discuss some cosmological effects of a dark sector model in which dark matter (DM) interacts with fermionic dark radiation (DR) through a light gauge boson (dark photon). Such kind of models are very generic in particle physics with a dark sector with dark gauge symmetries. The effective number of neutrinos is increased by $\\delta N_{eff} ...

Comprehensive asymmetric dark matter model

Science.gov (United States)

Lonsdale, Stephen J.; Volkas, Raymond R.

2018-05-01

Asymmetric dark matter (ADM) is motivated by the similar cosmological mass densities measured for ordinary and dark matter. We present a comprehensive theory for ADM that addresses the mass density similarity, going beyond the usual ADM explanations of similar number densities. It features an explicit matter-antimatter asymmetry generation mechanism, has one fully worked out thermal history and suggestions for other possibilities, and meets all phenomenological, cosmological and astrophysical constraints. Importantly, it incorporates a deep reason for why the dark matter mass scale is related to the proton mass, a key consideration in ADM models. Our starting point is the idea of mirror matter, which offers an explanation for dark matter by duplicating the standard model with a dark sector related by a Z2 parity symmetry. However, the dark sector need not manifest as a symmetric copy of the standard model in the present day. By utilizing the mechanism of "asymmetric symmetry breaking" with two Higgs doublets in each sector, we develop a model of ADM where the mirror symmetry is spontaneously broken, leading to an electroweak scale in the dark sector that is significantly larger than that of the visible sector. The weak sensitivity of the ordinary and dark QCD confinement scales to their respective electroweak scales leads to the necessary connection between the dark matter and proton masses. The dark matter is composed of either dark neutrons or a mixture of dark neutrons and metastable dark hydrogen atoms. Lepton asymmetries are generated by the C P -violating decays of heavy Majorana neutrinos in both sectors. These are then converted by sphaleron processes to produce the observed ratio of visible to dark matter in the universe. The dynamics responsible for the kinetic decoupling of the two sectors emerges as an important issue that we only partially solve.

Cosmological constraints on decoupled dark photons and dark Higgs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berger, Joshua [Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison,1150 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Jedamzik, Karsten [Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, UMR5299-CNRS,Université Montpellier II,Place Eugène Bataillon, CC 72, 34095 Montpellier Cédex 05 (France); Walker, Devin G.E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College,6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States); Department of Physics, University of Washington,Box 351560, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

2016-11-16

Any neutral boson such as a dark photon or dark Higgs that is part of a non-standard sector of particles can mix with its standard model counterpart. When very weakly mixed with the Standard Model, these particles are produced in the early Universe via the freeze-in mechanism and subsequently decay back to standard model particles. In this work, we place constraints on such mediator decays by considering bounds from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We find both nucleosynthesis and CMB can constrain dark photons with a kinetic mixing parameter between log ϵ∼−10 to −17 for masses between 1 MeV and 100 GeV. Similarly, the dark Higgs mixing angle ϵ with the Standard Model Higgs is constrained between log ϵ∼−6 to −15. Dramatic improvement on the bounds from CMB spectral distortions can be achieved with proposed experiments such as PIXIE.

Dark Energy and Structure Formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Anupam

2010-01-01

We study the gravitational dynamics of dark energy configurations. We report on the time evolution of the dark energy field configurations as well as the time evolution of the energy density to demonstrate the gravitational collapse of dark energy field configurations. We live in a Universe which is dominated by Dark Energy. According to current estimates about 75% of the Energy Density is in the form of Dark Energy. Thus when we consider gravitational dynamics and Structure Formation we expect Dark Energy to play an important role. The most promising candidate for dark energy is the energy density of fields in curved space-time. It therefore become a pressing need to understand the gravitational dynamics of dark energy field configurations. We develop and describe the formalism to study the gravitational collapse of fields given any general potential for the fields. We apply this formalism to models of dark energy motivated by particle physics considerations. We solve the resulting evolution equations which determine the time evolution of field configurations as well as the dynamics of space-time. Our results show that gravitational collapse of dark energy field configurations occurs and must be considered in any complete picture of our universe.

Self-interacting warm dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hannestad, Steen; Scherrer, Robert J.

2000-01-01

It has been shown by many independent studies that the cold dark matter scenario produces singular galactic dark halos, in strong contrast with observations. Possible remedies are that either the dark matter is warm so that it has significant thermal motion or that the dark matter has strong self-interactions. We combine these ideas to calculate the linear mass power spectrum and the spectrum of cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations for self-interacting warm dark matter. Our results indicate that such models have more power on small scales than is the case for the standard warm dark matter model, with a CMB fluctuation spectrum which is nearly indistinguishable from standard cold dark matter. This enhanced small-scale power may provide better agreement with the observations than does standard warm dark matter. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

Baryonic dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uson, Juan M.

2000-01-01

Many searches for baryonic dark matter have been conducted but, so far, all have been unsuccessful. Indeed, no more than 1% of the dark matter can be in the form of hydrogen burning stars. It has recently been suggested that most of the baryons in the universe are still in the form of ionized gas so that it is possible that there is no baryonic dark matter. Although it is likely that a significant fraction of the dark matter in the Milky Way is in a halo of non-baryonic matter, the data do not exclude the possibility that a considerable amount, perhaps most of it, could be in a tenuous halo of diffuse ionized gas

Inelastic dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, David; Weiner, Neal

2001-01-01

Many observations suggest that much of the matter of the universe is nonbaryonic. Recently, the DAMA NaI dark matter direct detection experiment reported an annual modulation in their event rate consistent with a WIMP relic. However, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) Ge experiment excludes most of the region preferred by DAMA. We demonstrate that if the dark matter can only scatter by making a transition to a slightly heavier state (Δm∼100 keV), the experiments are no longer in conflict. Moreover, differences in the energy spectrum of nuclear recoil events could distinguish such a scenario from the standard WIMP scenario. Finally, we discuss the sneutrino as a candidate for inelastic dark matter in supersymmetric theories

Dark matter and its detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bi Xiaojun; Qin Bo

2011-01-01

We first explain the concept of dark matter,then review the history of its discovery and the evidence of its existence. We describe our understanding of the nature of dark matter particles, the popular dark matter models,and why the weakly interacting massive particles (called WIMPs) are the most attractive candidates for dark matter. Then we introduce the three methods of dark matter detection: colliders, direct detection and indirect detection. Finally, we review the recent development of dark matter detection, including the new results from DAMA, CoGent, PAMELA, ATIC and Fermi. (authors)

Dim light adaptation attenuates acute melatonin suppression in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Jasser, Samar A; Hanifin, John P; Rollag, Mark D; Brainard, George C

2006-10-01

Abstract Studies in rodents with retinal degeneration indicated that neither the rod nor the cone photoreceptors obligatorily participate in circadian responses to light, including melatonin suppression and photoperiodic response. Yet there is a residual phase-shifting response in melanopsin knockout mice, which suggests an alternate or redundant means for light input to the SCN of the hypothalamus. The findings of Aggelopoulos and Meissl suggest a complex, dynamic interrelationship between the classic visual photoreceptors and SCN cell sensitivity to light stimuli, relative to various adaptive lighting conditions. These studies raised the possibility that the phototransductive physiology of the retinohypothalamic tract in humans might be modulated by the visual rod and cone photoreceptors. The aim of the following two-part study was to test the hypothesis that dim light adaptation will dampen the subsequent suppression of melatonin by monochromatic light in healthy human subjects. Each experiment included 5 female and 3 male human subjects between the ages of 18 and 30 years, with normal color vision. Dim white light and darkness adaptation exposures occurred between midnight and 0200 h, and a full-field 460-nm light exposure subsequently occurred between 0200 and 0330-h for each adaptation condition, at 2 different intensities. Plasma samples were drawn following the 2-h adaptation, as well as after the 460-nm monochromatic light exposure, and melatonin was measured by radioimmunoassay. Comparison of melatonin suppression responses to monochromatic light in both studies revealed a loss of significant suppression after dim white light adaptation compared with dark adaptation (p light exposure, varying with the conditions of light adaptation prior to exposure.

Dark focus of accommodation as dependent and independent variables in visual display technology

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Sherrie; Kennedy, Robert; Harm, Deborah

1992-01-01

When independent stimuli are available for accommodation, as in the dark or under low contrast conditions, the lens seeks its resting position. Individual differences in resting positions are reliable, under autonomic control, and can change with visual task demands. We hypothesized that motion sickness in a flight simulator might result in dark focus changes. Method: Subjects received training flights in three different Navy flight simulators. Two were helicopter simulators entailed CRT presentation using infinity optics, one involved a dome presentation of a computer graphic visual projection system. Results: In all three experiments there were significant differences between dark focus activity before and after simulator exposure when comparisons were made between sick and not-sick pilot subjects. In two of these experiments, the average shift in dark focus for the sick subjects was toward increased myopia when each subject was compared to his own baseline. In the third experiment, the group showed an average shift outward of small amount and the subjects who were sick showed significantly less outward movement than those who were symptom free. Conclusions: Although the relationship is not a simple one, dark focus changes in simulator sickness imply parasympathetic activity. Because changes can occur in relation to endogenous and exogenous events, such measurement may have useful applications as dependent measures in studies of visually coupled systems, virtual reality systems, and space adaptation syndrome.

Dark Matter Effective Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Del Nobile, Eugenio; Sannino, Francesco

2012-01-01

We organize the effective (self)interaction terms for complex scalar dark matter candidates which are either an isosinglet, isodoublet or an isotriplet with respect to the weak interactions. The classification has been performed ordering the operators in inverse powers of the dark matter cutoff...... scale. We assume Lorentz invariance, color and charge neutrality. We also introduce potentially interesting dark matter induced flavor-changing operators. Our general framework allows for model independent investigations of dark matter properties....

Interacting Dark Matter and q-Deformed Dark Energy Nonminimally Coupled to Gravity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emre Dil

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a new approach to study the dark sector of the universe by considering the dark energy as an emerging q-deformed bosonic scalar field which is not only interacting with the dark matter, but also nonminimally coupled to gravity, in the framework of standard Einsteinian gravity. In order to analyze the dynamic of the system, we first give the quantum field theoretical description of the q-deformed scalar field dark energy and then construct the action and the dynamical structure of this interacting and nonminimally coupled dark sector. As a second issue, we perform the phase-space analysis of the model to check the reliability of our proposal by searching the stable attractor solutions implying the late-time accelerating expansion phase of the universe.

Dark photons from the center of the Earth: Smoking-gun signals of dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Jonathan L.; Smolinsky, Jordan; Tanedo, Philip

2016-01-01

Dark matter may be charged under dark electromagnetism with a dark photon that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model photon. In this framework, dark matter will collect at the center of the Earth and annihilate into dark photons, which may reach the surface of the Earth and decay into observable particles. We determine the resulting signal rates, including Sommerfeld enhancements, which play an important role in bringing the Earth's dark matter population to their maximal, equilibrium value. For dark matter masses mX˜100 GeV - 10 TeV , dark photon masses mA'˜MeV -GeV , and kinetic mixing parameters ɛ ˜1 0-9- 1 0-7 , the resulting electrons, muons, photons, and hadrons that point back to the center of the Earth are a smoking-gun signal of dark matter that may be detected by a variety of experiments, including neutrino telescopes, such as IceCube, and space-based cosmic ray detectors, such as Fermi-LAT and AMS. We determine the signal rates and characteristics and show that large and striking signals—such as parallel muon tracks—are possible in regions of the (mA',ɛ ) plane that are not probed by direct detection, accelerator experiments, or astrophysical observations.

Probing the Dark Sector with Dark Matter Bound States.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Haipeng; Echenard, Bertrand; Pospelov, Maxim; Zhang, Yue

2016-04-15

A model of the dark sector where O(few  GeV) mass dark matter particles χ couple to a lighter dark force mediator V, m_{V}≪m_{χ}, is motivated by the recently discovered mismatch between simulated and observed shapes of galactic halos. Such models, in general, provide a challenge for direct detection efforts and collider searches. We show that for a large range of coupling constants and masses, the production and decay of the bound states of χ, such as 0^{-+} and 1^{--} states, η_{D} and ϒ_{D}, is an important search channel. We show that e^{+}e^{-}→η_{D}+V or ϒ_{D}+γ production at B factories for α_{D}>0.1 is sufficiently strong to result in multiple pairs of charged leptons and pions via η_{D}→2V→2(l^{+}l^{-}) and ϒ_{D}→3V→3(l^{+}l^{-}) (l=e,μ,π). The absence of such final states in the existing searches performed at BABAR and Belle sets new constraints on the parameter space of the model. We also show that a search for multiple bremsstrahlung of dark force mediators, e^{+}e^{-}→χχ[over ¯]+nV, resulting in missing energy and multiple leptons, will further improve the sensitivity to self-interacting dark matter.

Update on hidden sectors with dark forces and dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andreas, Sarah

2012-11-15

Recently there has been much interest in hidden sectors, especially in the context of dark matter and ''dark forces'', since they are a common feature of beyond standard model scenarios like string theory and SUSY and additionally exhibit interesting phenomenological aspects. Various laboratory experiments place limits on the so-called hidden photon and continuously further probe and constrain the parameter space; an updated overview is presented here. Furthermore, for several hidden sector models with light dark matter we study the viability with respect to the relic abundance and direct detection experiments.

Temporal partitioning of adaptive responses of the murine heart to fasting.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Rachel A; Collins, Helen E; Berry, Ryan D; Brahma, Manoja K; Tirado, Brian A; Peliciari-Garcia, Rodrigo A; Stanley, Haley L; Wende, Adam R; Taegtmeyer, Heinrich; Rajasekaran, Namakkal Soorappan; Darley-Usmar, Victor; Zhang, Jianhua; Frank, Stuart J; Chatham, John C; Young, Martin E

2018-03-15

Recent studies suggest that the time of day at which food is consumed dramatically influences clinically-relevant cardiometabolic parameters (e.g., adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and cardiac function). Meal feeding benefits may be the result of daily periods of feeding and/or fasting, highlighting the need for improved understanding of the temporal adaptation of cardiometabolic tissues (e.g., heart) to fasting. Such studies may provide mechanistic insight regarding how time-of-day-dependent feeding/fasting cycles influence cardiac function. We hypothesized that fasting during the sleep period elicits beneficial adaptation of the heart at transcriptional, translational, and metabolic levels. To test this hypothesis, temporal adaptation was investigated in wild-type mice fasted for 24-h, or for either the 12-h light/sleep phase or the 12-h dark/awake phase. Fasting maximally induced fatty acid responsive genes (e.g., Pdk4) during the dark/active phase; transcriptional changes were mirrored at translational (e.g., PDK4) and metabolic flux (e.g., glucose/oleate oxidation) levels. Similarly, maximal repression of myocardial p-mTOR and protein synthesis rates occurred during the dark phase; both parameters remained elevated in the heart of fasted mice during the light phase. In contrast, markers of autophagy (e.g., LC3II) exhibited peak responses to fasting during the light phase. Collectively, these data show that responsiveness of the heart to fasting is temporally partitioned. Autophagy peaks during the light/sleep phase, while repression of glucose utilization and protein synthesis is maximized during the dark/active phase. We speculate that sleep phase fasting may benefit cardiac function through augmentation of protein/cellular constituent turnover. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Z2 SIMP dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernal, Nicolás; Chu, Xiaoyong

2016-01-01

Dark matter with strong self-interactions provides a compelling solution to several small-scale structure puzzles. Under the assumption that the coupling between dark matter and the Standard Model particles is suppressed, such strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) allow for a successful thermal freeze-out through N-to-N' processes, where N dark matter particles annihilate to N' of them. In the most common scenarios, where dark matter stability is guaranteed by a Z 2 symmetry, the seemingly leading annihilating channel, i.e. 3-to-2 process, is forbidden, so the 4-to-2 one dominate the production of the dark matter relic density. Moreover, cosmological observations require that the dark matter sector is colder than the thermal bath of Standard Model particles, a condition that can be dynamically generated via a small portal between dark matter and Standard Model particles, à la freeze-in. This scenario is exemplified in the context of the Singlet Scalar dark matter model

Phantom dark energy with varying-mass dark matter particles: Acceleration and cosmic coincidence problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leon, Genly; Saridakis, Emmanuel N.

2010-01-01

We investigate several varying-mass dark matter particle models in the framework of phantom cosmology. We examine whether there exist late-time cosmological solutions, corresponding to an accelerating universe and possessing dark energy and dark matter densities of the same order. Imposing exponential or power-law potentials and exponential or power-law mass dependence, we conclude that the coincidence problem cannot be solved or even alleviated. Thus, if dark energy is attributed to the phantom paradigm, varying-mass dark matter models cannot fulfill the basic requirement that led to their construction.

Sex and dark times' strategy: The Dark Triad and time perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Moraga, Fernando R G; Nima, Ali A; Garcia, Danilo

2017-03-01

We investigated the effect of sex on associations between dark traits and time perspective dimensions. Responses by participants (N = 338) to the Short Dark Triad Inventory and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory showed that while sex was involved in different time perspective associations of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism, it did not moderate the dark times' strategy. © 2017 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Conflict adaptation in schizophrenia: reviewing past and previewing future efforts.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrahamse, Elger; Ruitenberg, Marit; Duthoo, Wout; Sabbe, Bernard; Morrens, Manuel; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe

2016-05-01

Cognitive control impairments have been suggested to be a critical component in the overall cognitive deficits observed in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Here, we zoom in on a specific function of cognitive control, conflict adaptation. Abnormal neural activity patterns have been observed for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in core conflict adaptation areas such as anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex. On the one hand, this strongly indicates that conflict adaptation is affected. On the other hand, however, outcomes at the behavioural level are needed to create a window into a precise interpretation of this abnormal neural activity. We present a narrative review of behavioural work within the context of conflict adaptation in schizophrenia, focusing on various major conflict adaptation markers: congruency sequence effects, proportion congruency effects, and post-error and post-conflict slowing. The review emphasises both methodological and theoretical aspects that are relevant to the understanding of conflict adaptation in schizophrenia. Based on the currently available set of behavioural studies on conflict adaptation, no clear-cut answer can be provided as to the precise conflict adaptation processes that are impaired (and to what extent) in schizophrenia populations. Future work is needed in state-of-the-art designs in order to reach better insight into the specifics of conflict adaptation impairments associated with schizophrenia.

Possible dark energy imprints in the gravitational wave spectrum of mixed neutron-dark-energy stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yazadjiev, Stoytcho S. [Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, James Bourchier Blvd. 5, 1164 Sofia (Bulgaria); Doneva, Daniela D., E-mail: yazad@phys.uni-sofia.bg, E-mail: daniela.doneva@uni-tuebingen.de [Theoretical Astrophysics, IAAT, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen (Germany)

2012-03-01

In the present paper we study the oscillation spectrum of neutron stars containing both ordinary matter and dark energy in different proportions. Within the model we consider, the equilibrium configurations are numerically constructed and the results show that the properties of the mixed neuron-dark-energy star can differ significantly when the amount of dark energy in the stars is varied. The oscillations of the mixed neuron-dark-energy stars are studied in the Cowling approximation. As a result we find that the frequencies of the fundamental mode and the higher overtones are strongly affected by the dark energy content. This can be used in the future to detect the presence of dark energy in the neutron stars and to constrain the dark-energy models.

Dark Matter

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

What You See Ain't What. You Got, Resonance, Vol.4,. No.9,1999. Dark Matter. 2. Dark Matter in the Universe. Bikram Phookun and Biman Nath. In Part 11 of this article we learnt that there are compelling evidences from dynamics of spiral galaxies, like our own, that there must be non-luminous matter in them. In this.

Signature of the interaction between dark energy and dark matter in galaxy clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdalla, Elcio; Abramo, L. Raul; Sodre, Laerte; Wang Bin

2009-01-01

We investigate the influence of an interaction between dark energy and dark matter upon the dynamics of galaxy clusters. We obtain the general Layser-Irvine equation in the presence of interactions, and find how, in that case, the virial theorem stands corrected. Using optical, X-ray and weak lensing data from 33 relaxed galaxy clusters, we put constraints on the strength of the coupling between the dark sectors. Available data suggests that this coupling is small but positive, indicating that dark energy might be decaying into dark matter. Systematic effects between the several mass estimates, however, should be better known, before definitive conclusions on the magnitude and significance of this coupling could be established

Electroweakly-interacting Dirac dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagata, Natsumi

2014-11-01

We consider a class of fermionic dark matter candidates that are charged under both the SU(2) L and U(1) Y gauge interactions. Such a dark matter is stringently restricted by the dark matter direct detection experiments, since the Z-boson exchange processes induce too large dark matter-nucleus elastic scattering cross sections. Effects of ultraviolet (UV) physics, however, split it into two Majorana fermions to evade the constraint. These effects may be probed by means of the dark matter-nucleus scattering via the Higgs-boson exchange process, as well as the electric dipole moments induced by the dark matter and its SU(2) L partner fields. In this Letter, we evaluate them with effective operators that describe the UV-physics effects. It turns out that the constraints coming from the experiments for the quantities have already restricted the dark matters with hypercharge Y≥3/2. Future experiments have sensitivities to probe this class of dark matter candidates, and may disfavor the Y≥1 cases if no signal is observed. In this case, only the Y=0 and 1/2 cases may be the remaining possibilities for the SU(2) L charged fermionic dark matter candidates.

Resonant SIMP dark matter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soo-Min Choi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We consider a resonant SIMP dark matter in models with two singlet complex scalar fields charged under a local dark U(1D. After the U(1D is broken down to a Z5 discrete subgroup, the lighter scalar field becomes a SIMP dark matter which has the enhanced 3→2 annihilation cross section near the resonance of the heavier scalar field. Bounds on the SIMP self-scattering cross section and the relic density can be fulfilled at the same time for perturbative couplings of SIMP. A small gauge kinetic mixing between the SM hypercharge and dark gauge bosons can be used to make SIMP dark matter in kinetic equilibrium with the SM during freeze-out.

Dark Side of the Universe

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

The Dark Side of the Universe (DSU) workshops bring together a wide range of theorists and experimentalists to discuss current ideas on models of the dark side, and relate them to current and future experiments. This year's DSU will take place in the colorful Norwegian city of Bergen. Topics include dark matter, dark energy, cosmology, and physics beyond the standard model. One of the goals of the workshop is to expose in particular students and young researchers to the fascinating topics of dark matter and dark energy, and to provide them with the opportunity to meet some of the best researchers in these areas .

Origin of ΔNeff as a result of an interaction between dark radiation and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjaelde, Ole Eggers; Das, Subinoy; Moss, Adam

2012-01-01

Results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and recently from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) have indicated the possible existence of an extra radiation component in addition to the well known three neutrino species predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics. In this paper, we explore the possibility of the apparent extra dark radiation being linked directly to the physics of cold dark matter (CDM). In particular, we consider a generic scenario where dark radiation, as a result of an interaction, is produced directly by a fraction of the dark matter density effectively decaying into dark radiation. At an early epoch when the dark matter density is negligible, as an obvious consequence, the density of dark radiation is also very small. As the Universe approaches matter radiation equality, the dark matter density starts to dominate thereby increasing the content of dark radiation and changing the expansion rate of the Universe. As this increase in dark radiation content happens naturally after Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), it can relax the possible tension with lower values of radiation degrees of freedom measured from light element abundances compared to that of the CMB. We numerically confront this scenario with WMAP+ACT and WMAP+SPT data and derive an upper limit on the allowed fraction of dark matter decaying into dark radiation

On dark degeneracy and interacting models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carneiro, S.; Borges, H.A.

2014-01-01

Cosmological background observations cannot fix the dark energy equation of state, which is related to a degeneracy in the definition of the dark sector components. Here we show that this degeneracy can be broken at perturbation level by imposing two observational properties on dark matter. First, dark matter is defined as the clustering component we observe in large scale structures. This definition is meaningful only if dark energy is unperturbed, which is achieved if we additionally assume, as a second condition, that dark matter is cold, i.e. non-relativistic. As a consequence, dark energy models with equation-of-state parameter −1 ≤ ω < 0 are reduced to two observationally distinguishable classes with ω = −1, equally competitive when tested against observations. The first comprises the ΛCDM model with constant dark energy density. The second consists of interacting models with an energy flux from dark energy to dark matter

Dark Tourism and Destination Marketing

OpenAIRE

Jahnke, Daniela

2013-01-01

This thesis is about the dark tourism and destination marketing. The aim of the thesis is to display how these two terms can be combined. The term dark tourism is a relatively new research area; therefore the thesis will provide an outlook of the current situation of dark tourism. It starts with the beginning of dark tourism and continuous to the managerial aspects of dark tourism sites. The second part of the theoretical background is about destination marketing. It provides an overvie...

Searching for dark matter-dark energy interactions: Going beyond the conformal case

Science.gov (United States)

van de Bruck, Carsten; Mifsud, Jurgen

2018-01-01

We consider several cosmological models which allow for nongravitational direct couplings between dark matter and dark energy. The distinguishing cosmological features of these couplings can be probed by current cosmological observations, thus enabling us to place constraints on these specific interactions which are composed of the conformal and disformal coupling functions. We perform a global analysis in order to independently constrain the conformal, disformal, and mixed interactions between dark matter and dark energy by combining current data from: Planck observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation anisotropies, a combination of measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations, a supernova type Ia sample, a compilation of Hubble parameter measurements estimated from the cosmic chronometers approach, direct measurements of the expansion rate of the Universe today, and a compilation of growth of structure measurements. We find that in these coupled dark-energy models, the influence of the local value of the Hubble constant does not significantly alter the inferred constraints when we consider joint analyses that include all cosmological probes. Moreover, the parameter constraints are remarkably improved with the inclusion of the growth of structure data set measurements. We find no compelling evidence for an interaction within the dark sector of the Universe.

Dark matter and dark energy from the solution of the strong CP problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Mainini, Roberto; Bonometto, Silvio A

2004-09-17

The Peccei-Quinn (PQ) solution of the strong CP problem requires the existence of axions, which are viable candidates for dark matter. If the Nambu-Goldstone potential of the PQ model is replaced by a potential V(|Phi|) admitting a tracker solution, the scalar field |Phi| can account for dark energy, while the phase of Phi yields axion dark matter. If V is a supergravity (SUGRA) potential, the model essentially depends on a single parameter, the energy scale Lambda. Once we set Lambda approximately equal to 10(10) GeV at the quark-hadron transition, |Phi| naturally passes through values suitable to solve the strong CP problem, later growing to values providing fair amounts of dark matter and dark energy.

Impact of semi-annihilations on dark matter phenomenology. An example of ZN symmetric scalar dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bélanger, Geneviève; Kannike, Kristjan; Pukhov, Alexander; Raidal, Martti

2012-01-01

We study the impact of semi-annihilations x i x j ↔x k X and dark matter conversion x i x j ↔x k x l , where x i is any dark matter and X is any standard model particle, on dark matter phenomenology. We formulate minimal scalar dark matter models with an extra doublet and a complex singlet that predict non-trivial dark matter phenomenology with semi-annihilation processes for different discrete Abelian symmetries Z N , N > 2. We implement two such example models with Z 3 and Z 4 symmetry in micrOMEGAs and work out their phenomenology. We show that both semi-annihilations and dark matter conversion significantly modify the dark matter relic abundance in this type of models. In the Z 4 model, there are two stable neutral particles and therefore multi-component dark matter. We also study the possibility of dark matter direct detection in XENON100 in those models

Make dark matter charged again

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Prateek; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Randall, Lisa; Scholtz, Jakub, E-mail: prateekagrawal@fas.harvard.edu, E-mail: fcyrraci@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: randall@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: jscholtz@physics.harvard.edu [Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-05-01

We revisit constraints on dark matter that is charged under a U(1) gauge group in the dark sector, decoupled from Standard Model forces. We find that the strongest constraints in the literature are subject to a number of mitigating factors. For instance, the naive dark matter thermalization timescale in halos is corrected by saturation effects that slow down isotropization for modest ellipticities. The weakened bounds uncover interesting parameter space, making models with weak-scale charged dark matter viable, even with electromagnetic strength interaction. This also leads to the intriguing possibility that dark matter self-interactions within small dwarf galaxies are extremely large, a relatively unexplored regime in current simulations. Such strong interactions suppress heat transfer over scales larger than the dark matter mean free path, inducing a dynamical cutoff length scale above which the system appears to have only feeble interactions. These effects must be taken into account to assess the viability of darkly-charged dark matter. Future analyses and measurements should probe a promising region of parameter space for this model.

Review of dark photon searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denig, Achim

2016-01-01

Dark Photons are hypothetical extra-U(1) gauge bosons, which are motivated by a number of astrophysical anomalies as well as the presently seen deviation between the Standard Model prediction and the direct measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, (g − 2)μ. The Dark Photon does not serve as the Dark Matter particle itself, but acts as a messenger particle of a hypothetical Dark Sector with residual interaction to the Standard Model. We review recent Dark Photon searches, which were carried out in a global effort at various hadron and particle physics facilities. We also comment on the perspectives for future invisble searches, which directly probe the existence of Light Dark Matter particles.

Baryonic Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Silk, Joseph

1994-01-01

In the first two of these lectures, I present the evidence for baryonic dark matter and describe possible forms that it may take. The final lecture discusses formation of baryonic dark matter, and sets the cosmological context.

Dark matter wants Linear Collider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, S.; Asano, M.; Fujii, K.; Takubo, Y.; Honda, T.; Saito, T.; Yamamoto, H.; Humdi, R.S.; Ito, H.; Kanemura, S; Nabeshima, T.; Okada, N.; Suehara, T.

2011-01-01

One of the main purposes of physics at the International Linear Collider (ILC) is to study the property of dark matter such as its mass, spin, quantum numbers, and interactions with particles of the standard model. We discuss how the property can or cannot be investigated at the ILC using two typical cases of dark matter scenario: 1) most of new particles predicted in physics beyond the standard model are heavy and only dark matter is accessible at the ILC, and 2) not only dark matter but also other new particles are accessible at the ILC. We find that, as can be easily imagined, dark matter can be detected without any difficulties in the latter case. In the former case, it is still possible to detect dark matter when the mass of dark matter is less than a half mass of the Higgs boson.

Self-Destructing Dark Matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grossman, Yuval [Cornell U., LEPP; Harnik, Roni [Fermilab; Telem, Ofri [Cornell U., LEPP; Zhang, Yue [Northwestern U.

2017-12-01

We present Self-Destructing Dark Matter (SDDM), a new class of dark matter models which are detectable in large neutrino detectors. In this class of models, a component of dark matter can transition from a long-lived state to a short-lived one by scattering off of a nucleus or an electron in the Earth. The short-lived state then decays to Standard Model particles, generating a dark matter signal with a visible energy of order the dark matter mass rather than just its recoil. This leads to striking signals in large detectors with high energy thresholds. We present a few examples of models which exhibit self destruction, all inspired by bound state dynamics in the Standard Model. The models under consideration exhibit a rich phenomenology, possibly featuring events with one, two, or even three lepton pairs, each with a fixed invariant mass and a fixed energy, as well as non-trivial directional distributions. This motivates dedicated searches for dark matter in large underground detectors such as Super-K, Borexino, SNO+, and DUNE.

Ordinary Dark Matter versus Mysterious Dark Matter in Galactic Rotation

Science.gov (United States)

Gallo, C. F.; Feng, James

2008-04-01

To theoretically describe the measured rotational velocity curves of spiral galaxies, there are two different approaches and conclusions. (1) ORDINARY DARK MATTER. We assume Newtonian gravity/dynamics and successfully find (via computer) mass distributions in bulge/disk configurations that duplicate the measured rotational velocities. There is ordinary dark matter within the galactic disk towards the cooler periphery which has lower emissivity/opacity. There are no mysteries in this scenario based on verified physics. (2) MYSTERIOUS DARK MATTER. Others INaccurately assume the galactic mass distributions follow the measured light distributions, and then the measured rotational velocity curves are NOT duplicated. To alleviate this discrepancy, speculations are invoked re ``Massive Peripheral Spherical Halos of Mysterious Dark Matter.'' But NO matter has been detected in this UNtenable Halo configuration. Many UNverified ``Mysteries'' are invoked as necessary and convenient. CONCLUSION. The first approach utilizing Newtonian gravity/dynamics and searching for the ordinary mass distributions within the galactic disk simulates reality and agrees with data.

Levitating dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaloper, Nemanja [Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Padilla, Antonio, E-mail: kaloper@physics.ucdavis.edu, E-mail: antonio.padilla@nottingham.ac.uk [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)

2009-10-01

A sizable fraction of the total energy density of the universe may be in heavy particles with a net dark U(1)' charge comparable to its mass. When the charges have the same sign the cancellation between their gravitational and gauge forces may lead to a mismatch between different measures of masses in the universe. Measuring galactic masses by orbits of normal matter, such as galaxy rotation curves or lensing, will give the total mass, while the flows of dark matter agglomerates may yield smaller values if the gauge repulsion is not accounted for. If distant galaxies which house light beacons like SNe Ia contain such dark particles, the observations of their cosmic recession may mistake the weaker forces for an extra 'antigravity', and infer an effective dark energy equation of state smaller than the real one. In some cases, including that of a cosmological constant, these effects can mimic w < −1. They can also lead to a local variation of galaxy-galaxy forces, yielding a larger 'Hubble Flow' in those regions of space that could be taken for a dynamical dark energy, or superhorizon effects.

Levitating dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Kaloper, Nemanja; Padilla, Antonio

2009-10-01

A sizable fraction of the total energy density of the universe may be in heavy particles with a net dark U(1)' charge comparable to its mass. When the charges have the same sign the cancellation between their gravitational and gauge forces may lead to a mismatch between different measures of masses in the universe. Measuring galactic masses by orbits of normal matter, such as galaxy rotation curves or lensing, will give the total mass, while the flows of dark matter agglomerates may yield smaller values if the gauge repulsion is not accounted for. If distant galaxies which house light beacons like SNe Ia contain such dark particles, the observations of their cosmic recession may mistake the weaker forces for an extra `antigravity', and infer an effective dark energy equation of state smaller than the real one. In some cases, including that of a cosmological constant, these effects can mimic w < -1. They can also lead to a local variation of galaxy-galaxy forces, yielding a larger `Hubble Flow' in those regions of space that could be taken for a dynamical dark energy, or superhorizon effects.

THE MAGIC OF DARK TOURISM

OpenAIRE

Erika KULCSÁR; PhD Rozalina Zsófia SIMON

2015-01-01

The dark tourism is a form of tourism that is not unanimously accepted by the whole society, but in spite of this fact, the practitioners of dark tourism is a viable segment. Indeed the concept that defines dark tourism is none other than death, and perhaps this is why it will always be a segment that will not be attracted by this form of tourism. Many questions about dark tourism arise. Among them: (1) is dark tourism an area of science attractive for researches? (2) which is the typology of...

Dark matter in the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kormendy, J.; Knapp, G.R.

1987-01-01

Until recently little more was known than that dark matter appears to exist; there was little systematic information about its properties. Only in the past several years was progress made to the point where dark matter density distributions can be measured. For example, with accurate rotation curves extending over large ranges in radius, decomposing the effects of visible and dark matter to measure dark matter density profiles can be tried. Some regularities in dark matter behaviour have already turned up. This volume includes review and invited papers, poster papers, and the two general discussions. (Auth.)

A modified generalized Chaplygin gas as the unified dark matter-dark energy revisited

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, Xue-Mei, E-mail: xmd@pmo.ac.cn [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing (China)

2011-12-15

A modified generalized Chaplygin gas (MGCG) is considered as the unified dark matter-dark energy revisited. The character of MGCG is endued with the dual role, which behaves as matter at early times and as a quiescence dark energy at late times. The equation of state for MGCG is p = -{alpha}{rho}/(1 + {alpha}) - {upsilon}(z){rho}{sup -{alpha}/(1 + {alpha})}, where {upsilon}(z) = -[{rho}0{sub c}(1 + z){sup 3}] {sup (1+{alpha})} (1 - {Omega}{sub 0B}){sup {alpha} {l_brace}{alpha}{Omega}0{sub DM} + {Omega}{sub 0DE} [{omega}{sub DE} + {alpha}(1 +{omega}{sub DE})](1 + z){sup 3}{omega}DE(1+{alpha}){r_brace}}. Some cosmological quantities, such as the densities of different components of the universe {Omega}{sub i} (i, respectively, denotes baryons, dark matter, and dark energy) and the deceleration parameter q, are obtained. The present deceleration parameter q{sub 0}, the transition redshift z{sub T}, and the redshift z{sub eq}, which describes the epoch when the densities in dark matter and dark energy are equal, are also calculated. To distinguish MGCG from others, we then apply the Statefinder diagnostic. Later on, the parameters ({alpha} and {omega}{sub DE}) of MGCG are constrained by combination of the sound speed c{sup 2}{sub s} , the age of the universe t{sub 0}, the growth factor m, and the bias parameter b. It yields {alpha} = -3.07{sup +5.66} {sub -4.98} x 10{sup -2} and {omega}{sub DE} = -1.05 {sup +0.06} {sub -0.11}. Through the analysis of the growth of density perturbations for MGCG, it is found that the energy will transfer from dark matter to dark energy which reach equal at z{sub e}{approx} 0.48 and the density fluctuations start deviating from the linear behavior at z {approx} 0.25 caused by the dominance of dark energy. (author)

The DarkSide Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rossi B.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available DarkSide-50 at Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS, Italy, is a direct dark matter search experiment based on a liquid argon TPC. DS-50 has completed its first dark matter run using atmospheric argon as target. The detector performances and the results of the first physics run are presented in this proceeding.

Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Daniel J. H.; Kolb, Edward W.; Riotto, Antonio

1999-01-01

We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may he elementary particles of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should ma be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well.

Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Chung, Daniel J. H.; Kolb, Edward W.; Riotto, Antonio

1998-01-01

We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may be elementary particles of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should not be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well.

Constraint on dark matter annihilation with dark star formation using Fermi extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray background data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Qiang; Yue, Bin; Chen, Xuelei; Zhang, Bing

2011-01-01

It has been proposed that during the formation of the first generation stars there might be a ''dark star'' phase in which the power of the star comes from dark matter annihilation. The adiabatic contraction process to form the dark star would result in a highly concentrated density profile of the host halo at the same time, which may give enhanced indirect detection signals of dark matter. In this work we investigate the extragalactic γ-ray background from dark matter annihilation with such a dark star formation scenario, and employ the isotropic γ-ray data from Fermi-LAT to constrain the model parameters of dark matter. The results suffer from large uncertainties of both the formation rate of the first generation stars and the subsequent evolution effects of the host halos of the dark stars. We find, in the most optimistic case for γ-ray production via dark matter annihilation, the expected extragalactic γ-ray flux will be enhanced by 1-2 orders of magnitude. In such a case, the annihilation cross section of the supersymmetric dark matter can be constrained to the thermal production level, and the leptonic dark matter model which is proposed to explain the positron/electron excesses can be well excluded. Conversely, if the positron/electron excesses are of a dark matter annihilation origin, then the early Universe environment is such that no dark star can form

Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audouze, J.; Tran Thanh Van, J.

1988-01-01

The book begins with the papers devoted to the experimental search of signatures of the dark matter which governs the evolution of the Universe as a whole. A series of contributions describe the presently considered experimental techniques (cryogenic detectors, supraconducting detectors...). A real dialogue concerning these techniques has been instaured between particle physicists and astrophysicists. After the progress report of the particle physicists, the book provides the reader with an updated situation concerning the research in cosmology. The second part of the book is devoted to the analysis of the backgrounds at different energies such as the possible role of the cooling flows in the constitution of massive galactic halos. Any search of dark matter implies necessarily the analysis of the spatial distributions of the large scale structures of the Universe. This report is followed by a series of statistical analyses of these distributions. These analyses concern mainly universes filled up with cold dark matter. The last paper of this third part concerns the search of clustering in the spatial distribution of QSOs. The presence of dark matter should affect the solar neighborhood and related to the existence of galactic haloes. The contributions are devoted to the search of such local dark matter. Primordial nucleosynthesis provides a very powerful tool to set up quite constraining limitations on the overall baryonic density. Even if on takes into account the inhomogeneities in density possibly induced by the Quark-Hadron transition, this baryonic density should be much lower than the overall density deduced from the dynamical models of Universe or the inflationary theories

Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Lincoln, Don

2013-01-01

It's a dark, dark universe out there, and I don't mean because the night sky is black. After all, once you leave the shadow of the Earth and get out into space, you're surrounded by countless lights glittering everywhere you look. But for all of Sagan's billions and billions of stars and galaxies, it's a jaw-dropping fact that the ordinary kind of…

Searching for dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Mateo, Mario

1994-01-01

Three teams of astronomers believe they have independently found evidence for dark matter in our galaxy. A brief history of the search for dark matter is presented. The use of microlensing-event observation for spotting dark matter is described. The equipment required to observe microlensing events and three groups working on dark matter detection are discussed. The three groups are the Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHO) Project team, the Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres (EROS) team, and the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) team. The first apparent detections of microlensing events by the three teams are briefly reported.

Life in a dark biosphere: a review of circadian physiology in "arrhythmic" environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Beale, Andrew David; Whitmore, David; Moran, Damian

2016-12-01

Most of the life with which humans interact is exposed to highly rhythmic and extremely predictable changes in illumination that occur with the daily events of sunrise and sunset. However, while the influence of the sun feels omnipotent to surface dwellers such as ourselves, life on earth is dominated, in terms of biomass, by organisms isolated from the direct effects of the sun. A limited understanding of what life is like away from the sun can be inferred from our knowledge of physiology and ecology in the light biosphere, but a full understanding can only be gained by studying animals from the dark biosphere, both in the laboratory and in their natural habitats. One of the least understood aspects of life in the dark biosphere is the rhythmicity of physiology and what it means to live in an environment of low or no rhythmicity. Here we describe methods that may be used to understand rhythmic physiology in the dark and summarise some of the studies of rhythmic physiology in "arrhythmic" environments, such as the poles, deep sea and caves. We review what can be understood about the adaptive value of rhythmic physiology on the Earth's surface from studies of animals from arrhythmic environments and what role a circadian clock may play in the dark.

On dark energy isocurvature perturbation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Jie; Zhang, Xinmin; Li, Mingzhe

2011-01-01

Determining the equation of state of dark energy with astronomical observations is crucially important to understand the nature of dark energy. In performing a likelihood analysis of the data, especially of the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure data the dark energy perturbations have to be taken into account both for theoretical consistency and for numerical accuracy. Usually, one assumes in the global fitting analysis that the dark energy perturbations are adiabatic. In this paper, we study the dark energy isocurvature perturbation analytically and discuss its implications for the cosmic microwave background radiation and large scale structure. Furthermore, with the current astronomical observational data and by employing Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, we perform a global analysis of cosmological parameters assuming general initial conditions for the dark energy perturbations. The results show that the dark energy isocurvature perturbations are very weakly constrained and that purely adiabatic initial conditions are consistent with the data

Dynamics of teleparallel dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Hao

2012-01-01

Recently, Geng et al. proposed to allow a non-minimal coupling between quintessence and gravity in the framework of teleparallel gravity, motivated by the similar one in the framework of General Relativity (GR). They found that this non-minimally coupled quintessence in the framework of teleparallel gravity has a richer structure, and named it “teleparallel dark energy”. In the present work, we note that there might be a deep and unknown connection between teleparallel dark energy and Elko spinor dark energy. Motivated by this observation and the previous results of Elko spinor dark energy, we try to study the dynamics of teleparallel dark energy. We find that there exist only some dark-energy-dominated de Sitter attractors. Unfortunately, no scaling attractor has been found, even when we allow the possible interaction between teleparallel dark energy and matter. However, we note that w at the critical points is in agreement with observations (in particular, the fact that w=−1 independently of ξ is a great advantage).

Directly detecting isospin-violating dark matter

OpenAIRE

Kelso, Chris; Kumar, Jason; Marfatia, Danny; Sandick, Pearl

2018-01-01

We consider the prospects for multiple dark matter direct detection experiments to determine if the interactions of a dark matter candidate are isospin-violating. We focus on theoretically well-motivated examples of isospin-violating dark matter (IVDM), including models in which dark matter interactions with nuclei are mediated by a dark photon, a Z, or a squark. We determine that the best prospects for distinguishing IVDM from the isospin-invariant scenario arise in the cases of dark photon–...

Low Mass Dark Matter: Some Perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Shaolong

2012-01-01

The low mass (10 GeV scale) dark matter is indicted and favored by several recent dark matter direct detection experimental results, such as DAMA and CoGeNT. In this talk, we discuss some aspects of the low mass dark matter. We study the indirect detection of dark matter through neutrino flux from their annihilation in the center of the Sun, in a class of models where the dark matter-nucleon spin-independent interactions break the isospin symmetry. The indirect detection using neutrino telescopes can impose a relatively stronger constraint and brings tension to such explanation, if the dark matter self-annihilation is dominated by heavy quarks or τ-lepton final states. The asymmetric dark matter doesn't suffer the constraints from the indirect detection results. We propose a model of asymmetric dark matter where the matter and dark matter share the common origin, the asymmetries in both the matter and dark matter sectors are simultaneously generated through leptogenesis, and we explore how this model can be tested in direct search experiments.

The DarkSide experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bottino, B.; Aalseth, C.E.; Acconcia, G.

2017-01-01

DarkSide is a dark matter direct search experiment at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). DarkSide is based on the detection of rare nuclear recoils possibly induced by hypothetical dark matter particles, which are supposed to be neutral, massive (m > 10 GeV) and weakly interactive (Wimp). The dark matter detector is a two-phase time projection chamber (TPC) filled with ultra-pure liquid argon. The TPC is placed inside a muon and a neutron active vetoes to suppress the background. Using argon as active target has many advantages, the key features are the strong discriminant power between nuclear and electron recoils, the spatial reconstruction and easy scalability to multi-tons size. At the moment DarkSide-50 is filled with ultra-pure argon, extracted from underground sources, and from April 2015 it is taking data in its final configuration. When combined with the preceding search with an atmospheric argon target, it is possible to set a 90% CL upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section of 2.0×10"−"44 cm"2 for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c"2. The next phase of the experiment, DarkSide-20k, will be the construction of a new detector with an active mass of ∼ 20 tons.

Cold dark matter. 1: The formation of dark halos

Science.gov (United States)

Gelb, James M.; Bertschinger, Edmund

1994-01-01

We use numerical simulations of critically closed cold dark matter (CDM) models to study the effects of numerical resolution on observable quantities. We study simulations with up to 256(exp 3) particles using the particle-mesh (PM) method and with up to 144(exp 3) particles using the adaptive particle-particle-mesh (P3M) method. Comparisons of galaxy halo distributions are made among the various simulations. We also compare distributions with observations, and we explore methods for identifying halos, including a new algorithm that finds all particles within closed contours of the smoothed density field surrounding a peak. The simulated halos show more substructure than predicted by the Press-Schechter theory. We are able to rule out all omega = 1 CDM models for linear amplitude sigma(sub 8) greater than or approximately = 0.5 because the simulations produce too many massive halos compared with the observations. The simulations also produce too many low-mass halos. The distribution of halos characterized by their circular velocities for the P3M simulations is in reasonable agreement with the observations for 150 km/s less than or = V(sub circ) less than or = 350 km/s.

Dark Matter Detection: Current Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akerib, Daniel S.

2011-01-01

Overwhelming observational evidence indicates that most of the matter in the Universe consists of non-baryonic dark matter. One possibility is that the dark matter is Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) that were produced in the early Universe. These relics could comprise the Milky Way's dark halo and provide evidence for new particle physics, such as Supersymmetry. This talk focuses on the status of current efforts to detect dark matter by testing the hypothesis that WIMPs exist in the galactic halo. WIMP searches have begun to explore the region of parameter space where SUSY particles could provide dark matter candidates.

How cold is cold dark matter?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armendariz-Picon, Cristian; Neelakanta, Jayanth T.

2014-01-01

If cold dark matter consists of particles, these must be non-interacting and non-relativistic by definition. In most cold dark matter models however, dark matter particles inherit a non-vanishing velocity dispersion from interactions in the early universe, a velocity that redshifts with cosmic expansion but certainly remains non-zero. In this article, we place model-independent constraints on the dark matter temperature to mass ratio, whose square root determines the dark matter velocity dispersion. We only assume that dark matter particles decoupled kinetically while non-relativistic, when galactic scales had not entered the horizon yet, and that their momentum distribution has been Maxwellian since that time. Under these assumptions, using cosmic microwave background and matter power spectrum observations, we place upper limits on the temperature to mass ratio of cold dark matter today (away from collapsed structures). These limits imply that the present cold dark matter velocity dispersion has to be smaller than 54 m/s. Cold dark matter has to be quite cold, indeed

Dark matter in the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Opher, Reuven

2001-01-01

We treat here the problem of dark matter in galaxies. Recent articles seem to imply that we are entering into the precision era of cosmology, implying that all of the basic physics of cosmology is known. However, we show here that recent observations question the pillar of the standard model: the presence of nonbaryonic 'dark matter' in galaxies. Using Newton's law of gravitation, observations indicate that most of the matter in galaxies in invisible or dark. From the observed abundances of light elements, dark matter in galaxies must be primarily nonbaryonic. The standard model and its problems in explaining nonbaryonic dark matter will first be discussed. This will be followed by a discussion of a modification of Newton's law of gravitation to explain dark matter in galaxies. (author)

Dark matter in and around stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivertsson, Sofia

2009-01-01

There is by now compelling evidence that most of the matter in the universe is in the form of dark matter, a form of matter quite different from the matter we experience in every day life. The gravitational effects of this dark matter have been observed in many different ways but its true nature is still unknown. In most models dark matter particles can annihilate with each other into standard model particles. The direct or indirect observation of such annihilation products could give important clues for the dark matter puzzle. For signals from dark matter annihilations to be detectable, typically high dark matter densities are required. Massive objects, such as stars, can increase the local dark matter density both via scattering off nucleons and by pulling in dark matter gravitationally as the star forms. Dark matter annihilations outside the star would give rise to gamma rays and this is discussed in the first paper. Furthermore dark matter annihilations inside the star would deposit energy inside the star which, if abundant enough, could alter the stellar evolution. Aspects of this are investigated in the second paper. Finally, local dark matter over densities formed in the early universe could still be around today; prospects of detecting gamma rays from such clumps are discussed in the third paper

Electrodynamics of a Cosmic Dark Fluid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander B. Balakin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Cosmic Dark Fluid is considered as a non-stationary medium, in which electromagnetic waves propagate, and magneto-electric field structures emerge and evolve. A medium-type representation of the Dark Fluid allows us to involve in its analysis the concepts and mathematical formalism elaborated in the framework of classical covariant electrodynamics of continua, and to distinguish dark analogs of well-known medium-effects, such as optical activity, pyro-electricity, piezo-magnetism, electro- and magneto-striction and dynamo-optical activity. The Dark Fluid is assumed to be formed by a duet of a Dark Matter (a pseudoscalar axionic constituent and Dark Energy (a scalar element; respectively, we distinguish electrodynamic effects induced by these two constituents of the Dark Fluid. The review contains discussions of 10 models, which describe electrodynamic effects induced by Dark Matter and/or Dark Energy. The models are accompanied by examples of exact solutions to the master equations, correspondingly extended; applications are considered for cosmology and space-times with spherical and pp-wave symmetries. In these applications we focused the attention on three main electromagnetic phenomena induced by the Dark Fluid: first, emergence of Longitudinal Magneto-Electric Clusters; second, generation of anomalous electromagnetic responses; third, formation of Dark Epochs in the Universe history.

Dark matter: Theoretical perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.S.

1993-01-01

I both review and make the case for the current theoretical prejudice: a flat Universe whose dominant constituent is nonbaryonic dark matter, emphasizing that this is still a prejudice and not yet fact. The theoretical motivation for nonbaryonic dark matter is discussed in the context of current elementary-particle theory, stressing that: (1) there are no dark matter candidates within the standard model of particle physics; (2) there are several compelling candidates within attractive extensions of the standard model of particle physics; and (3) the motivation for these compelling candidates comes first and foremost from particle physics. The dark-matter problem is now a pressing issue in both cosmology and particle physics, and the detection of particle dark matter would provide evidence for ''new physics.'' The compelling candidates are: a very light axion ( 10 -6 eV--10 -4 eV); a light neutrino (20 eV--90 eV); and a heavy neutralino (10 GeV--2 TeV). The production of these particles in the early Universe and the prospects for their detection are also discussed. I briefly mention more exotic possibilities for the dark matter, including a nonzero cosmological constant, superheavy magnetic monopoles, and decaying neutrinos

Doppler effect on indirect detection of dark matter using dark matter only simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Devon; Laha, Ranjan; Ng, Kenny C. Y.; Abel, Tom

2017-03-01

Indirect detection of dark matter is a major avenue for discovery. However, baryonic backgrounds are diverse enough to mimic many possible signatures of dark matter. In this work, we study the newly proposed technique of dark matter velocity spectroscopy [E. G. Speckhard, K. C. Y. Ng, J. F. Beacom, and R. Laha, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 031301 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.031301]. The nonrotating dark matter halo and the Solar motion produce a distinct longitudinal dependence of the signal which is opposite in direction to that produced by baryons. Using collisionless dark matter only simulations of Milky Way like halos, we show that this new signature is robust and holds great promise. We develop mock observations by a high energy resolution x-ray spectrometer on a sounding rocket, the Micro-X experiment, to our test case, the 3.5 keV line. We show that by using six different pointings, Micro-X can exclude a constant line energy over various longitudes at ≥3 σ . The halo triaxiality is an important effect, and it will typically reduce the significance of this signal. We emphasize that this new smoking gun in motion signature of dark matter is general and is applicable to any dark matter candidate which produces a sharp photon feature in annihilation or decay.

Sterile neutrino dark matter

CERN Document Server

Merle, Alexander

2017-01-01

This book is a new look at one of the hottest topics in contemporary science, Dark Matter. It is the pioneering text dedicated to sterile neutrinos as candidate particles for Dark Matter, challenging some of the standard assumptions which may be true for some Dark Matter candidates but not for all. So, this can be seen either as an introduction to a specialized topic or an out-of-the-box introduction to the field of Dark Matter in general. No matter if you are a theoretical particle physicist, an observational astronomer, or a ground based experimentalist, no matter if you are a grad student or an active researcher, you can benefit from this text, for a simple reason: a non-standard candidate for Dark Matter can teach you a lot about what we truly know about our standard picture of how the Universe works.

Baryonic Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

De Paolis, F.; Jetzer, Ph.; Ingrosso, G.; Roncadelli, M.

1997-01-01

Reasons supporting the idea that most of the dark matter in galaxies and clusters of galaxies is baryonic are discussed. Moreover, it is argued that most of the dark matter in galactic halos should be in the form of MACHOs and cold molecular clouds.

Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, D.J.; Chung, D.J.; Kolb, E.W.; Kolb, E.W.; Riotto, A.

1998-01-01

We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may be elementary particles of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should not be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Dark matter at the Fermi scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Jonathan L

2006-01-01

Recent breakthroughs in cosmology reveal that a quarter of the Universe is composed of dark matter, but the microscopic identity of dark matter remains a deep mystery. I review recent progress in resolving this puzzle, focusing on two well-motivated classes of dark matter candidates: weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and superWIMPs. These possibilities have similar motivations: they exist in the same well-motivated particle physics models, the observed dark matter relic density emerges naturally and dark matter particles have mass around 100 GeV, the energy scale identified as interesting over 70 years ago by Fermi. At the same time, they have widely varying implications for direct and indirect dark matter searches, particle colliders, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the cosmic microwave background, and halo profiles and structure formation. If WIMPs or superWIMPs are a significant component of dark matter, we will soon be entering a golden era in which dark matter will be studied through diverse probes at the interface of particle physics, astroparticle physics and cosmology. I outline a programme of dark matter studies for each of these scenarios and discuss the prospects for identifying dark matter in the coming years. (topical review)

Weakly interacting dark matter and baryogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Peihong; Lindner, Manfred; Sarkar, Utpal; Zhang Xinmin

2011-01-01

In the present Universe visible and dark matter contribute comparable energy density although they have different properties. This phenomenon can be explained if the dark matter relic density, originating from a dark matter asymmetry, is fully determined by the baryon asymmetry. Thus the dark matter mass is not arbitrary; rather, it becomes predictive. We realize this scenario in baryon (lepton) number conserving models where two or more neutral singlet scalars decay into two or three baryonic (leptonic) dark matter scalars, and also decay into quarks (leptons) through other on-shell and/or off-shell exotic scalar bilinears. The produced baryon (lepton) asymmetries in the dark matter scalar and in the standard model quarks (leptons) are thus equal and opposite. The dark matter mass can be predicted in a range from a few GeV to a few TeV, depending on the baryon (lepton) numbers of the decaying scalars and the dark matter scalar. The dark matter scalar can interact with the visible matter through the exchange of the standard model Higgs boson, opening a window for the dark matter direct detection experiments. These models also provide testable predictions in the searches for the exotic scalar bilinears at LHC.

Academic Training Lecture Regular Programme: Particle Physics Foundations of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Inflation (1/3)

CERN Multimedia

2012-01-01

Particle Physics Foundations of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Inflation (1/3), by Dr. Edward (Rocky) Kolb (University of Chicago).   Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 11:00 to 12:00 (Europe/Zurich) at CERN ( 500-1-001 - Main Auditorium ) Ninety-five percent of the present mass-energy density of the Universe is dark.  Twenty-five percent is in the form of dark matter holding together galaxies and other large scale structures, and 70% is in the form of dark energy driving an accelerated expansion of the universe.  Dark matter and dark energy cannot be explained within the standard model of particle physics.  In the first lecture I will review the evidence for dark matter and the observations that point to an explanation in the form of cold dark matter.  I will then describe the expected properties of a hypothetical Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle, or WIMP, and review experimental and observational approaches to test the hypothesis.  Finally, I will discus...

Galactic searches for dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strigari, Louis E.

2013-01-01

For nearly a century, more mass has been measured in galaxies than is contained in the luminous stars and gas. Through continual advances in observations and theory, it has become clear that the dark matter in galaxies is not comprised of known astronomical objects or baryonic matter, and that identification of it is certain to reveal a profound connection between astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. The best explanation for dark matter is that it is in the form of a yet undiscovered particle of nature, with experiments now gaining sensitivity to the most well-motivated particle dark matter candidates. In this article, I review measurements of dark matter in the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies and the status of Galactic searches for particle dark matter using a combination of terrestrial and space-based astroparticle detectors, and large scale astronomical surveys. I review the limits on the dark matter annihilation and scattering cross sections that can be extracted from both astroparticle experiments and astronomical observations, and explore the theoretical implications of these limits. I discuss methods to measure the properties of particle dark matter using future experiments, and conclude by highlighting the exciting potential for dark matter searches during the next decade, and beyond

Plasma dark matter direct detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clarke, J.D.; Foot, R., E-mail: j.clarke5@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au, E-mail: rfoot@unimelb.edu.au [ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale, School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia (Australia)

2016-01-01

Dark matter in spiral galaxies like the Milky Way may take the form of a dark plasma. Hidden sector dark matter charged under an unbroken U(1)' gauge interaction provides a simple and well defined particle physics model realising this possibility. The assumed U(1)' neutrality of the Universe then implies (at least) two oppositely charged dark matter components with self-interactions mediated via a massless 'dark photon' (the U(1)' gauge boson). In addition to nuclear recoils such dark matter can give rise to keV electron recoils in direct detection experiments. In this context, the detailed physical properties of the dark matter plasma interacting with the Earth is required. This is a complex system, which is here modelled as a fluid governed by the magnetohydrodynamic equations. These equations are numerically solved for some illustrative examples, and implications for direct detection experiments discussed. In particular, the analysis presented here leaves open the intriguing possibility that the DAMA annual modulation signal is due primarily to electron recoils (or even a combination of electron recoils and nuclear recoils). The importance of diurnal modulation (in addition to annual modulation) as a means of probing this kind of dark matter is also emphasised.

Phases of cannibal dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farina, Marco [New High Energy Theory Center, Department of Physics, Rutgers University,136 Frelinghuisen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Pappadopulo, Duccio; Ruderman, Joshua T.; Trevisan, Gabriele [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University,New York, NY 10003 (United States)

2016-12-13

A hidden sector with a mass gap undergoes an epoch of cannibalism if number changing interactions are active when the temperature drops below the mass of the lightest hidden particle. During cannibalism, the hidden sector temperature decreases only logarithmically with the scale factor. We consider the possibility that dark matter resides in a hidden sector that underwent cannibalism, and has relic density set by the freeze-out of two-to-two annihilations. We identify three novel phases, depending on the behavior of the hidden sector when dark matter freezes out. During the cannibal phase, dark matter annihilations decouple while the hidden sector is cannibalizing. During the chemical phase, only two-to-two interactions are active and the total number of hidden particles is conserved. During the one way phase, the dark matter annihilation products decay out of equilibrium, suppressing the production of dark matter from inverse annihilations. We map out the distinct phenomenology of each phase, which includes a boosted dark matter annihilation rate, new relativistic degrees of freedom, warm dark matter, and observable distortions to the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background.

Phenomenology of ELDER dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Kuflik, Eric; Perelstein, Maxim; Lorier, Nicolas Rey-Le; Tsai, Yu-Dai

2017-08-01

We explore the phenomenology of Elastically Decoupling Relic (ELDER) dark matter. ELDER is a thermal relic whose present density is determined primarily by the cross-section of its elastic scattering off Standard Model (SM) particles. Assuming that this scattering is mediated by a kinetically mixed dark photon, we argue that the ELDER scenario makes robust predictions for electron-recoil direct-detection experiments, as well as for dark photon searches. These predictions are independent of the details of interactions within the dark sector. Together with the closely related Strongly-Interacting Massive Particle (SIMP) scenario, the ELDER predictions provide a physically motivated, well-defined target region, which will be almost entirely accessible to the next generation of searches for sub-GeV dark matter and dark photons. We provide useful analytic approximations for various quantities of interest in the ELDER scenario, and discuss two simple renormalizable toy models which incorporate the required strong number-changing interactions among the ELDERs, as well as explicitly implement the coupling to electrons via the dark photon portal.

DarkSide-50, a background free experiment for dark matter searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bossa, M

2014-01-01

The existence of dark matter is inferred from gravitational effects, but its nature remains a deep mystery. One possibility, motivated by considerations in elementary particle physics, is that dark matter consists of elementary particles, such as the hypothesized Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), with mass ∼ 100 GeV and cross-section ∼ 10 −47 cm 2 , that can be gravitationally trapped inside our galaxy and revealed by their scattering on nuclei. It should be possible to detect WIMPs directly, as the orbital motion of the WIMPs composing the dark matter halo pervading the galaxy should result in WIMP-nucleus collisions of sufficient energy to be observable in the laboratory. The DarkSide-50 experiment is a direct WIMP search using a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr-TPC) with an active mass of 50 kg with a high sensitivity and an ultra-low background detector

Feeling Abnormal: Simulation of Deviancy in Abnormal and Exceptionality Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernald, Charles D.

1980-01-01

Describes activity in which student in abnormal psychology and psychology of exceptional children classes personally experience being judged abnormal. The experience allows the students to remember relevant research, become sensitized to the feelings of individuals classified as deviant, and use caution in classifying individuals as abnormal.…

Roles of dark energy perturbations in dynamical dark energy models: can we ignore them?

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Chan-Gyung; Hwang, Jai-chan; Lee, Jae-heon; Noh, Hyerim

2009-10-09

We show the importance of properly including the perturbations of the dark energy component in the dynamical dark energy models based on a scalar field and modified gravity theories in order to meet with present and future observational precisions. Based on a simple scaling scalar field dark energy model, we show that observationally distinguishable substantial differences appear by ignoring the dark energy perturbation. By ignoring it the perturbed system of equations becomes inconsistent and deviations in (gauge-invariant) power spectra depend on the gauge choice.

Wandering in the Lyman-alpha forest: a study of dark matter-dark radiation interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krall, Rebecca; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Dvorkin, Cora

2017-01-01

The amplitude of large-scale matter fluctuations inferred from the observed Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) cluster mass function and from weak gravitational lensing studies, when taken at face value, is in tension with measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO). In this work, we revisit whether this possible discrepancy can be attributed to new interactions in the dark matter sector. Focusing on a cosmological model where dark matter interacts with a dark radiation species until the epoch of matter-radiation equality, we find that measurements of the Lyman-alpha flux power spectrum from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey provide no support to the hypothesis that new dark matter interactions can resolve the possible tension between CMB and large-scale structure (LSS). Indeed, while the addition of dark matter-dark radiation interactions leads to an improvement of 2ΔlnL=12 with respect to the standard Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model when only CMB, BAO, and LSS data are considered, the inclusion of Lyman-alpha data reduces the improvement of the fit to 2ΔlnL=6 relative to ΛCDM . We thus conclude that the statistical evidence for new dark matter interactions (largely driven by the Planck SZ dataset) is marginal at best, and likely caused by systematics in the data. We also perform a Fisher forecast analysis for the reach of a future dataset composed of a CMB-S4 experiment combined with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope galaxy survey. We find that the constraint on the effective number of fluid-like dark radiation species, Δ N fluid , will be improved by an order of magnitude compared to current bounds.

Lepton jets from radiating dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buschmann, Malte; Kopp, Joachim; Liu, Jia; Machado, Pedro A.N.

2015-01-01

The idea that dark matter forms part of a larger dark sector is very intriguing, given the high degree of complexity of the visible sector. In this paper, we discuss lepton jets as a promising signature of an extended dark sector. As a simple toy model, we consider an O(GeV) DM fermion coupled to a new U(1) ′ gauge boson (dark photon) with a mass of order GeV and kinetically mixed with the Standard Model photon. Dark matter production at the LHC in this model is typically accompanied by collinear radiation of dark photons whose decay products can form lepton jets. We analyze the dynamics of collinear dark photon emission both analytically and numerically. In particular, we derive the dark photon energy spectrum using recursive analytic expressions, using Monte Carlo simulations in Pythia, and using an inverse Mellin transform to obtain the spectrum from its moments. In the second part of the paper, we simulate the expected lepton jet signatures from radiating dark matter at the LHC, carefully taking into account the various dark photon decay modes and allowing for both prompt and displaced decays. Using these simulations, we recast two existing ATLAS lepton jet searches to significantly restrict the parameter space of extended dark sector models, and we compute the expected sensitivity of future LHC searches.

Inflatable Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Davoudiasl, Hooman; Hooper, Dan; McDermott, Samuel D

2016-01-22

We describe a general scenario, dubbed "inflatable dark matter," in which the density of dark matter particles can be reduced through a short period of late-time inflation in the early Universe. The overproduction of dark matter that is predicted within many, otherwise, well-motivated models of new physics can be elegantly remedied within this context. Thermal relics that would, otherwise, be disfavored can easily be accommodated within this class of scenarios, including dark matter candidates that are very heavy or very light. Furthermore, the nonthermal abundance of grand unified theory or Planck scale axions can be brought to acceptable levels without invoking anthropic tuning of initial conditions. A period of late-time inflation could have occurred over a wide range of scales from ∼MeV to the weak scale or above, and could have been triggered by physics within a hidden sector, with small but not necessarily negligible couplings to the standard model.

Cosmological bounds on non-Abelian dark forces

Science.gov (United States)

Forestell, Lindsay; Morrissey, David E.; Sigurdson, Kris

2018-04-01

Non-Abelian dark gauge forces that do not couple directly to ordinary matter may be realized in nature. The minimal form of such a dark force is a pure Yang-Mills theory. If the dark sector is reheated in the early Universe, it will be realized as a set of dark gluons at high temperatures and as a collection of dark glueballs at lower temperatures, with a cosmological phase transition from one form to the other. Despite being dark, the gauge fields of the new force can connect indirectly to the standard model through nonrenormalizable operators. These operators will transfer energy between the dark and visible sectors, and they allow some or all of the dark glueballs to decay. In this work we investigate the cosmological evolution and decays of dark glueballs in the presence of connector operators to the standard model. Dark glueball decays can modify cosmological and astrophysical observables, and we use these considerations to put very strong limits on the existence of pure non-Abelian dark forces. On the other hand, if one or more of the dark glueballs are stable, we find that they can potentially make up the dark matter of the Universe.

The continuous tower of scalar fields as a system of interacting dark matter–dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Paulo

2015-01-01

This paper aims to introduce a new parameterisation for the coupling Q in interacting dark matter and dark energy models by connecting said models with the Continuous Tower of Scalar Fields model. Based upon the existence of a dark matter and a dark energy sectors in the Continuous Tower of Scalar Fields, a simplification is considered for the evolution of a single scalar field from the tower, validated in this paper. This allows for the results obtained with the Continuous Tower of Scalar Fields model to match those of an interacting dark matter–dark energy system, considering that the energy transferred from one fluid to the other is given by the energy of the scalar fields that start oscillating at a given time, rather than considering that the energy transference depends on properties of the whole fluids that are interacting.

Forbidden Channels and SIMP Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Choi Soo-Min; Kang Yoo-Jin; Lee Hyun Min

2018-01-01

In this review, we focus on dark matter production from thermal freeze-out with forbidden channels and SIMP processes. We show that forbidden channels can be dominant to produce dark matter depending on the dark photon and / or dark Higgs mass compared to SIMP.

ADMX Dark-Matter Axion Search

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, Leslie J.

2004-01-01

The axion, a hypothetical elementary particle, emerged from a compelling solution to the Strong-CP Problem in QCD. Subsequently, the axion was recognized to be a good Cold Dark Matter candidate. Although dark-matter axions have only feeble couplings to matter and radiation, these axions may be detected through resonant conversion of axions into microwave photons in a high-Q cavity threaded by a strong static magnetic field. This technique is at present the only means whereby dark-matter axions with plausible couplings may be detected at the required sensitivity. This talk describes recent results from the Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX), now the world's most sensitive search for axions. There will also be a short overview of the ADMX upgrade, which promises sensitivity to even the more feebly coupled dark matter axions even should they make up only a minority fraction of the local dark matter halo

Dark matter: Theoretical perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.S.

1993-01-01

The author both reviews and makes the case for the current theoretical prejudice: a flat Universe whose dominant constituent is nonbaryonic dark matter, emphasizing that this is still a prejudice and not yet fact. The theoretical motivation for nonbaryonic dark matter is discussed in the context of current elementary-particle theory, stressing that (i) there are no dark-matter candidates within the open-quotes standard modelclose quotes of particle physics, (ii) there are several compelling candidates within attractive extensions of the standard model of particle physics, and (iii) the motivation for these compelling candidates comes first and foremost from particle physics. The dark-matter problem is now a pressing issue in both cosmology and particle physics, and the detection of particle dark matter would provide evidence for open-quotes new physics.close quotes The compelling candidates are a very light axion (10 -6 --10 -4 eV), a light neutrino (20--90 eV), and a heavy neutralino (10 GeV--2 TeV). The production of these particles in the early Universe and the prospects for their detection are also discussed. The author briefly mentions more exotic possibilities for the dark matter, including a nonzero cosmological constant, superheavy magnetic monopoles, and decaying neutrinos. 119 refs

Dark matter: Theoretical perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, M.S. (Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Enrico Fermi Inst. Fermi National Accelerator Lab., Batavia, IL (United States))

1993-01-01

I both review and make the case for the current theoretical prejudice: a flat Universe whose dominant constituent is nonbaryonic dark matter, emphasizing that this is still a prejudice and not yet fact. The theoretical motivation for nonbaryonic dark matter is discussed in the context of current elementary-particle theory, stressing that: (1) there are no dark matter candidates within the standard model of particle physics; (2) there are several compelling candidates within attractive extensions of the standard model of particle physics; and (3) the motivation for these compelling candidates comes first and foremost from particle physics. The dark-matter problem is now a pressing issue in both cosmology and particle physics, and the detection of particle dark matter would provide evidence for new physics.'' The compelling candidates are: a very light axion ( 10[sup [minus]6] eV--10[sup [minus]4] eV); a light neutrino (20 eV--90 eV); and a heavy neutralino (10 GeV--2 TeV). The production of these particles in the early Universe and the prospects for their detection are also discussed. I briefly mention more exotic possibilities for the dark matter, including a nonzero cosmological constant, superheavy magnetic monopoles, and decaying neutrinos.

Dark matter: Theoretical perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, M.S. [Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Enrico Fermi Inst.]|[Fermi National Accelerator Lab., Batavia, IL (United States)

1993-01-01

I both review and make the case for the current theoretical prejudice: a flat Universe whose dominant constituent is nonbaryonic dark matter, emphasizing that this is still a prejudice and not yet fact. The theoretical motivation for nonbaryonic dark matter is discussed in the context of current elementary-particle theory, stressing that: (1) there are no dark matter candidates within the standard model of particle physics; (2) there are several compelling candidates within attractive extensions of the standard model of particle physics; and (3) the motivation for these compelling candidates comes first and foremost from particle physics. The dark-matter problem is now a pressing issue in both cosmology and particle physics, and the detection of particle dark matter would provide evidence for ``new physics.`` The compelling candidates are: a very light axion ( 10{sup {minus}6} eV--10{sup {minus}4} eV); a light neutrino (20 eV--90 eV); and a heavy neutralino (10 GeV--2 TeV). The production of these particles in the early Universe and the prospects for their detection are also discussed. I briefly mention more exotic possibilities for the dark matter, including a nonzero cosmological constant, superheavy magnetic monopoles, and decaying neutrinos.

Thermodynamical properties of dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Yungui; Wang Bin; Wang Anzhong

2007-01-01

We have investigated the thermodynamical properties of dark energy. Assuming that the dark energy temperature T∼a -n and considering that the volume of the Universe enveloped by the apparent horizon relates to the temperature, we have derived the dark energy entropy. For dark energy with constant equation of state w>-1 and the generalized Chaplygin gas, the derived entropy can be positive and satisfy the entropy bound. The total entropy, including those of dark energy, the thermal radiation, and the apparent horizon, satisfies the generalized second law of thermodynamics. However, for the phantom with constant equation of state, the positivity of entropy, the entropy bound, and the generalized second law cannot be satisfied simultaneously

The dark side of silicon energy efficient computing in the dark silicon era

CERN Document Server

Liljeberg, Pasi; Hemani, Ahmed; Jantsch, Axel; Tenhunen, Hannu

2017-01-01

This book presents the state-of-the art of one of the main concerns with microprocessors today, a phenomenon known as "dark silicon". Readers will learn how power constraints (both leakage and dynamic power) limit the extent to which large portions of a chip can be powered up at a given time, i.e. how much actual performance and functionality the microprocessor can provide. The authors describe their research toward the future of microprocessor development in the dark silicon era, covering a variety of important aspects of dark silicon-aware architectures including design, management, reliability, and test. Readers will benefit from specific recommendations for mitigating the dark silicon phenomenon, including energy-efficient, dedicated solutions and technologies to maximize the utilization and reliability of microprocessors. Enables readers to understand the dark silicon phenomenon and why it has emerged, including detailed analysis of its impacts; Presents state-of-the-art research, as well as tools for mi...

Dark Matter Searches at LHC

CERN Document Server

Terashi, Koji; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

This talk will present dark matter searches at the LHC in the PIC2017 conference. The main emphasis is placed on the direct dark matter searches while the interpretation of searches for SUSY and invisible Higgs signals for the dark matter is also presented.

Adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Donald M

2006-01-01

welfare can be very good when it is occurring. Other adaptation is difficult and may involve lower or higher level emergency physiological responses or abnormal behaviour, often with bad feelings such as pain or fear. In that case, welfare is poor or very poor even if complete adaptation eventually occurs and there is no long-term threat to the life of the individual. In some circumstances, adaptation may be unsuccessful, the individual is not able to cope, stress occurs and welfare is ultimately very poor.

Wandering in the Lyman-alpha forest: a study of dark matter-dark radiation interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krall, Rebecca; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Dvorkin, Cora, E-mail: rkrall@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: fcyrraci@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: dvorkin@physics.harvard.edu [Harvard University, Department of Physics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-09-01

The amplitude of large-scale matter fluctuations inferred from the observed Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) cluster mass function and from weak gravitational lensing studies, when taken at face value, is in tension with measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO). In this work, we revisit whether this possible discrepancy can be attributed to new interactions in the dark matter sector. Focusing on a cosmological model where dark matter interacts with a dark radiation species until the epoch of matter-radiation equality, we find that measurements of the Lyman-alpha flux power spectrum from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey provide no support to the hypothesis that new dark matter interactions can resolve the possible tension between CMB and large-scale structure (LSS). Indeed, while the addition of dark matter-dark radiation interactions leads to an improvement of 2ΔlnL=12 with respect to the standard Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model when only CMB, BAO, and LSS data are considered, the inclusion of Lyman-alpha data reduces the improvement of the fit to 2ΔlnL=6 relative to ΛCDM . We thus conclude that the statistical evidence for new dark matter interactions (largely driven by the Planck SZ dataset) is marginal at best, and likely caused by systematics in the data. We also perform a Fisher forecast analysis for the reach of a future dataset composed of a CMB-S4 experiment combined with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope galaxy survey. We find that the constraint on the effective number of fluid-like dark radiation species, Δ N {sub fluid}, will be improved by an order of magnitude compared to current bounds.

Superball dark matter

CERN Document Server

Kusenko, A

1999-01-01

Supersymmetric models predict a natural dark-matter candidate, stable baryonic Q-balls. They could be copiously produced in the early Universe as a by-product of the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. I review the cosmological and astrophysical implications, methods of detection, and the present limits on this form of dark matter.

Clumpy cold dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Silk, Joseph; Stebbins, Albert

1993-01-01

A study is conducted of cold dark matter (CDM) models in which clumpiness will inhere, using cosmic strings and textures suited to galaxy formation. CDM clumps of 10 million solar mass/cu pc density are generated at about z(eq) redshift, with a sizable fraction surviving. Observable implications encompass dark matter cores in globular clusters and in galactic nuclei. Results from terrestrial dark matter detection experiments may be affected by clumpiness in the Galactic halo.

AMS-02 fits dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Balázs, Csaba; Li, Tong

2016-05-01

In this work we perform a comprehensive statistical analysis of the AMS-02 electron, positron fluxes and the antiproton-to-proton ratio in the context of a simplified dark matter model. We include known, standard astrophysical sources and a dark matter component in the cosmic ray injection spectra. To predict the AMS-02 observables we use propagation parameters extracted from observed fluxes of heavier nuclei and the low energy part of the AMS-02 data. We assume that the dark matter particle is a Majorana fermion coupling to third generation fermions via a spin-0 mediator, and annihilating to multiple channels at once. The simultaneous presence of various annihilation channels provides the dark matter model with additional flexibility, and this enables us to simultaneously fit all cosmic ray spectra using a simple particle physics model and coherent astrophysical assumptions. Our results indicate that AMS-02 observations are not only consistent with the dark matter hypothesis within the uncertainties, but adding a dark matter contribution improves the fit to the data. Assuming, however, that dark matter is solely responsible for this improvement of the fit, it is difficult to evade the latest CMB limits in this model.

AMS-02 fits dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balázs, Csaba; Li, Tong [ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Tera-scale,School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800 (Australia)

2016-05-05

In this work we perform a comprehensive statistical analysis of the AMS-02 electron, positron fluxes and the antiproton-to-proton ratio in the context of a simplified dark matter model. We include known, standard astrophysical sources and a dark matter component in the cosmic ray injection spectra. To predict the AMS-02 observables we use propagation parameters extracted from observed fluxes of heavier nuclei and the low energy part of the AMS-02 data. We assume that the dark matter particle is a Majorana fermion coupling to third generation fermions via a spin-0 mediator, and annihilating to multiple channels at once. The simultaneous presence of various annihilation channels provides the dark matter model with additional flexibility, and this enables us to simultaneously fit all cosmic ray spectra using a simple particle physics model and coherent astrophysical assumptions. Our results indicate that AMS-02 observations are not only consistent with the dark matter hypothesis within the uncertainties, but adding a dark matter contribution improves the fit to the data. Assuming, however, that dark matter is solely responsible for this improvement of the fit, it is difficult to evade the latest CMB limits in this model.

Particle Dark Matter: An Overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roszkowski, Leszek

2009-01-01

Dark matter in the Universe is likely to be made up of some new, hypothetical particle which would be a part of an extension of the Standard Model of particle physics. In this overview, I will first briefly review well motivated particle candidates for dark matter. Next I will focus my attention on the neutralino of supersymmetry which is the by far most popular dark matter candidate. I will discuss some recent progress and comment on prospects for dark matter detection.

Welcome to the dark side

CERN Multimedia

Hogan, Jenny

2007-01-01

"Physicists says that 96% of the Universe is unseen, and appeal tot he ideas of "dark matter" and "dark energy" to make up the difference. In the first of two articles, jeanny hogan reports that attempts to identify the mysterious dark matter are on the verge of success. In the second, Geoff Brumfiel asks why dark energy, hailed as a breakthrough when discovered a decade ago, is proving more frustrating than ever tot he scientists who study it." (4,5 pages)

Production of Purely Gravitational Dark Matter

OpenAIRE

Ema, Yohei; Nakayama, Kazunori; Tang, Yong

2018-01-01

In the purely gravitational dark matter scenario, the dark matter particle does not have any interaction except for gravitational one. We study the gravitational particle production of dark matter particle in such a minimal setup and show that correct amount of dark matter can be produced depending on the inflation model and the dark matter mass. In particular, we carefully evaluate the particle production rate from the transition epoch to the inflaton oscillation epoch in a realistic inflati...

TESTING THE APODIZED PUPIL LYOT CORONAGRAPH ON THE LABORATORY FOR ADAPTIVE OPTICS EXTREME ADAPTIVE OPTICS TESTBED

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, Sandrine J.; Dillon, Daren; Gavel, Donald; Soummer, Remi; Macintosh, Bruce; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand

2011-01-01

We present testbed results of the Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraph (APLC) at the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics (LAO). These results are part of the validation and tests of the coronagraph and of the Extreme Adaptive Optics (ExAO) for the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). The apodizer component is manufactured with a halftone technique using black chrome microdots on glass. Testing this APLC (like any other coronagraph) requires extremely good wavefront correction, which is obtained to the 1 nm rms level using the microelectricalmechanical systems (MEMS) technology, on the ExAO visible testbed of the LAO at the University of Santa Cruz. We used an APLC coronagraph without central obstruction, both with a reference super-polished flat mirror and with the MEMS to obtain one of the first images of a dark zone in a coronagraphic image with classical adaptive optics using a MEMS deformable mirror (without involving dark hole algorithms). This was done as a complementary test to the GPI coronagraph testbed at American Museum of Natural History, which studied the coronagraph itself without wavefront correction. Because we needed a full aperture, the coronagraph design is very different from the GPI design. We also tested a coronagraph with central obstruction similar to that of GPI. We investigated the performance of the APLC coronagraph and more particularly the effect of the apodizer profile accuracy on the contrast. Finally, we compared the resulting contrast to predictions made with a wavefront propagation model of the testbed to understand the effects of phase and amplitude errors on the final contrast.

Interacting dark sector with transversal interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chimento, Luis P.; Richarte, Martín G. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón I, Buenos Aires 1428 (Argentina)

2015-03-26

We investigate the interacting dark sector composed of dark matter, dark energy, and dark radiation for a spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) background by introducing a three-dimensional internal space spanned by the interaction vector Q and solve the source equation for a linear transversal interaction. Then, we explore a realistic model with dark matter coupled to a scalar field plus a decoupled radiation term, analyze the amount of dark energy in the radiation era and find that our model is consistent with the recent measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropy coming from Planck along with the future constraints achievable by CMBPol experiment.

An ecological approach to problems of Dark Energy, Dark Matter, MOND and Neutrinos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao HongSheng [Scottish University Physics Alliance, University of St Andrews, KY16 8SB (United Kingdom); Sterrewacht Leiden, PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands)], E-mail: hz4@st-andrews.ac.uk

2008-11-01

Modern astronomical data on galaxy and cosmological scales have revealed powerfully the existence of certain dark sectors of fundamental physics, i.e., existence of particles and fields outside the standard models and inaccessible by current experiments. Various approaches are taken to modify/extend the standard models. Generic theories introduce multiple de-coupled fields A, B, C, each responsible for the effects of DM (cold supersymmetric particles), DE (Dark Energy) effect, and MG (Modified Gravity) effect respectively. Some theories use adopt vanilla combinations like AB, BC, or CA, and assume A, B, C belong to decoupled sectors of physics. MOND-like MG and Cold DM are often taken as antagnising frameworks, e.g. in the muddled debate around the Bullet Cluster. Here we argue that these ad hoc divisions of sectors miss important clues from the data. The data actually suggest that the physics of all dark sectors is likely linked together by a self-interacting oscillating field, which governs a chameleon-like dark fluid, appearing as DM, DE and MG in different settings. It is timely to consider an interdisciplinary approach across all semantic boundaries of dark sectors, treating the dark stress as one identity, hence accounts for several 'coincidences' naturally.

HST images of dark giants as dark matter: Part.I The black cocoon stars of Carina Nebula region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celis, S.L.

2001-01-01

In an evolutionary scenario, the existence of isolated dark giant objects known as Post M latest spectral type stars (1) (or black cocoon stars) are in the last stage of their life and, as extremely advanced old age objects, they cease to be stars. The photographic images of Carina nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have been used to detect the post M-Iatest stars as dark silhouettes. The luminosity attenuation equation of M late stars (1), A = αS 3 , points out the baryonic dark matter envelopes the oldest red giants that produce earlier dark giants. This equation says that when the red giant star finishes to produce baryonic dark matter, the central star is extinguishing and transforms into dark giants and dusty globules that disperse cool gaseous matter into the interstellar space. These old dark objects have a size from 400 to 600 astronomical units (AU). The advanced dark giants, the dusty dark giants, might not contain a star within the molecular cloud that envelops it. In this case, the dark giants might produce the smaller and less massive dark globules of the Thackeray's globules type (less than 4 solar masses) where, Reupurth et al. (2) found that these globules are now in an advanced stage of disintegration and they found no evidence of star formation in any of these objects. The high-resolution of the Hubble images allows: The observation of isolated dark giants, dusty globules with central dark giants, the observation of partial eclipses or transiting of giant stars and the estimation of linear and angular diameters (ionised cocoons) of giant stellar objects. The dark giants of the image are identified them as objects with observed angular diameter. The large quantity of dark giants in a small sector of the sky suggests that they are densely populated (population stars III) and ubiquitous in the galactic disc. They can be located in isolated form or associated in dense Conglomerations of dark giants. At the same time, conglomerates of

Induced gravity and the attractor dynamics of dark energy/dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cervantes-Cota, Jorge L.; Putter, Roland de; Linder, Eric V.

2010-01-01

Attractor solutions that give dynamical reasons for dark energy to act like the cosmological constant, or behavior close to it, are interesting possibilities to explain cosmic acceleration. Coupling the scalar field to matter or to gravity enlarges the dynamical behavior; we consider both couplings together, which can ameliorate some problems for each individually. Such theories have also been proposed in a Higgs-like fashion to induce gravity and unify dark energy and dark matter origins. We explore restrictions on such theories due to their dynamical behavior compared to observations of the cosmic expansion. Quartic potentials in particular have viable stability properties and asymptotically approach general relativity

Adaptation of the receptors of the cosmonauts during of space missions

Science.gov (United States)

Prisniakov, Volodymyr

Perception and analysis of information characterizing outside environment and the inner state of the man's own systems define the efficiency of the astronauts to a great extent. This information is being perceived by a system of various receptors: visual, oral, tactile, gustatory, olfactory etc. The sensitivity of these receptors depend upon a number of factors. Usually the study of the receptors aimed at finding out the relations between their sensitivity through the time which defined the so-called adaptation process. The developed by authors the theory of the adaptation process enables to predict behaviour of individuals not only on the Earth, but also in conditions of space flight. Key parameters of the theory is time constant of information processing in memory and the amount of information retained by memory after sufficiently long period of time. Values of these sizes are received as a result of processing the numerous literary data. In paper the dependences of these sizes on overloads and microgravitation that enables to predict adaptation of all analyzers of cosmonauts during space flight are determined: light and darkness adaptation with consideration of the effect of the duration of pre-adaptation lighting, of the period of long adaptation to a certain colours, of the effect of brightness of preexposition lighting, of brightness of different colours, of the size of test objects, of the angular distance of the test object from the fixed point, of the areas of the test object, of the effect of adaptation to light on the subsequent darkness adaptation. Adaptation to gustatory stimuli, to tactile sensations for olfactory sensations are dealt too. The received results enable to take into account changes of sensitivity of analyzers of cosmonauts in flight and them to correct in case of need.

Auschwitz dark tourism -kohteena

OpenAIRE

Kuusimäki, Karita

2015-01-01

Dark tourism eli synkkä matkailu on matkustamista kohteisiin, jotka liittyvät jollain tavalla kuolemaan, kauhuun, kärsimykseen tai katastrofeihin. Dark tourism on ilmiönä suhteellisen tuore, mutta sen historia juontaa juurensa jo antiikin ajan gladiaattoritaisteluihin. Ilmiötä on tutkittu jonkin verran ja siitä on tehty muutamia opinnäytetöitä. Yksi tunnetuimmista ja eniten vierailluista dark tourism -kohteista on Auschwitzin keskitysleiri. Auschwitz aloitti toimintansa vuonna 1940 ja le...

Dark spectroscopy at lepton colliders

Science.gov (United States)

Hochberg, Yonit; Kuflik, Eric; Murayama, Hitoshi

2018-03-01

Rich and complex dark sectors are abundant in particle physics theories. Here, we propose performing spectroscopy of the mass structure of dark sectors via mono-photon searches at lepton colliders. The energy of the mono-photon tracks the invariant mass of the invisible system it recoils against, which enables studying the resonance structure of the dark sector. We demonstrate this idea with several well-motivated models of dark sectors. Such spectroscopy measurements could potentially be performed at Belle II, BES-III and future low-energy lepton colliders.

Searching dark matter at LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nojiri, Mihoko M.

2007-01-01

We now believe that the dark matter in our Universe must be an unknown elementary particle, which is charge neutral and weakly interacting. The standard model must be extended to include it. The dark matter was likely produced in the early universe from the high energy collisions of the particles. Now LHC experiment starting from 2008 will create such high energy collision to explore the nature of the dark matter. In this article we explain how dark matter and LHC physics will be connected in detail. (author)

Working Group Report: Dark Matter Complementarity (Dark Matter in the Coming Decade: Complementary Paths to Discovery and Beyond)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arrenberg, Sebastian; et al.,

2013-10-31

In this Report we discuss the four complementary searches for the identity of dark matter: direct detection experiments that look for dark matter interacting in the lab, indirect detection experiments that connect lab signals to dark matter in our own and other galaxies, collider experiments that elucidate the particle properties of dark matter, and astrophysical probes sensitive to non-gravitational interactions of dark matter. The complementarity among the different dark matter searches is discussed qualitatively and illustrated quantitatively in several theoretical scenarios. Our primary conclusion is that the diversity of possible dark matter candidates requires a balanced program based on all four of those approaches.

Dark matter and particle physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masiero, A [SISSA-ISAS, Trieste (Italy) and INFN, Sezione di Trieste (Italy); Pascoli, S [SISSA-ISAS, Trieste (Italy) and INFN, Sezione di Trieste (Italy)

2001-11-15

Dark matter constitutes a key-problem at the interface between Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology. Indeed, the observational facts which have been accumulated in the last years on dark matter point to the existence of an amount of non-baryonic dark matter. Since the Standard Model of Particle Physics does not possess any candidate for such non-baryonic dark matter, this problem constitutes a major indication for new Physics beyond the Standard Model. We analyze the most important candidates for non-baryonic dark matter in the context of extensions of the Standard Model (in particular supersymmetric models). The recent hints for the presence of a large amount of unclustered 'vacuum' energy (cosmological constant?) is discussed from the Astrophysical and Particle Physics perspective. (author)

The DarkSide Program at LNGS

OpenAIRE

Wright, Alex; Collaboration, for the DarkSide

2011-01-01

DarkSide is a direct detection dark matter program based on two phase time projection chambers with depleted argon targets. The DarkSide detectors are designed, using novel low background techniques and active shielding, to be capable of demonstrating in situ a very low level of residual background. This means that each detector in the DarkSide program should have the ability to make a convincing claim of dark matter detection based on the observation of a few nuclear recoil events. The colla...

Origin of holographic dark energy models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myung, Yun Soo; Seo, Min-Gyun

2009-01-01

We investigate the origin of holographic dark energy models which were recently proposed to explain the dark energy-dominated universe. For this purpose, we introduce the spacetime foam uncertainty of δl≥l p α l α-1 . It was argued that the case of α=2/3 could describe the dark energy with infinite statistics, while the case of α=1/2 can describe the ordinary matter with Bose-Fermi statistics. However, two cases may lead to the holographic energy density if the latter recovers from the geometric mean of UV and IR scales. Hence the dark energy with infinite statistics based on the entropy bound is not an ingredient for deriving the holographic dark energy model. Furthermore, it is shown that the agegraphic dark energy models are the holographic dark energy model with different IR length scales

Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT). Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, Charles L.

2009-01-01

In 2006, we proposed to NASA a detailed concept study of ADEPT (the Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope), a potential space mission to reliably measure the time-evolution of dark energy by conducting the largest effective volume survey of the universe ever done. A peer-review panel of scientific, management, and technical experts reported back the highest possible 'excellent' rating for ADEPT. We have since made substantial advances in the scientific and technical maturity of the mission design. With this Department of Energy (DOE) award we were granted supplemental funding to support specific extended research items that were not included in the NASA proposal, many of which were intended to broadly advance future dark energy research, as laid out by the Dark Energy Task Force (DETF). The proposed work had three targets: (1) the adaptation of large-format infrared arrays to a 2 micron cut-off; (2) analytical research to improve the understanding of the dark energy figure-of- merit; and (3) extended studies of baryon acoustic oscillation systematic uncertainties. Since the actual award was only for ∼10% of the proposed amount item (1) was dropped and item (2) work was severely restricted, consistent with the referee reviews of the proposal, although there was considerable contradictions between reviewer comments and several comments that displayed a lack of familiarity with the research. None the less, item (3) was the focus of the work. To characterize the nature of the dark energy, ADEPT is designed to observe baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in a large galaxy redshift survey and to obtain substantial numbers of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The 2003 Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) made a precise determination of the BAO 'standard ruler' scale, as it was imprinted on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at z ∼ 1090. The standard ruler was also imprinted on the pattern of galaxies, and was first detected in 2005 in Sloan Digital

Revisit of the interaction between holographic dark energy and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zhenhui; Li, Xiao-Dong; Li, Song; Li, Miao; Zhang, Xin

2012-01-01

In this paper we investigate the possible direct, non-gravitational interaction between holographic dark energy (HDE) and dark matter. Firstly, we start with two simple models with the interaction terms Q∝ρ dm and Q∝ρ de , and then we move on to the general form Q∝ρ m α ρ de β . The cosmological constraints of the models are obtained from the joint analysis of the present Union2.1+BAO+CMB+H 0 data. We find that the data slightly favor an energy flow from dark matter to dark energy, although the original HDE model still lies in the 95.4% confidence level (CL) region. For all models we find c dm and ρ de is smaller, and the relative increment (decrement) amount of the energy in the dark matter component is constrained to be less than 9% (15%) at the 95.4% CL. By introducing the interaction, we find that even when c < 1 the big rip still can be avoided due to the existence of a de Sitter solution at z→−1. We show that this solution can not be accomplished in the two simple models, while for the general model such a solution can be achieved with a large β, and the big rip may be avoided at the 95.4% CL

Dark energy interacting with dark matter and a third fluid: Possible EoS for this component

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cruz, Norman; Lepe, Samuel; Pena, Francisco

2011-01-01

A cosmological model of dark energy interacting with dark matter and another general component of the universe is considered. The equations for the coincidence parameters r and s, which represent the ratios between dark energy and dark matter and the other cosmic fluid respectively, are analyzed in terms of the stability of stationary solutions. The obtained general results allow to shed some light on the equations of state of the three interacting fluids, due to the constraints imposed by the stability of the solutions. We found that for an interaction proportional to the sum of the dark energy density and the third fluid density, the hypothetical fluid must have positive pressure, which leads naturally to a cosmological scenario with radiation, unparticle or even some form of warm dark matter as the third interacting fluid.

Dark energy interacting with dark matter and a third fluid: Possible EoS for this component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cruz, Norman, E-mail: ncruz@lauca.usach.c [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencia, Universidad de Santiago, Casilla 307, Santiago (Chile); Lepe, Samuel, E-mail: slepe@ucv.c [Instituto de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Casilla 4059, Valparaiso (Chile); Pena, Francisco, E-mail: fcampos@ufro.c [Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Facultad de Ingenieria, Ciencias y Administracion, Universidad de La Frontera, Avda. Francisco Salazar 01145, Casilla 54-D, Temuco (Chile)

2011-05-09

A cosmological model of dark energy interacting with dark matter and another general component of the universe is considered. The equations for the coincidence parameters r and s, which represent the ratios between dark energy and dark matter and the other cosmic fluid respectively, are analyzed in terms of the stability of stationary solutions. The obtained general results allow to shed some light on the equations of state of the three interacting fluids, due to the constraints imposed by the stability of the solutions. We found that for an interaction proportional to the sum of the dark energy density and the third fluid density, the hypothetical fluid must have positive pressure, which leads naturally to a cosmological scenario with radiation, unparticle or even some form of warm dark matter as the third interacting fluid.

Dark degeneracy and interacting cosmic components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aviles, Alejandro; Cervantes-Cota, Jorge L.

2011-01-01

We study some properties of the dark degeneracy, which is the fact that what we measure in gravitational experiments is the energy-momentum tensor of the total dark sector, and any split into components (as in dark matter and dark energy) is arbitrary. In fact, just one dark fluid is necessary to obtain exactly the same cosmological and astrophysical phenomenology as the ΛCDM model. We work explicitly the first-order perturbation theory and show that beyond the linear order the dark degeneracy is preserved under some general assumptions. Then we construct the dark fluid from a collection of interacting fluids. Finally, we try to break the degeneracy with a general class of couplings to baryonic matter. Nonetheless, we show that these interactions can also be understood in the context of the ΛCDM model as between dark matter and baryons. For this last investigation we choose two independent parametrizations for the interactions, one inspired by electromagnetism and the other by chameleon theories. Then, we constrain them with a joint analysis of CMB and supernovae observational data.

Dark London: Dimensions and characteristics of dark tourism supply in the UK capital

OpenAIRE

Powell, Raymond; Iankova, Katia

2016-01-01

This paper will investigate the characteristics of the supply of dark tourism in London, UK through an examination of the identified main dark sites in London, UK. Our methodology is based on web analysis of the presence of marketed and non-marketed dark tourist sites in London, their web visitation, the level of their commercialisation and the characteristics which place them in the various scales as categorised in current literature, notably Stone (2006). We identified that London offers a ...

Dark-matter QCD-axion searches.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, Leslie J

2015-10-06

In the late 20th century, cosmology became a precision science. Now, at the beginning of the next century, the parameters describing how our universe evolved from the Big Bang are generally known to a few percent. One key parameter is the total mass density of the universe. Normal matter constitutes only a small fraction of the total mass density. Observations suggest this additional mass, the dark matter, is cold (that is, moving nonrelativistically in the early universe) and interacts feebly if at all with normal matter and radiation. There's no known such elementary particle, so the strong presumption is the dark matter consists of particle relics of a new kind left over from the Big Bang. One of the most important questions in science is the nature of this dark matter. One attractive particle dark-matter candidate is the axion. The axion is a hypothetical elementary particle arising in a simple and elegant extension to the standard model of particle physics that nulls otherwise observable CP-violating effects (where CP is the product of charge reversal C and parity inversion P) in quantum chromo dynamics (QCD). A light axion of mass 10(-(6-3)) eV (the invisible axion) would couple extraordinarily weakly to normal matter and radiation and would therefore be extremely difficult to detect in the laboratory. However, such an axion is a compelling dark-matter candidate and is therefore a target of a number of searches. Compared with other particle dark-matter candidates, the plausible range of axion dark-matter couplings and masses is narrowly constrained. This focused search range allows for definitive searches, where a nonobservation would seriously impugn the dark-matter QCD-axion hypothesis. Axion searches use a wide range of technologies, and the experiment sensitivities are now reaching likely dark-matter axion couplings and masses. This article is a selective overview of the current generation of sensitive axion searches. Not all techniques and experiments

The dark-matter world: Are there dark-matter galaxies?

OpenAIRE

Hwang, W-Y. Pauchy

2011-01-01

We attempt to answer whether neutrinos and antineutrinos, such as those in the cosmic neutrino background, would clusterize among themselves or even with other dark-matter particles, under certain time span, say 1 Gyr. With neutrino masses in place, the similarity with the ordinary matter increases and so is our confidence for neutrino clustering if time is long enough. In particular, the clusterings could happen with some seeds (cf. see the text for definition), the chance in the dark-matter...

Cosmic ray-dark matter scattering: a new signature of (asymmetric) dark matter in the gamma ray sky

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Profumo, Stefano; Ubaldi, Lorenzo

2011-01-01

We consider the process of scattering of Galactic cosmic-ray electrons and protons off of dark matter with the radiation of a final-state photon. This process provides a novel way to search for Galactic dark matter with gamma rays. We argue that for a generic weakly interacting massive particle, barring effects such as co-annihilation or a velocity-dependent cross section, the gamma-ray emission from cosmic-ray scattering off of dark matter is typically smaller than that from dark matter pair-annihilation. However, if dark matter particles cannot pair-annihilate, as is the case for example in asymmetric dark matter scenarios, cosmic-ray scattering with final state photon emission provides a unique window to detect a signal from dark matter with gamma rays. We estimate the expected flux level and its spectral features for a generic supersymmetric setup, and we also discuss dipolar and luminous dark matter. We show that in some cases the gamma-ray emission might be large enough to be detectable with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Interacting dark sector and precision cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Buen-Abad, Manuel A.; Schmaltz, Martin; Lesgourgues, Julien; Brinckmann, Thejs

2018-01-01

We consider a recently proposed model in which dark matter interacts with a thermal background of dark radiation. Dark radiation consists of relativistic degrees of freedom which allow larger values of the expansion rate of the universe today to be consistent with CMB data (H0-problem). Scattering between dark matter and radiation suppresses the matter power spectrum at small scales and can explain the apparent discrepancies between ΛCDM predictions of the matter power spectrum and direct measurements of Large Scale Structure LSS (σ8-problem). We go beyond previous work in two ways: 1. we enlarge the parameter space of our previous model and allow for an arbitrary fraction of the dark matter to be interacting and 2. we update the data sets used in our fits, most importantly we include LSS data with full k-dependence to explore the sensitivity of current data to the shape of the matter power spectrum. We find that LSS data prefer models with overall suppressed matter clustering due to dark matter - dark radiation interactions over ΛCDM at 3–4 σ. However recent weak lensing measurements of the power spectrum are not yet precise enough to clearly distinguish two limits of the model with different predicted shapes for the linear matter power spectrum. In two appendices we give a derivation of the coupled dark matter and dark radiation perturbation equations from the Boltzmann equation in order to clarify a confusion in the recent literature, and we derive analytic approximations to the solutions of the perturbation equations in the two physically interesting limits of all dark matter weakly interacting or a small fraction of dark matter strongly interacting.

A New Dark Vortex on Neptune

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Michael H.; Tollefson, Joshua; Hsu, Andrew I.; de Pater, Imke; Simon, Amy A.; Hueso, Ricardo; Sánchez-Lavega, Agustín; Sromovsky, Lawrence; Fry, Patrick; Luszcz-Cook, Statia; Hammel, Heidi; Delcroix, Marc; de Kleer, Katherine; Orton, Glenn S.; Baranec, Christoph

2018-03-01

An outburst of cloud activity on Neptune in 2015 led to speculation about whether the clouds were convective in nature, a wave phenomenon, or bright companions to an unseen dark vortex (similar to the Great Dark Spot studied in detail by Voyager 2). The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) finally answered this question by discovering a new dark vortex at 45 degrees south planetographic latitude, named SDS-2015 for “southern dark spot discovered in 2015.” SDS-2015 is only the fifth dark vortex ever seen on Neptune. In this paper, we report on imaging of SDS-2015 using HST’s Wide Field Camera 3 across four epochs: 2015 September, 2016 May, 2016 October, and 2017 October. We find that the size of SDS-2015 did not exceed 20 degrees of longitude, more than a factor of two smaller than the Voyager dark spots, but only slightly smaller than previous northern-hemisphere dark spots. A slow (1.7–2.5 deg/year) poleward drift was observed for the vortex. Properties of SDS-2015 and its surroundings suggest that the meridional wind shear may be twice as strong at the deep level of the vortex as it is at the level of cloud-tracked winds. Over the 2015–2017 period, the dark spot’s contrast weakened from about -7 % to about -3 % , while companion clouds shifted from offset to centered, a similar evolution to some historical dark spots. The properties and evolution of SDS-2015 highlight the diversity of Neptune’s dark spots and the need for faster cadence dark spot observations in the future.

Superconducting Detectors for Superlight Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Hochberg, Yonit; Zhao, Yue; Zurek, Kathryn M

2016-01-08

We propose and study a new class of superconducting detectors that are sensitive to O(meV) electron recoils from dark matter-electron scattering. Such devices could detect dark matter as light as the warm dark-matter limit, m(X)≳1  keV. We compute the rate of dark-matter scattering off of free electrons in a (superconducting) metal, including the relevant Pauli blocking factors. We demonstrate that classes of dark matter consistent with terrestrial and cosmological or astrophysical constraints could be detected by such detectors with a moderate size exposure.

Dark matter in our Galaxy. I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tucker, W.; Tucker, K.

1989-01-01

Research concerned with the existence and nature of dark matter is examined. The first evidence of dark matter discovered by Oort in 1932 during the study of galactic rotation and observations by Bahcall in 1984 using tracer stars are discussed. Stars, gas, dust, rocks, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, and red and brown dwarfs are investigated as possible forms of dark matter. The date reveal that gas, dust, neutron stars, black holes, rocks, and comets can not be dark matter; however, brown, red, or white dwarfs could be possible forms of dark matter

Search for Dark Photons with Accelerators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merkel Harald

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A dark photon as the mediator of an interaction of the dark sector is a well motivated extension of the standard model. While possible dark matter particles are heavy and seem to be beyond the reach of current accelerators, the dark photon is not necessarily heavy and might have a mass in the range of existing accelerators. In recent years, an extensive experimental program at several accelerators for the search for dark photons were established. In this talk, recent results and progress in the determination of exclusion limits with accelerators is presented.

Electrophilic dark matter with dark photon: From DAMPE to direct detection

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Pei-Hong; He, Xiao-Gang

2018-03-01

The electron-positron excess reported by the DAMPE collaboration recently may be explained by an electrophilic dark matter (DM). A standard model singlet fermion may play the role of such a DM when it is stabilized by some symmetries, such as a dark U(1)X gauge symmetry, and dominantly annihilates into the electron-positron pairs through the exchange of a scalar mediator. The model, with appropriate Yukawa couplings, can well interpret the DAMPE excess. Naively one expects that in this type of models the DM-nucleon cross section should be small since there is no tree-level DM-quark interactions. We however find that at one-loop level, a testable DM-nucleon cross section can be induced for providing ways to test the electrophilic model. We also find that a U (1) kinetic mixing can generate a sizable DM-nucleon cross section although the U(1)X dark photon only has a negligible contribution to the DM annihilation. Depending on the signs of the mixing parameter, the dark photon can enhance/reduce the one-loop induced DM-nucleon cross section.

Massive graviton dark matter with environment dependent mass: A natural explanation of the dark matter-baryon ratio

Science.gov (United States)

Aoki, Katsuki; Mukohyama, Shinji

2017-11-01

We propose a scenario that can naturally explain the observed dark matter-baryon ratio in the context of bimetric theory with a chameleon field. We introduce two additional gravitational degrees of freedom, the massive graviton and the chameleon field, corresponding to dark matter and dark energy, respectively. The chameleon field is assumed to be nonminimally coupled to dark matter, i.e., the massive graviton, through the graviton mass terms. We find that the dark matter-baryon ratio is dynamically adjusted to the observed value due to the energy transfer by the chameleon field. As a result, the model can explain the observed dark matter-baryon ratio independently from the initial abundance of them.

Dark Matter's secret liaisons: phenomenology of a dark U(1) sector with bound states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cirelli, Marco; Petraki, Kalliopi; Sala, Filippo [Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Hautes Energies (LPTHE), UMR 7589 CNRS and UPMC, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75252, Paris (France); Panci, Paolo [CERN Theoretical Physics Department, CERN, Case C01600, CH-1211 Genève (Switzerland); Taoso, Marco, E-mail: marco.cirelli@gmail.com, E-mail: paolo.panci@cern.ch, E-mail: kpetraki@lpthe.jussieu.fr, E-mail: filo.sala@gmail.com, E-mail: m.taoso@csic.es [Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) UAM/CSIC, calle Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid (Spain)

2017-05-01

Dark matter (DM) charged under a dark U(1) force appears in many extensions of the Standard Model, and has been invoked to explain anomalies in cosmic-ray data, as well as a self-interacting DM candidate. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive phenomenological analysis of such a model, assuming that the DM abundance arises from the thermal freeze-out of the dark interactions. We include, for the first time, bound-state effects both in the DM production and in the indirect detection signals, and quantify their importance for FERMI, AMS-02, and CMB experiments. We find that DM in the mass range 1 GeV to 100 TeV, annihilating into dark photons of MeV to GeV mass, is in conflict with observations. Instead, DM annihilation into heavier dark photons is viable. We point out that the late decays of multi-GeV dark photons can produce significant entropy and thus dilute the DM density. This can lower considerably the dark coupling needed to obtain the DM abundance, and in turn relax the existing constraints.

How dark chocolate is processed

Science.gov (United States)

This month’s column will continue the theme of “How Is It Processed?” The column will focus on dark chocolate. The botanical name for the cacao tree is Theobroma cacao, which literally means “food of the Gods.” Dark chocolate is both delicious and nutritious. Production of dark chocolate will be des...

Particle Dark Matter (1/4)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2011-01-01

I review the phenomenology of particle dark matter, including the process of thermal freeze-out in the early universe, and the direct and indirect detection of WIMPs. I also describe some of the most popular particle candidates for dark matter and summarize the current status of the quest to discover dark matter's particle identity.

Observational constraints on variable equation of state parameters of dark matter and dark energy after Planck

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suresh Kumar

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we study a cosmological model in general relativity within the framework of spatially flat Friedmann–Robertson–Walker space–time filled with ordinary matter (baryonic, radiation, dark matter and dark energy, where the latter two components are described by Chevallier–Polarski–Linder equation of state parameters. We utilize the observational data sets from SNLS3, BAO and Planck + WMAP9 + WiggleZ measurements of matter power spectrum to constrain the model parameters. We find that the current observational data offer tight constraints on the equation of state parameter of dark matter. We consider the perturbations and study the behavior of dark matter by observing its effects on CMB and matter power spectra. We find that the current observational data favor the cold dark matter scenario with the cosmological constant type dark energy at the present epoch.

Observational constraints on variable equation of state parameters of dark matter and dark energy after Planck

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Suresh; Xu, Lixin

2014-01-01

In this paper, we study a cosmological model in general relativity within the framework of spatially flat Friedmann–Robertson–Walker space–time filled with ordinary matter (baryonic), radiation, dark matter and dark energy, where the latter two components are described by Chevallier–Polarski–Linder equation of state parameters. We utilize the observational data sets from SNLS3, BAO and Planck + WMAP9 + WiggleZ measurements of matter power spectrum to constrain the model parameters. We find that the current observational data offer tight constraints on the equation of state parameter of dark matter. We consider the perturbations and study the behavior of dark matter by observing its effects on CMB and matter power spectra. We find that the current observational data favor the cold dark matter scenario with the cosmological constant type dark energy at the present epoch

Enlightening Students about Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Kathleen; Barr, Alex; Eidelman, Dave

2018-01-01

Dark matter pervades the universe. While it is invisible to us, we can detect its influence on matter we can see. To illuminate this concept, we have created an interactive javascript program illustrating predictions made by six different models for dark matter distributions in galaxies. Students are able to match the predicted data with actual experimental results, drawn from several astronomy papers discussing dark matter’s impact on galactic rotation curves. Programming each new model requires integration of density equations with parameters determined by nonlinear curve-fitting using MATLAB scripts we developed. Using our javascript simulation, students can determine the most plausible dark matter models as well as the average percentage of dark matter lurking in galaxies, areas where the scientific community is still continuing to research. In that light, we strive to use the most up-to-date and accepted concepts: two of our dark matter models are the pseudo-isothermal halo and Navarro-Frenk-White, and we integrate out to each galaxy’s virial radius. Currently, our simulation includes NGC3198, NGC2403, and our own Milky Way.

Understanding the Fundamental Properties of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in Structure formation and Cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, Richard S.

2008-01-01

This program is concerned with developing and verifying the validity of observational methods for constraining the properties of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Excellent progress has been made in comparing observational projects involving weak gravitational lensing using both ground and space-based instruments, in further constraining the nature of dark matter via precise measures of its distribution in clusters of galaxies using strong gravitational lensing, in demonstrating the possible limitations of using distant supernovae in future dark energy missions, and in investigating the requirement for ground-based surveys of baryonic acoustic oscillations.

Light dark matter through assisted annihilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dey, Ujjal Kumar; Maity, Tarak Nath; Ray, Tirtha Sankar

2017-01-01

In this paper we investigate light dark matter scenarios where annihilation to Standard Model particles at tree-level is kinematically forbidden. In such cases annihilation can be aided by massive Standard Model-like species, called assisters , in the initial state that enhances the available phase space opening up novel tree-level processes. We investigate the feasibility of such non-standard assisted annihilation processes to reproduce the observed relic density of dark matter. We present a simple scalar dark matter-scalar assister model where this is realised. We find that if the dark matter and assister are relatively degenerate the required relic density can be achieved for a keV-MeV scale dark matter. We briefly discuss the cosmological constraints on such dark matter scenarios.

The investigation of abnormal particle-coarsening phenomena in friction stir repair weld of 2219-T6 aluminum alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Bo; Shen, Yifu

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Defective friction stir welds were repaired by overlapping FSW technique. → Abnormal Al 2 Cu-coarsening phenomena were found in 2219-T6 friction stir repair weld. → Three formation mechanisms were proposed for reasonable explanations. -- Abstract: The single-pass friction stir weld of aluminum 2219-T6 with weld-defects was repaired by overlapping friction stir welding technique. However, without any post weld heat treatment process, it was found that the phenomena of abnormal particle-coarsening of Al 2 Cu had occurred in the overlapping friction stir repair welds. The detecting results of non-destructive X-ray inspection proved that not only one group of repair FSW process parameters could lead to occurrence of the abnormal phenomena. And the abnormally coarsened particles always appeared on the advancing side of repair welds rather than the retreating side where the fracture behaviors occurred after mechanical tensile testing. The size of the biggest particle lying in the dark bands of 'Onion-rings' was more than 150 μm. After the related investigation by scanning electron microscope and X-ray energy spectrometer, three types of formation mechanisms were proposed for reasonably explaining the abnormal phenomenon: Aggregation Mechanism, Diffusion Mechanisms I and II. Aggregation Mechanism was according to the motion-laws of stir-pin. Diffusion Mechanisms were based on the classical theories of precipitate growth in metallic systems. The combined action of the three detailed mechanisms contributed to the abnormal coarsening behavior of Al 2 Cu particles in the friction stir repair weld.

Big Bang synthesis of nuclear dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hardy, Edward; Lasenby, Robert; March-Russell, John; West, Stephen M.

2015-01-01

We investigate the physics of dark matter models featuring composite bound states carrying a large conserved dark “nucleon” number. The properties of sufficiently large dark nuclei may obey simple scaling laws, and we find that this scaling can determine the number distribution of nuclei resulting from Big Bang Dark Nucleosynthesis. For plausible models of asymmetric dark matter, dark nuclei of large nucleon number, e.g. ≳10 8 , may be synthesised, with the number distribution taking one of two characteristic forms. If small-nucleon-number fusions are sufficiently fast, the distribution of dark nuclei takes on a logarithmically-peaked, universal form, independent of many details of the initial conditions and small-number interactions. In the case of a substantial bottleneck to nucleosynthesis for small dark nuclei, we find the surprising result that even larger nuclei, with size ≫10 8 , are often finally synthesised, again with a simple number distribution. We briefly discuss the constraints arising from the novel dark sector energetics, and the extended set of (often parametrically light) dark sector states that can occur in complete models of nuclear dark matter. The physics of the coherent enhancement of direct detection signals, the nature of the accompanying dark-sector form factors, and the possible modifications to astrophysical processes are discussed in detail in a companion paper.

Probing the sign-changeable interaction between dark energy and dark matter with current observations

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Juan-Juan; Zhang, Jing-Fei; Li, Yun-He; He, Dong-Ze; Zhang, Xin

2018-03-01

We consider the models of vacuum energy interacting with cold dark matter in this study, in which the coupling can change sigh during the cosmological evolution. We parameterize the running coupling b by the form b( a) = b 0 a+ b e(1- a), where at the early-time the coupling is given by a constant b e and today the coupling is described by another constant b 0. We explore six specific models with (i) Q = b( a) H 0 ρ 0, (ii) Q = b( a) H 0 ρ de, (iii) Q = b( a) H 0 ρ c, (iv) Q = b( a) Hρ 0, (v) Q = b( a) H ρ de, and (vi) Q = b( a) Hρ c. The current observational data sets we use to constrain the models include the JLA compilation of type Ia supernova data, the Planck 2015 distance priors data of cosmic microwave background observation, the baryon acoustic oscillations measurements, and the Hubble constant direct measurement. We find that, for all the models, we have b 0 0 at around the 1 σ level, and b 0 and b e are in extremely strong anti-correlation. Our results show that the coupling changes sign during the evolution at about the 1 σ level, i.e., the energy transfer is from dark matter to dark energy when dark matter dominates the universe and the energy transfer is from dark energy to dark matter when dark energy dominates the universe.

Dark energy and dark matter from hidden symmetry of gravity model with a non-Riemannian volume form

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guendelman, Eduardo [Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Physics, Beersheba (Israel); Nissimov, Emil; Pacheva, Svetlana [Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy, Sofia (Bulgaria)

2015-10-15

We show that dark energy and dark matter can be described simultaneously by ordinary Einstein gravity interacting with a single scalar field provided the scalar field Lagrangian couples in a symmetric fashion to two different spacetime volume forms (covariant integration measure densities) on the spacetime manifold - one standard Riemannian given by √(-g) (square root of the determinant of the pertinent Riemannian metric) and another non-Riemannian volume form independent of the Riemannian metric, defined in terms of an auxiliary antisymmetric tensor gauge field of maximal rank. Integration of the equations of motion of the latter auxiliary gauge field produce an a priori arbitrary integration constant that plays the role of a dynamically generated cosmological constant or dark energy. Moreover, the above modified scalar field action turns out to possess a hidden Noether symmetry whose associated conserved current describes a pressureless ''dust'' fluid which we can identify with the dark matter completely decoupled from the dark energy. The form of both the dark energy and dark matter that results from the above class of models is insensitive to the specific form of the scalar field Lagrangian. By adding an appropriate perturbation, which breaks the above hidden symmetry and along with this couples dark matter and dark energy, we also suggest a way to obtain growing dark energy in the present universe's epoch without evolution pathologies. (orig.)

Baryon destruction by asymmetric dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davoudiasl, Hooman; Morrissey, David E.; Tulin, Sean; Sigurdson, Kris

2011-01-01

We investigate new and unusual signals that arise in theories where dark matter is asymmetric and carries a net antibaryon number, as may occur when the dark matter abundance is linked to the baryon abundance. Antibaryonic dark matter can cause induced nucleon decay by annihilating visible baryons through inelastic scattering. These processes lead to an effective nucleon lifetime of 10 29 -10 32 yrs in terrestrial nucleon decay experiments, if baryon number transfer between visible and dark sectors arises through new physics at the weak scale. The possibility of induced nucleon decay motivates a novel approach for direct detection of cosmic dark matter in nucleon decay experiments. Monojet searches (and related signatures) at hadron colliders also provide a complementary probe of weak-scale dark-matter-induced baryon number violation. Finally, we discuss the effects of baryon-destroying dark matter on stellar systems and show that it can be consistent with existing observations.

The space-time of dark-matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dey, Dipanjan

2015-01-01

Dark-matter is a hypothetical matter which can't be seen but around 27% of our universe is made of it. Its distribution, evolution from early stage of our universe to present stage, its particle constituents all these are great unsolved mysteries of modern Cosmology and Astrophysics. In this talk I will introduce a special kind of space-time which is known as Bertrand Space-time (BST). I will show this space-time interestingly shows some dark-matter properties like- flat velocity curve, density profile of Dark-matter, total mass of Dark matter-halo, gravitational lensing etc, for that reason we consider BST is seeded by Dark-matter or it is a space-time of Dark-matter. At last I will show using modified gravity formalism the behaviour of the equation of state parameter of Dark-matter and the behaviour of the Newton's gravitational constant in the vicinity of the singularity. (author)

Dark matter and electroweak phase transition in the mixed scalar dark matter model

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xuewen; Bian, Ligong

2018-03-01

We study the electroweak phase transition in the framework of the scalar singlet-doublet mixed dark matter model, in which the particle dark matter candidate is the lightest neutral Higgs that comprises the C P -even component of the inert doublet and a singlet scalar. The dark matter can be dominated by the inert doublet or singlet scalar depending on the mixing. We present several benchmark models to investigate the two situations after imposing several theoretical and experimental constraints. An additional singlet scalar and the inert doublet drive the electroweak phase transition to be strongly first order. A strong first-order electroweak phase transition and a viable dark matter candidate can be accomplished in two benchmark models simultaneously, for which a proper mass splitting among the neutral and charged Higgs masses is needed.

Natural implementation of neutralino dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, Steve F.; Roberts, Jonathan P.

2006-01-01

The prediction of neutralino dark matter is generally regarded as one of the successes of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). However the successful regions of parameter space allowed by WMAP and collider constraints are quite restricted. We discuss fine-tuning with respect to both dark matter and Electroweak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) and explore regions of MSSM parameter space with non-universal gaugino and third family scalar masses in which neutralino dark matter may be implemented naturally. In particular allowing non-universal gauginos opens up the bulk region that allows Bino annihilation via t-channel slepton exchange, leading to 'supernatural dark matter' corresponding to no fine-tuning at all with respect to dark matter. By contrast we find that the recently proposed 'well tempered neutralino' regions involve substantial fine-tuning of MSSM parameters in order to satisfy the dark matter constraints, although the fine tuning may be ameliorated if several annihilation channels act simultaneously. Although we have identified regions of 'supernatural dark matter' in which there is no fine tuning to achieve successful dark matter, the usual MSSM fine tuning to achieve EWSB always remains

Natural implementation of neutralino dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

King, Steve F.; Roberts, Jonathan P.

2006-09-01

The prediction of neutralino dark matter is generally regarded as one of the successes of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). However the successful regions of parameter space allowed by WMAP and collider constraints are quite restricted. We discuss fine-tuning with respect to both dark matter and Electroweak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) and explore regions of MSSM parameter space with non-universal gaugino and third family scalar masses in which neutralino dark matter may be implemented naturally. In particular allowing non-universal gauginos opens up the bulk region that allows Bino annihilation via t-channel slepton exchange, leading to ``supernatural dark matter'' corresponding to no fine-tuning at all with respect to dark matter. By contrast we find that the recently proposed ``well tempered neutralino'' regions involve substantial fine-tuning of MSSM parameters in order to satisfy the dark matter constraints, although the fine tuning may be ameliorated if several annihilation channels act simultaneously. Although we have identified regions of ``supernatural dark matter'' in which there is no fine tuning to achieve successful dark matter, the usual MSSM fine tuning to achieve EWSB always remains.

Dark matter and galactic cosmic rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taillet, R.

2010-12-01

Dark matter is one of the major problems encountered by modern cosmology and astrophysics, resisting the efforts of both theoreticians and experimentalists. The problem itself is easy to state: many indirect astrophysical measurements indicate that the mass contained in the Universe seems to be dominated by a new type of matter which has never been directly seen yet, this is why it is called dark matter. This hypothesis of dark matter being made of new particles is of great interest for particle physicists, whose theories provide many candidates: dark matter is one of the major topics of astro-particle physics. This work focuses on searching dark matter in the form of new particles, more precisely to indirect detection, i.e. the search of particles produced by dark matter annihilation rather than dark matter particles themselves. In this framework, I will present the studies I have been doing in the field of cosmic rays physics (particularly cosmic ray sources), in several collaborations. In particular, the study of the antimatter component of cosmic rays can give relevant information about dark matter. The last chapter is dedicated to my teaching activities

Voids and overdensities of coupled Dark Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mainini, Roberto

2009-01-01

We investigate the clustering properties of dynamical Dark Energy even in association of a possible coupling between Dark Energy and Dark Matter. We find that within matter inhomogeneities, Dark Energy migth form voids as well as overdensity depending on how its background energy density evolves. Consequently and contrarily to what expected, Dark Energy fluctuations are found to be slightly suppressed if a coupling with Dark Matter is permitted. When considering density contrasts and scales typical of superclusters, voids and supervoids, perturbations amplitudes range from |δ φ | ∼ O(10 −6 ) to |δ φ | ∼ O(10 −4 ) indicating an almost homogeneous Dark Energy component

Embrace the Dark Side: Advancing the Dark Energy Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Suchyta, Eric

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is an ongoing cosmological survey intended to study the properties of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. In this dissertation, I present work of mine that has advanced the progress of DES. First is an introduction, which explores the physics of the cosmos, as well as how DES intends to probe it. Attention is given to developing the theoretical framework cosmologists use to describe the Universe, and to explaining observational evidence which has furnished our current conception of the cosmos. Emphasis is placed on the dark sector - dark matter and dark energy - the content of the Universe not explained by the Standard Model of particle physics. As its name suggests, the Dark Energy Survey has been specially designed to measure the properties of dark energy. DES will use a combination of galaxy cluster, weak gravitational lensing, angular clustering, and supernovae measurements to derive its state of the art constraints, each of which is discussed in the text. The work described in this dissertation includes science measurements directly related to the first three of these probes. The dissertation presents my contributions to the readout and control system of the Dark Energy Camera (DECam); the name of this software is SISPI. SISPI uses client-server and publish-subscribe communication patterns to coordinate and command actions among the many hardware components of DECam - the survey instrument for DES, a 570 megapixel CCD camera, mounted at prime focus of the Blanco 4-m Telescope. The SISPI work I discuss includes coding applications for DECam's filter changer mechanism and hexapod, as well as developing the Scripts Editor, a GUI application for DECam users to edit and export observing sequence SISPI can load and execute. Next, the dissertation describes the processing of early DES data, which I contributed. This furnished the data products used in the first-completed DES science analysis, and contributed to improving the

Dark matter. A light move

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redondo, Javier; Doebrich, Babette

2013-11-01

This proceedings contribution reports from the workshop Dark Matter - a light move, held at DESY in Hamburg in June 2013. Dark Matter particle candidates span a huge parameter range. In particular, well motivated candidates exist also in the sub-eV mass region, for example the axion. Whilst a plethora of searches for rather heavy Dark Matter particles exists, there are only very few experiments aimed at direct detection of sub-eV Dark Matter to this date. The aim of our workshop was to discuss if and how this could be changed in the near future.

Dark matter. A light move

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Redondo, Javier [Muenchen Univ. (Germany). Arnold Sommerfeld Center; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Doebrich, Babette [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2013-11-15

This proceedings contribution reports from the workshop Dark Matter - a light move, held at DESY in Hamburg in June 2013. Dark Matter particle candidates span a huge parameter range. In particular, well motivated candidates exist also in the sub-eV mass region, for example the axion. Whilst a plethora of searches for rather heavy Dark Matter particles exists, there are only very few experiments aimed at direct detection of sub-eV Dark Matter to this date. The aim of our workshop was to discuss if and how this could be changed in the near future.

Entropy-Corrected Holographic Dark Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Hao

2009-01-01

The holographic dark energy (HDE) is now an interesting candidate of dark energy, which has been studied extensively in the literature. In the derivation of HDE, the black hole entropy plays an important role. In fact, the entropy-area relation can be modified due to loop quantum gravity or other reasons. With the modified entropy-area relation, we propose the so-called 'entropy-corrected holographic dark energy' (ECHDE) in the present work. We consider many aspects of ECHDE and find some interesting results. In addition, we briefly consider the so-called 'entropy-corrected agegraphic dark energy' (ECADE). (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

Dark matter model with non-Abelian gauge symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Hao; Li Chongsheng; Cao Qinghong; Li Zhao

2010-01-01

We propose a dark-matter model in which the dark sector is gauged under a new SU(2) group. The dark sector consists of SU(2) dark gauge fields, two triplet dark Higgs fields, and two dark fermion doublets (dark-matter candidates in this model). The dark sector interacts with the standard model sector through kinetic and mass mixing operators. The model explains both PAMELA and Fermi LAT data very well and also satisfies constraints from both the dark-matter relic density and standard model precision observables. The phenomenology of the model at the LHC is also explored.

Non-baryonic dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkes, I.

1996-01-01

This article discusses the nature of the dark matter and the possibility of the detection of non-baryonic dark matter in an underground experiment. Among the useful detectors the low temperature bolometers are considered in some detail. (author)

SOLAR CONSTRAINTS ON ASYMMETRIC DARK MATTER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopes, Ilídio; Silk, Joseph

2012-01-01

The dark matter content of the universe is likely to be a mixture of matter and antimatter, perhaps comparable to the measured asymmetric mixture of baryons and antibaryons. During the early stages of the universe, the dark matter particles are produced in a process similar to baryogenesis, and dark matter freezeout depends on the dark matter asymmetry and the annihilation cross section (s-wave and p-wave annihilation channels) of particles and antiparticles. In these η-parameterized asymmetric dark matter (ηADM) models, the dark matter particles have an annihilation cross section close to the weak interaction cross section, and a value of dark matter asymmetry η close to the baryon asymmetry η B . Furthermore, we assume that dark matter scattering of baryons, namely, the spin-independent scattering cross section, is of the same order as the range of values suggested by several theoretical particle physics models used to explain the current unexplained events reported in the DAMA/LIBRA, CoGeNT, and CRESST experiments. Here, we constrain ηADM by investigating the impact of such a type of dark matter on the evolution of the Sun, namely, the flux of solar neutrinos and helioseismology. We find that dark matter particles with a mass smaller than 15 GeV, a spin-independent scattering cross section on baryons of the order of a picobarn, and an η-asymmetry with a value in the interval 10 –12 -10 –10 , would induce a change in solar neutrino fluxes in disagreement with current neutrino flux measurements. This result is also confirmed by helioseismology data. A natural consequence of this model is suppressed annihilation, thereby reducing the tension between indirect and direct dark matter detection experiments, but the model also allows a greatly enhanced annihilation cross section. All the cosmological ηADM scenarios that we discuss have a relic dark matter density Ωh 2 and baryon asymmetry η B in agreement with the current WMAP measured values, Ω DM h 2 = 0

Globular Clusters Shine in a Galaxy Lacking Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-04-01

You may have seen recent news about NGC 1052DF2, a galaxy that was discovered to have little or no dark matter. Now, a new study explores what NGC 1052DF2 does have: an enigmatic population of unusually large and luminous globular clusters.Keck/LRIS spectra (left and right) and HST images (center) of the 11 clusters associated with NGC 1052DF2. The color images each span 1 1. [van Dokkum et al. 2018]An Unusual DwarfThe ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC 1052DF2, originally identified with the Dragonfly Telescope Array, has puzzled astronomers since the discovery that its dynamical mass determined by the motions of globular-cluster-like objects spotted within it is essentially the same as its stellar mass. This equivalence implies that the galaxy is strangely lacking dark matter; the upper limit set on its dark matter halo is 400 times smaller than what we would expect for such a dwarf galaxy.Led by Pieter van Dokkum (Yale University), the team that made this discovery has now followed up with detailed Hubble Space Telescope imaging and Keck spectroscopy. Their goal? To explore the objects that allowed them to make the dynamical-mass measurement: the oddly bright globular clusters of NGC 1052DF2.Sizes (circularized half-light radii) vs. absolute magnitudes for globular clusters in NGC1052DF2 (black) and the Milky Way (red). [Adapted from van Dokkum et al. 2018]Whats Up with the Globular Clusters?Van Dokkum and collaborators spectroscopically confirmed 11 compact objects associated with the faint galaxy. These objects are globular-cluster-like in their appearance, but the peak of their luminosity distribution is offset by a factor of four from globular clusters of other galaxies; these globular clusters are significantly brighter than is typical.Using the Hubble imaging, the authors determined that NGC 1052DF2s globular clusters are more than twice the size of the Milky Ways globular clusters in the same luminosity range. As is typical for globular clusters, they are an old

Review on Dark Photon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Curciarello Francesca

2016-01-01

Full Text Available e+e− collider experiments at the intensity frontier are naturally suited to probe the existence of a force beyond the Standard Model between WIMPs, the most viable dark matter candidates. The mediator of this new force, known as dark photon, should be a new vector gauge boson very weakly coupled to the Standard Model photon. No significant signal has been observed so far. I will report on current limits set on the coupling factor ε2 between the photon and the dark photon by e+e− collider experiments.

Galactic signatures of decaying dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Le; Sigl, Guenter

2009-05-01

If dark matter decays into electrons and positrons, it can affect Galactic radio emissions and the local cosmic ray fluxes. We propose a new, more general analysis of constraints on dark matter. The constraints can be obtained for any decaying dark matter model by convolving the specific dark matter decay spectrum with a response function. We derive this response function from full-sky radio surveys at 408 MHz, 1.42 GHz and 23 GHz, as well as from the positron flux recently reported by PAMELA. We discuss the influence of astrophysical uncertainties on the response function, such as from propagation and from the profiles of the dark matter and the Galactic magnetic field. As an application, we find that some widely used dark matter decay scenarios can be ruled out under modest assumptions. (orig.)

Galactic signatures of decaying dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Le; Sigl, Guenter [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). II. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Redondo, Javier [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2009-05-15

If dark matter decays into electrons and positrons, it can affect Galactic radio emissions and the local cosmic ray fluxes. We propose a new, more general analysis of constraints on dark matter. The constraints can be obtained for any decaying dark matter model by convolving the specific dark matter decay spectrum with a response function. We derive this response function from full-sky radio surveys at 408 MHz, 1.42 GHz and 23 GHz, as well as from the positron flux recently reported by PAMELA. We discuss the influence of astrophysical uncertainties on the response function, such as from propagation and from the profiles of the dark matter and the Galactic magnetic field. As an application, we find that some widely used dark matter decay scenarios can be ruled out under modest assumptions. (orig.)

Directly detecting isospin-violating dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Kelso, Chris; Kumar, Jason; Marfatia, Danny; Sandick, Pearl

2018-03-01

We consider the prospects for multiple dark matter direct detection experiments to determine if the interactions of a dark matter candidate are isospin-violating. We focus on theoretically well-motivated examples of isospin-violating dark matter (IVDM), including models in which dark matter interactions with nuclei are mediated by a dark photon, a Z , or a squark. We determine that the best prospects for distinguishing IVDM from the isospin-invariant scenario arise in the cases of dark photon-or Z -mediated interactions, and that the ideal experimental scenario would consist of large exposure xenon- and neon-based detectors. If such models just evade current direct detection limits, then one could distinguish such models from the standard isospin-invariant case with two detectors with of order 100 ton-year exposure.

EDITORIAL: Focus on Dark Matter and Particle Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Aprile, Elena; Profumo, Stefano

2009-10-01

The quest for the nature of dark matter has reached a historical point in time, with several different and complementary experiments on the verge of conclusively exploring large portions of the parameter space of the most theoretically compelling particle dark matter models. This focus issue on dark matter and particle physics brings together a broad selection of invited articles from the leading experimental and theoretical groups in the field. The leitmotif of the collection is the need for a multi-faceted search strategy that includes complementary experimental and theoretical techniques with the common goal of a sound understanding of the fundamental particle physical nature of dark matter. These include theoretical modelling, high-energy colliders and direct and indirect searches. We are confident that the works collected here present the state of the art of this rapidly changing field and will be of interest to both experts in the topic of dark matter as well as to those new to this exciting field. Focus on Dark Matter and Particle Physics Contents DARK MATTER AND ASTROPHYSICS Scintillator-based detectors for dark matter searches I S K Kim, H J Kim and Y D Kim Cosmology: small-scale issues Joel R Primack Big Bang nucleosynthesis and particle dark matter Karsten Jedamzik and Maxim Pospelov Particle models and the small-scale structure of dark matter Torsten Bringmann DARK MATTER AND COLLIDERS Dark matter in the MSSM R C Cotta, J S Gainer, J L Hewett and T G Rizzo The role of an e+e- linear collider in the study of cosmic dark matter M Battaglia Collider, direct and indirect detection of supersymmetric dark matter Howard Baer, Eun-Kyung Park and Xerxes Tata INDIRECT PARTICLE DARK MATTER SEARCHES:EXPERIMENTS PAMELA and indirect dark matter searches M Boezio et al An indirect search for dark matter using antideuterons: the GAPS experiment C J Hailey Perspectives for indirect dark matter search with AMS-2 using cosmic-ray electrons and positrons B Beischer, P von

Signatures of dark radiation in neutrino and dark matter detectors

OpenAIRE

Cui, Yanou; Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef

2018-01-01

We consider the generic possibility that the Universe’s energy budget includes some form of relativistic or semi-relativistic dark radiation (DR) with nongravitational interactions with standard model (SM) particles. Such dark radiation may consist of SM singlets or a nonthermal, energetic component of neutrinos. If such DR is created at a relatively recent epoch, it can carry sufficient energy to leave a detectable imprint in experiments designed to search for very weakly interacting particl...

A new method of CCD dark current correction via extracting the dark Information from scientific images

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Bin; Shang, Zhaohui; Hu, Yi; Liu, Qiang; Wang, Lifan; Wei, Peng

2014-07-01

We have developed a new method to correct dark current at relatively high temperatures for Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) images when dark frames cannot be obtained on the telescope. For images taken with the Antarctic Survey Telescopes (AST3) in 2012, due to the low cooling efficiency, the median CCD temperature was -46°C, resulting in a high dark current level of about 3e-/pix/sec, even comparable to the sky brightness (10e-/pix/sec). If not corrected, the nonuniformity of the dark current could even overweight the photon noise of the sky background. However, dark frames could not be obtained during the observing season because the camera was operated in frame-transfer mode without a shutter, and the telescope was unattended in winter. Here we present an alternative, but simple and effective method to derive the dark current frame from the scientific images. Then we can scale this dark frame to the temperature at which the scientific images were taken, and apply the dark frame corrections to the scientific images. We have applied this method to the AST3 data, and demonstrated that it can reduce the noise to a level roughly as low as the photon noise of the sky brightness, solving the high noise problem and improving the photometric precision. This method will also be helpful for other projects that suffer from similar issues.

Particle Dark Matter: Status and Searches

OpenAIRE

Sandick, Pearl

2010-01-01

A brief overview is given of the phenomenology of particle dark matter and the properties of some of the most widely studied dark matter candidates. Recent developments in direct and indirect dark matter searches are discussed.

Review of LHC dark matter searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahlhoefer, Felix

2017-02-01

This review discusses both experimental and theoretical aspects of searches for dark matter at the LHC. An overview of the various experimental search channels is given, followed by a summary of the different theoretical approaches for predicting dark matter signals. A special emphasis is placed on the interplay between LHC dark matter searches and other kinds of dark matter experiments, as well as among different types of LHC searches.

Quantum mechanical theory behind "dark energy"?

CERN Multimedia

Colin Johnson, R

2007-01-01

"The mysterious increase in the acceleration of the universe, when intuition says it should be slowing down, is postulated to be caused by dark energy - "dark" because it is undetected. Now a group of scientists in the international collaboration Essence has suggested that a quantum mechanical interpretation of Einstein's proposed "cosmological constant" is the simplest explanation for dark energy. The group measured dark energy to within 10 percent." (1,5 page)

Review of LHC dark matter searches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kahlhoefer, Felix

2017-02-15

This review discusses both experimental and theoretical aspects of searches for dark matter at the LHC. An overview of the various experimental search channels is given, followed by a summary of the different theoretical approaches for predicting dark matter signals. A special emphasis is placed on the interplay between LHC dark matter searches and other kinds of dark matter experiments, as well as among different types of LHC searches.

Impact of semi-annihilations on dark matter phenomenology - an example of ZN symmetric scalar dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belanger, G.; Kannike, K.; Pukhov, A.; Raidal, M.

2012-01-01

We study the impact of semi-annihilations χχ ↔ χX; where χ is dark matter and X is any standard model particle, on dark matter phenomenology. We formulate scalar dark matter models with minimal field content that predict non-trivial dark matter phenomenology for different discrete Abelian symmetries Z N , N > 2, and contain semi-annihilation processes. We implement such an example model in micrOMEGAs and show that semi-annihilations modify the phenomenology of this type of models. (authors)

Dark Matter Annihilation at the Galactic Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linden, Timothy Ryan [Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)

2013-06-01

Observations by the WMAP and PLANCK satellites have provided extraordinarily accurate observations on the densities of baryonic matter, dark matter, and dark energy in the universe. These observations indicate that our universe is composed of approximately ve times as much dark matter as baryonic matter. However, e orts to detect a particle responsible for the energy density of dark matter have been unsuccessful. Theoretical models have indicated that a leading candidate for the dark matter is the lightest supersymmetric particle, which may be stable due to a conserved R-parity. This dark matter particle would still be capable of interacting with baryons via weak-force interactions in the early universe, a process which was found to naturally explain the observed relic abundance of dark matter today. These residual annihilations can persist, albeit at a much lower rate, in the present universe, providing a detectable signal from dark matter annihilation events which occur throughout the universe. Simulations calculating the distribution of dark matter in our galaxy almost universally predict the galactic center of the Milky Way Galaxy (GC) to provide the brightest signal from dark matter annihilation due to its relative proximity and large simulated dark matter density. Recent advances in telescope technology have allowed for the rst multiwavelength analysis of the GC, with suitable e ective exposure, angular resolution, and energy resolution in order to detect dark matter particles with properties similar to those predicted by the WIMP miracle. In this work, I describe ongoing e orts which have successfully detected an excess in -ray emission from the region immediately surrounding the GC, which is di cult to describe in terms of standard di use emission predicted in the GC region. While the jury is still out on any dark matter interpretation of this excess, I describe several related observations which may indicate a dark matter origin. Finally, I discuss the

Dark matter and global symmetries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yann Mambrini

2016-09-01

Full Text Available General considerations in general relativity and quantum mechanics are known to potentially rule out continuous global symmetries in the context of any consistent theory of quantum gravity. Assuming the validity of such considerations, we derive stringent bounds from gamma-ray, X-ray, cosmic-ray, neutrino, and CMB data on models that invoke global symmetries to stabilize the dark matter particle. We compute up-to-date, robust model-independent limits on the dark matter lifetime for a variety of Planck-scale suppressed dimension-five effective operators. We then specialize our analysis and apply our bounds to specific models including the Two-Higgs-Doublet, Left–Right, Singlet Fermionic, Zee–Babu, 3-3-1 and Radiative See-Saw models. Assuming that (i global symmetries are broken at the Planck scale, that (ii the non-renormalizable operators mediating dark matter decay have O(1 couplings, that (iii the dark matter is a singlet field, and that (iv the dark matter density distribution is well described by a NFW profile, we are able to rule out fermionic, vector, and scalar dark matter candidates across a broad mass range (keV–TeV, including the WIMP regime.

Dark-Skies Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Constance E.

2009-05-01

The arc of the Milky Way seen from a truly dark location is part of our planet's natural heritage. More than one fifth of the world population, two thirds of the United States population and one half of the European Union population have already lost naked eye visibility of the Milky Way. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a serious and growing issue that impacts astronomical research, the economy, ecology, energy conservation, human health, public safety and our shared ability to see the night sky. For this reason, "Dark Skies” is a cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the impact of artificial lighting on local environments by getting people worldwide involved in a variety of programs that: 1. Teach about dark skies using new technology (e.g., an activity-based planetarium show on DVD, podcasting, social networking on Facebook and MySpace, a Second Life presence) 2. Provide thematic events on light pollution at star parties and observatory open houses (Dark Skies Discovery Sites, Nights in the (National) Parks, Sidewalk Astronomy) 3. Organize events in the arts (e.g., a photography contest) 4. Involve citizen-scientists in naked-eye and digital-meter star hunting programs (e.g., GLOBE at Night, "How Many Stars?", the Great World Wide Star Count and the radio frequency interference equivalent: "Quiet Skies") and 5. Raise awareness about the link between light pollution and public health, economic issues, ecological consequences, energy conservation, safety and security, and astronomy (e.g., The Starlight Initiative, World Night in Defense of Starlight, International Dark Sky Week, International Dark-Sky Communities, Earth Hour, The Great Switch Out, a traveling exhibit, downloadable posters and brochures). The presentation will provide an update, describe how people can become involved and take a look ahead at the program's sustainability. For more information, visit www.darkskiesawareness.org.

Fireworks in a dark universe

CERN Document Server

Levinson, Amir

2018-01-01

This book is a new look at one of the hottest topics in contemporary science, Dark Matter. It is the pioneering text dedicated to sterile neutrinos as candidate particles for Dark Matter, challenging some of the standard assumptions which may be true for some Dark Matter candidates but not for all. So, this can be seen either as an introduction to a specialized topic or an out-of-the-box introduction to the field of Dark Matter in general. No matter if you are a theoretical particle physicist, an observational astronomer, or a ground based experimentalist, no matter if you are a grad student or an active researcher, you can benefit from this text, for a simple reason: a non-standard candidate for Dark Matter can teach you a lot about what we truly know about our standard picture of how the Universe works.

Thermalizing Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Rasmus S L; Vogl, Stefan

2017-12-22

Sterile neutrinos produced through oscillations are a well motivated dark matter candidate, but recent constraints from observations have ruled out most of the parameter space. We analyze the impact of new interactions on the evolution of keV sterile neutrino dark matter in the early Universe. Based on general considerations we find a mechanism which thermalizes the sterile neutrinos after an initial production by oscillations. The thermalization of sterile neutrinos is accompanied by dark entropy production which increases the yield of dark matter and leads to a lower characteristic momentum. This resolves the growing tensions with structure formation and x-ray observations and even revives simple nonresonant production as a viable way to produce sterile neutrino dark matter. We investigate the parameters required for the realization of the thermalization mechanism in a representative model and find that a simple estimate based on energy and entropy conservation describes the mechanism well.

Thermalizing Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Rasmus S. L.; Vogl, Stefan

2017-12-01

Sterile neutrinos produced through oscillations are a well motivated dark matter candidate, but recent constraints from observations have ruled out most of the parameter space. We analyze the impact of new interactions on the evolution of keV sterile neutrino dark matter in the early Universe. Based on general considerations we find a mechanism which thermalizes the sterile neutrinos after an initial production by oscillations. The thermalization of sterile neutrinos is accompanied by dark entropy production which increases the yield of dark matter and leads to a lower characteristic momentum. This resolves the growing tensions with structure formation and x-ray observations and even revives simple nonresonant production as a viable way to produce sterile neutrino dark matter. We investigate the parameters required for the realization of the thermalization mechanism in a representative model and find that a simple estimate based on energy and entropy conservation describes the mechanism well.

Bouncing Cosmologies with Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Fu Cai

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We review matter bounce scenarios where the matter content is dark matter and dark energy. These cosmologies predict a nearly scale-invariant power spectrum with a slightly red tilt for scalar perturbations and a small tensor-to-scalar ratio. Importantly, these models predict a positive running of the scalar index, contrary to the predictions of the simplest inflationary and ekpyrotic models, and hence, could potentially be falsified by future observations. We also review how bouncing cosmological space-times can arise in theories where either the Einstein equations are modified or where matter fields that violate the null energy condition are included.

Dark matter from decaying topological defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hindmarsh, Mark; Kirk, Russell; West, Stephen M.

2014-01-01

We study dark matter production by decaying topological defects, in particular cosmic strings. In topological defect or ''top-down'' (TD) scenarios, the dark matter injection rate varies as a power law with time with exponent p−4. We find a formula in closed form for the yield for all p < 3/2, which accurately reproduces the solution of the Boltzmann equation. We investigate two scenarios (p = 1, p = 7/6) motivated by cosmic strings which decay into TeV-scale states with a high branching fraction into dark matter particles. For dark matter models annihilating either by s-wave or p-wave, we find the regions of parameter space where the TD model can account for the dark matter relic density as measured by Planck. We find that topological defects can be the principal source of dark matter, even when the standard freeze-out calculation under-predicts the relic density and hence can lead to potentially large ''boost factor'' enhancements in the dark matter annihilation rate. We examine dark matter model-independent limits on this scenario arising from unitarity and discuss example model-dependent limits coming from indirect dark matter search experiments. In the four cases studied, the upper bound on Gμ for strings with an appreciable channel into TeV-scale states is significantly more stringent than the current Cosmic Microwave Background limits

Supersymmetric dark matter: Indirect detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergstroem, L.

2000-01-01

Dark matter detection experiments are improving to the point where they can detect or restrict the primary particle physics candidates for non baryonic dark matter. The methods for detection are usually categorized as direct, i.e., searching for signals caused by passage of dark matter particles in terrestrial detectors, or indirect. Indirect detection methods include searching for antimatter and gamma rays, in particular gamma ray lines, in cosmic rays and high-energy neutrinos from the centre of the Earth or Sun caused by accretion and annihilation of dark matter particles. A review is given of recent progress in indirect detection, both on the theoretical and experimental side

Subversion of Religious Canon in Pullman’s His Dark Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Kedveš

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In 2000 the final volume of the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials was published in London. Although it was only after New Line Cinema announced the film adaptation that it attracted world wide attention, it is undeniable that Pullman’s work made an immense contribution not only to children’s literature, but to British literature in general. The fact that Pullman was the first children’s author to receive The Whitbread Award, as well as the sales of more than 15 million, speak in favour of the significance his work. However, because of his public outbursts against the boycotters of his works, Pullman came under strident criticism. Unconventional usage of traditional religious and Church-related concepts as literary devices brought into question his integrity as an author and designated him as a fervent atheist. The central aim of this paper is to show how Pullman uses various religious concepts, which are mainly related to Christian tradition and doctrines. The resonant imagery of His Dark Materials carries numerous canonical references, primarily from the Bible, but also from Milton’s Paradise Lost and the works of William Blake. Pullman employs different strategies throughout the volumes to introduce these, somewhat dogmatic, precepts; they are either rewritten in a way that casts new light upon the matters they relate to or are presented unaltered per se, but in a completely new context that enables a different, allegorical reading of the canonical item. This paper opens with a short explication of the religious canon, followed by examples of its subversion in His Dark Materials. Special emphasis is placed on the transfer and modification of the traditional Christian religious concepts into fantasy fiction context and a relatively critical replica of the Catholic Church in His Dark Materials.

Multi-Messenger Astronomy and Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Bergström, Lars

This chapter presents the elaborated lecture notes on Multi-Messenger Astronomy and Dark Matter given by Lars Bergström at the 40th Saas-Fee Advanced Course on "Astrophysics at Very High Energies". One of the main problems of astrophysics and astro-particle physics is that the nature of dark matter remains unsolved. There are basically three complementary approaches to try to solve this problem. One is the detection of new particles with accelerators, the second is the observation of various types of messengers from radio waves to gamma-ray photons and neutrinos, and the third is the use of ingenious experiments for direct detection of dark matter particles. After giving an introduction to the particle universe, the author discusses the relic density of particles, basic cross sections for neutrinos and gamma-rays, supersymmetric dark matter, detection methods for neutralino dark matter, particular dark matter candidates, the status of dark matter detection, a detailled calculation on an hypothetical "Saas-Fee Wimp", primordial black holes, and gravitational waves.

Condensation of galactic cold dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Visinelli, Luca

2016-01-01

We consider the steady-state regime describing the density profile of a dark matter halo, if dark matter is treated as a Bose-Einstein condensate. We first solve the fluid equation for “canonical” cold dark matter, obtaining a class of density profiles which includes the Navarro-Frenk-White profile, and which diverge at the halo core. We then solve numerically the equation obtained when an additional “quantum pressure” term is included in the computation of the density profile. The solution to this latter case is finite at the halo core, possibly avoiding the “cuspy halo problem” present in some cold dark matter theories. Within the model proposed, we predict the mass of the cold dark matter particle to be of the order of M_χc"2≈10"−"2"4 eV, which is of the same order of magnitude as that predicted in ultra-light scalar cold dark matter models. Finally, we derive the differential equation describing perturbations in the density and the pressure of the dark matter fluid.

Flavored dark matter beyond Minimal Flavor Violation

CERN Document Server

Agrawal, Prateek; Gemmler, Katrin

2014-10-13

We study the interplay of flavor and dark matter phenomenology for models of flavored dark matter interacting with quarks. We allow an arbitrary flavor structure in the coupling of dark matter with quarks. This coupling is assumed to be the only new source of violation of the Standard Model flavor symmetry extended by a $U(3)_\\chi$ associated with the dark matter. We call this ansatz Dark Minimal Flavor Violation (DMFV) and highlight its various implications, including an unbroken discrete symmetry that can stabilize the dark matter. As an illustration we study a Dirac fermionic dark matter $\\chi$ which transforms as triplet under $U(3)_\\chi$, and is a singlet under the Standard Model. The dark matter couples to right-handed down-type quarks via a colored scalar mediator $\\phi$ with a coupling $\\lambda$. We identify a number of "flavor-safe" scenarios for the structure of $\\lambda$ which are beyond Minimal Flavor Violation. For dark matter and collider phenomenology we focus on the well-motivated case of $b$-...

Lectures on dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seljak, U.

2001-01-01

These lectures concentrate on evolution and generation of dark matter perturbations. The purpose of the lectures is to present, in a systematic way, a comprehensive review of the cosmological parameters that can lead to observable effects in the dark matter clustering properties. We begin by reviewing the relativistic linear perturbation theory formalism. We discuss the gauge issue and derive Einstein's and continuity equations for several popular gauge choices. We continue by developing fluid equations for cold dark matter and baryons and Boltzmann equations for photons, massive and massless neutrinos. We then discuss the generation of initial perturbations by the process of inflation and the parameters of that process that can be extracted from the observations. Finally we discuss evolution of perturbations in various regimes and the imprint of the evolution on the dark matter power spectrum both in the linear and in the nonlinear regime. (author)

Lectures on dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seljak, U [Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (United States)

2001-11-15

These lectures concentrate on evolution and generation of dark matter perturbations. The purpose of the lectures is to present, in a systematic way, a comprehensive review of the cosmological parameters that can lead to observable effects in the dark matter clustering properties. We begin by reviewing the relativistic linear perturbation theory formalism. We discuss the gauge issue and derive Einstein's and continuity equations for several popular gauge choices. We continue by developing fluid equations for cold dark matter and baryons and Boltzmann equations for photons, massive and massless neutrinos. We then discuss the generation of initial perturbations by the process of inflation and the parameters of that process that can be extracted from the observations. Finally we discuss evolution of perturbations in various regimes and the imprint of the evolution on the dark matter power spectrum both in the linear and in the nonlinear regime. (author)

Laser Probes of the Dark Sector

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

Dark matter, dark energy, and gravity are fundamental components of the standard cosmological model, and their macroscopic effects on the evolution of the universe are well documented. However, the quantum properties of these fields remain largely unknown. An ongoing suite of laser experiments at Fermilab have conducted searches for axion-like dark matter, tested particle models of dark energy, and plans to test certain predictions of black hole thermodynamics---namely the holographic principle. I will present the results from the GammeV search for milli-eV axion-like particles and will discuss in detail the recently completed CHASE search for chameleon dark energy.

Dark matter assimilation into the baryon asymmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Eramo, Francesco; Fei, Lin; Thaler, Jesse

2012-01-01

Pure singlets are typically disfavored as dark matter candidates, since they generically have a thermal relic abundance larger than the observed value. In this paper, we propose a new dark matter mechanism called a ssimilation , which takes advantage of the baryon asymmetry of the universe to generate the correct relic abundance of singlet dark matter. Through assimilation, dark matter itself is efficiently destroyed, but dark matter number is stored in new quasi-stable heavy states which carry the baryon asymmetry. The subsequent annihilation and late-time decay of these heavy states yields (symmetric) dark matter as well as (asymmetric) standard model baryons. We study in detail the case of pure bino dark matter by augmenting the minimal supersymmetric standard model with vector-like chiral multiplets. In the parameter range where this mechanism is effective, the LHC can discover long-lived charged particles which were responsible for assimilating dark matter

Common origin of visible and dark universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Peihong; Sarkar, Utpal

2010-01-01

Dark matter, baryonic matter, and dark energy have different properties but contribute comparable energy density to the present Universe. We point out that they may have a common origin. As the dark energy has a scale far lower than all known scales in particle physics but very close to neutrino masses, while the excess matter over antimatter in the baryonic sector is probably related to the neutrino-mass generation, we unify the origin of the dark and visible universe in a variant of the seesaw model. In our model (i) the dark matter relic density is a dark matter asymmetry emerged simultaneously with the baryon asymmetry from leptogenesis; (ii) the dark energy is due to a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone-Boson associated with the neutrino-mass generation.

Constraints on the dark matter and dark energy interactions from weak lensing bispectrum tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An, Rui [School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Feng, Chang [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Wang, Bin, E-mail: an_rui@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: chang.feng@uci.edu, E-mail: wang_b@sjtu.edu.cn [Center for Gravitation and Cosmology, College of Physical Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009 (China)

2017-10-01

We estimate uncertainties of cosmological parameters for phenomenological interacting dark energy models using weak lensing convergence power spectrum and bispectrum. We focus on the bispectrum tomography and examine how well the weak lensing bispectrum with tomography can constrain the interactions between dark sectors, as well as other cosmological parameters. Employing the Fisher matrix analysis, we forecast parameter uncertainties derived from weak lensing bispectra with a two-bin tomography and place upper bounds on strength of the interactions between the dark sectors. The cosmic shear will be measured from upcoming weak lensing surveys with high sensitivity, thus it enables us to use the higher order correlation functions of weak lensing to constrain the interaction between dark sectors and will potentially provide more stringent results with other observations combined.

Abnormal Fear Memory as a Model for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Desmedt, Aline; Marighetto, Aline; Piazza, Pier-Vincenzo

2015-09-01

For over a century, clinicians have consistently described the paradoxical co-existence in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of sensory intrusive hypermnesia and declarative amnesia for the same traumatic event. Although this amnesia is considered as a critical etiological factor of the development and/or persistence of PTSD, most current animal models in basic neuroscience have focused exclusively on the hypermnesia, i.e., the persistence of a strong fear memory, neglecting the qualitative alteration of fear memory. The latest is characterized by an underrepresentation of the trauma in the context-based declarative memory system in favor of its overrepresentation in a cue-based sensory/emotional memory system. Combining psychological and neurobiological data as well as theoretical hypotheses, this review supports the idea that contextual amnesia is at the core of PTSD and its persistence and that altered hippocampal-amygdalar interaction may contribute to such pathologic memory. In a first attempt to unveil the neurobiological alterations underlying PTSD-related hypermnesia/amnesia, we describe a recent animal model mimicking in mice some critical aspects of such abnormal fear memory. Finally, this line of argument emphasizes the pressing need for a systematic comparison between normal/adaptive versus abnormal/maladaptive fear memory to identify biomarkers of PTSD while distinguishing them from general stress-related, potentially adaptive, neurobiological alterations. Copyright © 2015 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The mystery of dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalatbari, Azar

2015-01-01

As only 0.5 per cent (the shining part) of the Universe is seen by telescopes, and corresponds to a tenth of ordinary matter or 5 per cent of the cosmos, astrophysicists postulated that the remaining 95 per cent are made of dark matter and dark energy. But always more researchers put the existence of this dark matter and energy into question again. They notably think of giving up Newton's law of universal gravitation, and also the basic assumption of cosmology, i.e. the homogeneous character of the Universe. The article recalls the emergence of the notion of dark matter to explain the fact that stars stay within a galaxy, whereas with their observed speed and the application of the gravitational theory they should escape their galaxy. Then, the issue has been to find evidence of the existence of dark matter. Neutrinos were supposed to be a clue, but only for a while. The notion of dark energy was introduced more recently by researchers who, by the observation of supernovae, noticed that the Universe expansion was accelerated in time. Then, after having discussed the issues raised by the possible existence of dark energy, the article explains how and why a new non homogeneous cosmology emerged. It also evokes current and future researches in this field. In an interview, an astrophysicist outlines why we should dare to modify Newton's law

Dark refraction shift with allowance for astigmatism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.D.H. Gillan

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To show that the dark refraction shift (dark focus is a more complicated phenomenon than implied when presented as spherical. Methods: Fifty autorefractor measurements of refractive state of the right eye were obtained in light  and  dark  conditions.  Multivariate  methods were used to analyze the data and stereo-pair scat-ter plots, polar meridional profiles and other means of presenting results are used to show important characteristics of the dark refraction shift. Results: The complexity of the dark refrac-tion shift is indicated by stereo-pair scatter plots showing the amount of stigmatic and antistigmatic variation that occurs in light and dark conditions. The mean dark refraction shift is presented in a complete manner including all three components of refractive state. The greater variance and covari-ance under dark conditions is clearly shown by the term-by-term dark-light variance-covariance ratio and polar profiles  of variance and covariance.Conclusions: The  dark  refraction  shift  is  a more complicated phenomenon than implied by representations as purely spherical in nature.

Gravity's dark side: Doing without dark matte

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chalmers, M.

2006-01-01

Despite decades of searching, the 'dark matter' thought to hold galaxies together is still nowhere to be found. Matthew Chalmers describes how some physicists think it makes more sense to change our theory of gravity instead. Einstein's general theory of relativity is part of the bedrock of modern physics. It describes in elegant mathematical terms how matter causes space-time to curve, and therefore how objects move in a gravitational field. Since it was published in 1916, general relativity has passed every test asked of it with flying colours, and to many physicists the notion that it is wrong is sacrilege. But the motivation for developing an alternative theory of gravity is compelling. Over the last few years cosmologists have arrived at a simple yet extraordinarily successful model of universe. The trouble is that it requires most of the cosmos to be filled with mysterious stuff that we cannot see. In particular, general relativity - or rather its non-relativistic limit otherwise known as Newtonian gravity - can only correctly describe the dynamics of galaxies if we invoke huge quantities of 'dark matter'. Furthermore, an exotic entity called dark energy is necessary to account for the recent discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Indeed, in the standard model of cosmology, visible matter such as stars, planets and physics textbooks accounts for just 4% of the total universe. (U.K.)

Impairments in Dark Adaptation Are Associated with Age-Related Macular Degeneration Severity and Reticular Pseudodrusen.

Science.gov (United States)

Flamendorf, Jason; Agrón, Elvira; Wong, Wai T; Thompson, Darby; Wiley, Henry E; Doss, E Lauren; Al-Holou, Shaza; Ferris, Frederick L; Chew, Emily Y; Cukras, Catherine

2015-10-01

We investigate whether ocular and person-based characteristics were associated with dark adaptation (DA). Cross-sectional, single-center, observational study. One hundred sixteen participants older than 50 years of age with a range of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) severity. Participants underwent best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) testing, ophthalmoscopic examination, and multimodal imaging. Presence of reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) was assessed by masked grading of fundus images and was confirmed with optical coherence tomography. Eyes also were graded for AMD features (drusen, pigmentary changes, late AMD) to generate person-based AMD severity groups. One eye was designated the study eye for DA testing. Nonparametric statistical testing was performed on all comparisons. The primary outcome of this study was the rod intercept time (RIT), which is defined as the time for a participant's visual sensitivity to recover to a stimulus intensity of 5×10(-3) cd/m(2) (a decrease of 3 log units), or until a maximum test duration of 40 minutes was reached. A total of 116 study eyes from 116 participants (mean age, 75.4±9.4 years; 58% female) were analyzed. Increased RIT was associated significantly with increasing AMD severity, increasing age (r = 0.34; P = 0.0002), decreasing BCVA (r = -0.54; P < 0.0001), pseudophakia (P = 0.03), and decreasing subfoveal choroidal thickness (r = -0.27; P = 0.003). Study eyes with RPD (15/116 [13%]) had a significantly greater mean RIT compared with eyes without RPD in any AMD severity group (P < 0.02 for all comparisons), with 80% reaching the DA test ceiling. Impairments in DA increased with age, worse visual acuity, presence of RPD, AMD severity, and decreased subfoveal choroidal thickness. Analysis of covariance found the multivariate model that best fit the data included age, AMD group, and presence of RPD (R(2) = 0.56), with the presence of RPD conferring the largest parameter estimate. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of

THE DARK DISK OF THE MILKY WAY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purcell, Chris W.; Bullock, James S.; Kaplinghat, Manoj

2009-01-01

Massive satellite accretions onto early galactic disks can lead to the deposition of dark matter in disk-like configurations that co-rotate with the galaxy. This phenomenon has potentially dramatic consequences for dark matter detection experiments. We utilize focused, high-resolution simulations of accretion events onto disks designed to be Galaxy analogues, and compare the resultant disks to the morphological and kinematic properties of the Milky Way's thick disk in order to bracket the range of co-rotating accreted dark matter. In agreement with previous results, we find that the Milky Way's merger history must have been unusually quiescent compared to median Λ cold dark matter expectations and, therefore, its dark disk must be relatively small: the fraction of accreted dark disk material near the Sun is about 20% of the host halo density or smaller and the co-rotating dark matter fraction near the Sun, defined as particles moving with a rotational velocity lag less than 50 km s -1 , is enhanced by about 30% or less compared to a standard halo model. Such a dark disk could contribute dominantly to the low energy (of order keV for a dark matter particle with mass 100 GeV) nuclear recoil event rate of direct detection experiments, but it will not change the likelihood of detection significantly. These dark disks provide testable predictions of weakly interacting massive particle dark matter models and should be considered in detailed comparisons to experimental data. Our findings suggest that the dark disk of the Milky Way may provide a detectable signal for indirect detection experiments, contributing up to about 25% of the dark matter self-annihilation signal in the direction of the center of the Galaxy, lending the signal a noticeably oblate morphology.

Working the Dark Side

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjering, Jens Christian Borrebye

A few days after the terror attacks of 9/11, then Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on television with a call for “working the dark side.” While still unclear what this expression entailed at the time, Cheney's comment appears in retrospect to almost have been prophetic for the years to come....... By analyzing official reports and testimonies from soldiers partaking in the War On Terror, the dissertation's second part—dark arts—focuses on the transformation of the dark side into a productive space in which “information” and the hunt for said information overshadowed all legal, ethical, or political...

Films and dark room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Nassir Ibrahim; Azali Muhammad; Ab. Razak Hamzah; Abd. Aziz Mohamed; Mohamad Pauzi Ismail

2008-01-01

After we know where the radiographic come from, then we must know about the film and also dark room. So, this chapter 5 discusses the two main components for radiography work that is film and dark room, places to process the film. Film are structured with three structured that are basic structured, emulsion and protection structured. So, this film can be classified either with their speed, screen and standard that used. The process to wash the film must be done in dark room otherwise the radiographer cannot get what are they inspected. The processing of film will be discussed briefly in next chapter.