Model-independent approach for dark matter phenomenology

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We have studied the phenomenology of dark matter at the ILC and cosmic positron experiments based on model-independent approach. We have found a strong correlation between dark matter signatures at the ILC and those in the indirect detection experiments of dark matter. Once the dark matter is discovered in the ...

Model-independent approach for dark matter phenomenology ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. We have studied the phenomenology of dark matter at the ILC and cosmic positron experiments based on model-independent approach. We have found a strong correlation between dark matter signatures at the ILC and those in the indirect detec- tion experiments of dark matter. Once the dark matter is discovered ...

A holistic view of unstable dark matter. Spectral and anisotropy signatures in astrophysical backgrounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Le

2010-11-15

The nature of dark matter is one of the key outstanding problems in both particle and astrophysics. If dark matter decays or annihilates into electrons and positrons, it can affect diffuse radiation backgrounds observed in astrophysics. In this thesis, we propose a new, more general analysis of constraints on dark matter models. For any decaying dark matter model, constraints on mass and lifetime can be obtained by folding the specific dark matter decay spectrum with a response function. We derive these response functions from full-sky radio surveys and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations as well as from the local positron fluxes measured by the PAMELA satellite experiment and apply them to place constraints on some specific dark matter decay models. We also discuss the influence of astrophysical uncertainties on the response function, such as the uncertainties from propagation models and from the spatial distribution of the dark matter. Moreover, an anisotropy analysis of full-sky emission gamma-ray and radio maps is performed to identify possible signatures of annihilating dark matter. We calculate angular power spectra of the cosmological background of synchrotron emission from dark matter annihilations into electron positron pairs. We compare the power spectra with the anisotropy of astrophysical and cosmological radio backgrounds, from normal galaxies, radio-galaxies, galaxy cluster accretion shocks, the cosmic microwave background and Galactic foregrounds. In addition, we develop a numerical tool to compute gamma-ray emission from such electrons and positrons diffusing in the smooth host halo and in substructure halos with masses down to 10{sup -6}M{sub s}un. We show that, unlike the total gamma-ray angular power spectrum observed by Fermi-LAT, the angular power spectrum from the inverse Compton scattering is exponentially suppressed below an angular scale determined by the diffusion length of electrons and positrons. (orig.)

A holistic view of unstable dark matter. Spectral and anisotropy signatures in astrophysical backgrounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Le

2010-11-01

The nature of dark matter is one of the key outstanding problems in both particle and astrophysics. If dark matter decays or annihilates into electrons and positrons, it can affect diffuse radiation backgrounds observed in astrophysics. In this thesis, we propose a new, more general analysis of constraints on dark matter models. For any decaying dark matter model, constraints on mass and lifetime can be obtained by folding the specific dark matter decay spectrum with a response function. We derive these response functions from full-sky radio surveys and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations as well as from the local positron fluxes measured by the PAMELA satellite experiment and apply them to place constraints on some specific dark matter decay models. We also discuss the influence of astrophysical uncertainties on the response function, such as the uncertainties from propagation models and from the spatial distribution of the dark matter. Moreover, an anisotropy analysis of full-sky emission gamma-ray and radio maps is performed to identify possible signatures of annihilating dark matter. We calculate angular power spectra of the cosmological background of synchrotron emission from dark matter annihilations into electron positron pairs. We compare the power spectra with the anisotropy of astrophysical and cosmological radio backgrounds, from normal galaxies, radio-galaxies, galaxy cluster accretion shocks, the cosmic microwave background and Galactic foregrounds. In addition, we develop a numerical tool to compute gamma-ray emission from such electrons and positrons diffusing in the smooth host halo and in substructure halos with masses down to 10 -6 M s un. We show that, unlike the total gamma-ray angular power spectrum observed by Fermi-LAT, the angular power spectrum from the inverse Compton scattering is exponentially suppressed below an angular scale determined by the diffusion length of electrons and positrons. (orig.)

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.

Astronomical Signatures of Dark Matter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Gorenstein

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Several independent astronomical observations in different wavelength bands reveal the existence of much larger quantities of matter than what we would deduce from assuming a solar mass to light ratio. They are very high velocities of individual galaxies within clusters of galaxies, higher than expected rotation rates of stars in the outer regions of galaxies, 21 cm line studies indicative of increasing mass to light ratios with radius in the halos of spiral galaxies, hot gaseous X-ray emitting halos around many elliptical galaxies, and clusters of galaxies requiring a much larger component of unseen mass for the hot gas to be bound. The level of gravitational attraction needed for the spatial distribution of galaxies to evolve from the small perturbations implied by the very slightly anisotropic cosmic microwave background radiation to its current web-like configuration requires much more mass than is observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Distorted shapes of galaxies and other features created by gravitational lensing in the images of many astronomical objects require an amount of dark matter consistent with other estimates. The unambiguous detection of dark matter and more recently evidence for dark energy has positioned astronomy at the frontier of fundamental physics as it was in the 17th century.

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

Dark Matter searches at ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Cortes-Gonzalez, Arely; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

If Dark Matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it can be produced at the LHC. It can be identified via initial state radiation (ISR) of the incoming partons, leaving a signature in the detector of the ISR particle (jet, photon, Z or W) recoiling off of the invisible Dark Matter particles, resulting in a large momentum imbalance. Many signatures of large missing transverse momentum recoiling against jets, photons, heavy-flavor quarks, weak gauge bosons or Higgs bosons provide an interesting channel for Dark Matter searches. These LHC searches complement those from (in)direct detection experiments. Results of these searches with the ATLAS experiment, in both effective field theory and simplified models with pair WIMP production are discussed. Both 8TeV and 13TeV pp collision data has been used in these results.

Indirect dark matter searches: current status and perspectives

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Many theoretical ideas for the particle nature of dark matter exist. The  most popular models often predict that dark matter particles self-annihilate or decay, giving rise to potentially detectable signatures in astronomical observations.  I will summarize the current status of searches for such signatures and critically reassess recent claims for dark matter signals.  I will further provide an outlook on anticipated developments in the next 10 years, and discuss new methods to facilitate strategy development.

Dark matter search

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernabei, R.

2003-01-01

Some general arguments on the particle Dark Matter search are addressed. The WIMP direct detection technique is mainly considered and recent results obtained by exploiting the annual modulation signature are summarized. (author)

Dark matter search

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernabei, R [Dipto. di Fisica, Universita di Roma ' Tor Vergata' and INFN, sez. Roma2, Rome (Italy)

2003-08-15

Some general arguments on the particle Dark Matter search are addressed. The WIMP direct detection technique is mainly considered and recent results obtained by exploiting the annual modulation signature are summarized. (author)

Internal bremsstrahlung signatures in light of direct dark matter searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garny, Mathias; Ibarra, Alejandro; Pato, Miguel; Vogl, Stefan

2013-07-01

Although proposed long ago, the search for internal bremsstrahlung signatures has only recently been made possible by the excellent energy resolution of ground-based and satellite-borne gamma-ray instruments. Here, we investigate thoroughly the current status of internal bremsstrahlung searches in light of the results of direct dark matter searches and in the framework of minimal mass-degenerate scenarios. The constraints set by Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. extend uninterrupted from tens of GeV up to tens of TeV and are rather insensitive to the mass degeneracy in the particle physics model. In contrast, direct searches are best in the moderate to low mass splitting regime, where XENON100 limits overshadow Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. up to TeV masses if dark matter couples to (light) quarks. We examine carefully the prospects for GAMMA-400, CTA and XENON1T, all planned to come online in the near future, and find that: (a) CTA and XENON1T are fully complementary, with CTA most sensitive to multi-TeV masses and mass splittings around 10%, and XENON1T probing best small mass splittings up to TeV masses; and (b) current constraints from XENON100 already preclude the observation of any spectral feature with GAMMA-400 in spite of its impressive energy resolution, unless dark matter does not couple to light quarks. Finally, we point out that, unlike for direct searches, the possibility of detecting thermal relics in upcoming internal bremsstrahlung searches requires boost factors larger than ∝10.

Internal bremsstrahlung signatures in light of direct dark matter searches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garny, Mathias [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Ibarra, Alejandro; Pato, Miguel; Vogl, Stefan [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Physik Dept. T30d

2013-06-15

Although proposed long ago, the search for internal bremsstrahlung signatures has only recently been made possible by the excellent energy resolution of ground-based and satellite-borne gamma-ray instruments. Here, we investigate thoroughly the current status of internal bremsstrahlung searches in light of the results of direct dark matter searches and in the framework of minimal mass-degenerate scenarios. The constraints set by Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. extend uninterrupted from tens of GeV up to tens of TeV and are rather insensitive to the mass degeneracy in the particle physics model. In contrast, direct searches are best in the moderate to low mass splitting regime, where XENON100 limits overshadow Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. up to TeV masses if dark matter couples to (light) quarks. We examine carefully the prospects for GAMMA-400, CTA and XENON1T, all planned to come online in the near future, and find that: (a) CTA and XENON1T are fully complementary, with CTA most sensitive to multi-TeV masses and mass splittings around 10%, and XENON1T probing best small mass splittings up to TeV masses; and (b) current constraints from XENON100 already preclude the observation of any spectral feature with GAMMA-400 in spite of its impressive energy resolution, unless dark matter does not couple to light quarks. Finally, we point out that, unlike for direct searches, the possibility of detecting thermal relics in upcoming internal bremsstrahlung searches requires boost factors larger than {proportional_to}10.

Cosmic Ray Signatures of Decaying Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibarra, Alejandro

2011-01-01

Astrophysical and cosmological observations do not require the dark matter particles to be absolutely stable. If they are indeed unstable, their decay into Standard Model particles might occur at a sufficiently large rate to allow the indirect detection of dark matter through an anomalous contribution to the high energy cosmic ray fluxes. We analyze the implications of the excess in the total electron plus positron flux and the positron fraction reported by the Fermi and PAMELA collaborations, respectively, for the scenario of decaying dark matter. We also discuss the constraints on this scenario from measurements of other cosmic ray species and the predictions for the diffuse gamma ray flux and the neutrino flux. In particular, we expect a sizable dipole-like anisotropy which may be observed in the near future by the Fermi-LAT.

Indirect search for dark matter with AMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goy, Corinne

2006-01-01

This document summarises the potential of AMS in the indirect search for Dark Matter. Observations and cosmology indicate that the Universe may include a large amount of Dark Matter of unknown nature. A good candidate is the Ligthest Supersymmetric Particle in R-Parity conserving models. AMS offers a unique opportunity to study Dark Matter indirect signature in three spectra: gamma, antiprotons and positrons

Constraining Dark Matter with ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Czodrowski, Patrick; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as their signature. The ATLAS detector has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. The results of these searches on the first 13 TeV data, their interpretation, and the design and possible evolution of the search program will be presented.

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...

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...

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.

Dark matter searches with a mono-Z′ jet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Yang; Bourbeau, James; Lin, Tongyan

2015-01-01

We study collider signatures of a class of dark matter models with a GeV-scale dark Z ′ . At hadron colliders, the production of dark matter particles naturally leads to associated production of the Z ′ , which can appear as a narrow jet after it decays hadronically. Contrary to the usual mono-jet signal from initial state radiation, the final state radiation of dark matter can generate the signature of a mono-Z ′ jet plus missing transverse energy. Performing a jet-substructure analysis to tag the Z ′ jet, we show that these Z ′ jets can be distinguished from QCD jets at high significance. Compared to mono-jets, a dedicated search for mono-Z ′ jet events can lead to over an order of magnitude stronger bounds on the interpreted dark matter-nucleon scattering cross sections.

Neutrino signals from dark matter decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Covi, Laura; Grefe, Michael; Ibarra, Alejandro; Tran, David

2009-12-01

We investigate different neutrino signals from the decay of dark matter particles to determine the prospects for their detection, and more specifically if any spectral signature can be disentangled from the background in present and future neutrino observatories. If detected, such a signal could bring an independent confirmation of the dark matter interpretation of the dramatic rise in the positron fraction above 10 GeV recently observed by the PAMELA satellite experiment and offer the possibility of distinguishing between astrophysical sources and dark matter decay or annihilation. In combination with other signals, it may also be possible to distinguish among different dark matter decay channels. (orig.)

Neutrino signals from dark matter decay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Covi, Laura; Grefe, Michael [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Ibarra, Alejandro; Tran, David [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Physik-Department T30d

2009-12-15

We investigate different neutrino signals from the decay of dark matter particles to determine the prospects for their detection, and more specifically if any spectral signature can be disentangled from the background in present and future neutrino observatories. If detected, such a signal could bring an independent confirmation of the dark matter interpretation of the dramatic rise in the positron fraction above 10 GeV recently observed by the PAMELA satellite experiment and offer the possibility of distinguishing between astrophysical sources and dark matter decay or annihilation. In combination with other signals, it may also be possible to distinguish among different dark matter decay channels. (orig.)

Light and heavy dark matter particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehm, C.; Fayet, P.; Silk, J.

2004-01-01

It has recently been pointed out that the 511 keV emission line detected by integral/SPI from the bulge of our galaxy could be explained by annihilations of light dark matter particles into e + e - . If such a signature is confirmed, then one might expect a conflict with the interpretation of very high energy gamma rays if they also turn out to be due to dark matter annihilations. Here, we propose a way to accommodate the existence of both signals being produced by dark matter annihilations through the existence of two stable (neutral) dark matter particles, as is possible in theories inspired from N=2 supersymmetry

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.

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.

Signatures of sneutrino dark matter in an extension of the CMSSM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banerjee, Shankha; Bélanger, Geneviève [LAPTH, Université de Savoie, CNRS, B.P.110, F-74941 Annecy-le-Vieux (France); Mukhopadhyaya, Biswarup [Regional Centre for Accelerator-based Particle Physics, Harish-Chandra Research Institute,Chhatnag Road, Jhusi, Allahabad 211019 (India); Serpico, Pasquale D. [LAPTH, Université de Savoie, CNRS, B.P.110, F-74941 Annecy-le-Vieux (France)

2016-07-19

Current data (LHC direct searches, Higgs mass, dark matter-related bounds) severely affect the constrained minimal SUSY standard model (CMSSM) with neutralinos as dark matter candidates. But the evidence for neutrino masses coming from oscillations requires extending the SM with at least right-handed neutrinos with a Dirac mass term. In turn, this implies extending the CMSSM with right-handed sneutrino superpartners, a scenario we dub ν̃CMSSM. These additional states constitute alternative dark matter candidates of the superWIMP type, produced via the decay of the long-lived next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP). Here we consider the interesting and likely case where the NLSP is a τ̃: despite the modest extension with respect to the CMSSM this scenario has the distinctive signatures of heavy, metastable charged particles. After taking into account the role played by neutrino mass bounds and the specific cosmological bounds from the big bang nucleosynthesis in selecting the viable parameter space, we discuss the excellent discovery prospects for this model at the future runs of the LHC. We show that it is possible to probe τ̃{sub 1} masses up to 600 GeV at the 14 TeV LHC with L=1100 fb{sup −1} when one considers a pair production of staus with two or more hard jets through all SUSY processes. We also show the complementary discovery prospects from a direct τ̃{sub 1} pair production, as well as at the new experiment MoEDAL.

SUSY dark matter: Beyond the standard paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandick, Pearl

2016-01-01

Within the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), we explore a decoupling of the parameters into separate sectors that determine consistency with collider data, the abundance of dark matter, and potential signatures at direct dark matter searches. We consider weak-scale bino-like neutralino dark matter, and find that annihilations via light slepton exchange present a viable mechanism for obtaining the appropriate dark matter abundance assuming a thermal history. Constraints and prospects for discovery of these models are discussed, including the possibility that direct dark matter searches may be sensitive to these models if light squarks exhibit left-right mixing. Differences between the scenarios presented here and the typical expectations for the MSSM are discussed.

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

Lepton flavor violation induced by dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Arcadi, Giorgio; Ferreira, C. P.; Goertz, Florian; Guzzo, M. M.; Queiroz, Farinaldo S.; Santos, A. C. O.

2018-04-01

Guided by gauge principles we discuss a predictive and falsifiable UV complete model where the Dirac fermion that accounts for the cold dark matter abundance in our Universe induces the lepton flavor violation (LFV) decays μ →e γ and μ →e e e as well as μ -e conversion. We explore the interplay between direct dark matter detection, relic density, collider probes and lepton flavor violation to conclusively show that one may have a viable dark matter candidate yielding flavor violation signatures that can be probed in the upcoming experiments. In fact, keeping the dark matter mass at the TeV scale, a sizable LFV signal is possible, while reproducing the correct dark matter relic density and meeting limits from direct-detection experiments.

Dark Matter searches with the ATLAS Detector

CERN Document Server

Kalderon, Charles William; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

As evinced by multiple astrophysical measurements, a large fraction of the matter in the Universe is in the form of a dark, non-baryonic component. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it could be produced at the LHC, escaping the ATLAS detector and thus leaving a signature of large missing transverse momentum. If this interaction is mediated by a kinematically accessible mediator, then that mediator can also give rise to a dijet resonance signature. The latest results of these dijet resonance searches are presented, and their limitations and future prospects discussed.

Dark Matter searches with the ATLAS Detector

CERN Document Server

Ippolito, Valerio; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic Dark Matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If Dark Matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model particles it may be produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), escaping detection and leaving large missing transverse momentum as its signature. New results from the Dark Matter search programme of the ATLAS experiment are presented, based on LHC proton-proton collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV.

SIGNATURES OF DARK MATTER BURNING IN NUCLEAR STAR CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casanellas, Jordi; Lopes, IlIdio

2011-01-01

In order to characterize how dark matter (DM) annihilation inside stars changes the aspect of a stellar cluster, we computed the evolution until the ignition of the He burning of stars from 0.7 M sun to 3.5 M sun within halos of DM with different characteristics. We found that, when a cluster is surrounded by a dense DM halo, the positions of the cluster' stars in the H-R diagram have a brighter and hotter turnoff point than in the classical scenario without DM, therefore giving the cluster a younger appearance. The high DM densities required to produce these effects are expected only in very specific locations, such as near the center of our Galaxy. In particular, if DM is formed by the 8 GeV weakly interacting massive particles recently invoked to reconcile the results from direct detection experiments, then this signature is predicted for halos of DM with a density ρ χ = 3 x 10 5 GeV cm -3 . A DM density gradient inside the stellar cluster would result in a broader main sequence, turnoff, and red giant branch regions. Moreover, we found that for very high DM halo densities the bottom of the isochrones in the H-R diagram rises to higher luminosities, leading to a characteristic signature on the stellar cluster. We argue that this signature could be used to indirectly probe the presence of DM particles in the location of a cluster.

Dark matter searches with the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00379232; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as its signature. The ATLAS detector has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. The results of these searches on the first 13 TeV data, their interpretation, and the design and possible evolution of the search program will be presented.

Dark Matter searches with the ATLAS Detector

CERN Document Server

Cortes-Gonzalez, Arely; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as their signature. The ATLAS detector has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. The results of these searches on the first 13 TeV data, their interpretation, and the design and possible evolution of the search program will be presented.

Dark matter searches with the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

Whalen, Kathleen; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as its signature. The ATLAS detector has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. The results of these searches using the first 13 TeV data, their interpretation, and the design and possible evolution of the search program will be presented.

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

Unified Origin for Baryonic Visible Matter and Antibaryonic Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2010-01-01

We present a novel mechanism for generating both the baryon and dark matter densities of the Universe. A new Dirac fermion X carrying a conserved baryon number charge couples to the standard model quarks as well as a GeV-scale hidden sector. CP-violating decays of X, produced nonthermally in low-temperature reheating, sequester antibaryon number in the hidden sector, thereby leaving a baryon excess in the visible sector. The antibaryonic hidden states are stable dark matter. A spectacular signature of this mechanism is the baryon-destroying inelastic scattering of dark matter that can annihilate baryons at appreciable rates relevant for nucleon decay searches.

Unified origin for baryonic visible matter and antibaryonic dark matter.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-11-19

We present a novel mechanism for generating both the baryon and dark matter densities of the Universe. A new Dirac fermion X carrying a conserved baryon number charge couples to the standard model quarks as well as a GeV-scale hidden sector. CP-violating decays of X, produced nonthermally in low-temperature reheating, sequester antibaryon number in the hidden sector, thereby leaving a baryon excess in the visible sector. The antibaryonic hidden states are stable dark matter. A spectacular signature of this mechanism is the baryon-destroying inelastic scattering of dark matter that can annihilate baryons at appreciable rates relevant for nucleon decay searches.

LEP shines light on dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, Patrick J.; Harnik, Roni; Kopp, Joachim; Tsai, Yuhsin

2011-01-01

Dark matter pair production at high energy colliders may leave observable signatures in the energy and momentum spectra of the objects recoiling against the dark matter. We use LEP data on monophoton events with large missing energy to constrain the coupling of dark matter to electrons. Within a large class of models, our limits are complementary to and competitive with limits on dark matter annihilation and on WIMP-nucleon scattering from indirect and direct searches. Our limits, however, do not suffer from systematic and astrophysical uncertainties associated with direct and indirect limits. For example, we are able to rule out light (< or approx. 10 GeV) thermal relic dark matter with universal couplings exclusively to charged leptons. In addition, for dark matter mass below about 80 GeV, LEP limits are stronger than Fermi constraints on annihilation into charged leptons in dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Within its kinematic reach, LEP also provides the strongest constraints on the spin-dependent direct detection cross section in models with universal couplings to both quarks and leptons. In such models the strongest limit is also set on spin-independent scattering for dark matter masses below ∼4 GeV. Throughout our discussion, we consider both low energy effective theories of dark matter, as well as several motivated renormalizable scenarios involving light mediators.

Searches for Dark Matter with in Events with Hadronic Activity

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The astrophysical evidence of dark matter provides some of the most compelling clues to the nature of physics beyond the Standard Model. From these clues, ATLAS has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. In the framework of Simplified models the searches are divided into invisible and visible channels, corresponding to dark matter searches, with a missing energy signature, and dark matter mediator searches, looking for bump in invariant mass distributions.

Dark Matter Searches with the ATLAS Detector

CERN Document Server

Elliot, Alison; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as their signature.  The ATLAS detector has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. The results of these searches on the first 13 TeV data, their interpretation, and the design and possible evolution of the search program will be presented.

Dark Matter Searches with the ATLAS detector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elliot Alison

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as its signature. The ATLAS detector has developed a broad and systematic search program for dark matter production in LHC collisions. The results of these searches on the first 13 TeV data, their interpretation, and the design and possible evolution of the search program will be presented.

Inelastic dark matter at DAMA, CDMS and Future Experiments

OpenAIRE

Smith, David R.; Weiner, Neal

2002-01-01

The DAMA annual modulation signature, interpreted as evidence for a spin-independent WIMP coupling, seems in conflict with null results from CDMS. However, in models of ``inelastic dark matter'', the experiments are compatible. Inelastic dark matter can arise in supersymmetric theories as the real component of a sneutrino mixed with a singlet scalar. In contrast with ordinary sneutrino dark matter, such particles can satisfy all experimental constraints while giving the appropriate relic abun...

Searches for Dark Matter at the ATLAS experiment

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00143063; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

Abstract. Searches for strongly produced dark matters in events with jets, photons, heavy-flavor quarks or massive gauge bosons recoiling against large missing transverse momentum in ATLAS are presented. These "MET+X" signatures provide powerful probes to dark matter production at the LHC, allowing us to interpret results in terms of effective field theory and/or simplified models with pair production of Weakly Interactions Particles. Recent ATLAS results on dark matter searches at LHC Run I and the connection to astroparticle physics are discussed.

Chameleon dark energy models with characteristic signatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gannouji, Radouane; Moraes, Bruno; Polarski, David; Mota, David F.; Winther, Hans A.; Tsujikawa, Shinji

2010-01-01

In chameleon dark energy models, local gravity constraints tend to rule out parameters in which observable cosmological signatures can be found. We study viable chameleon potentials consistent with a number of recent observational and experimental bounds. A novel chameleon field potential, motivated by f(R) gravity, is constructed where observable cosmological signatures are present both at the background evolution and in the growth rate of the perturbations. We study the evolution of matter density perturbations on low redshifts for this potential and show that the growth index today γ 0 can have significant dispersion on scales relevant for large scale structures. The values of γ 0 can be even smaller than 0.2 with large variations of γ on very low redshifts for the model parameters constrained by local gravity tests. This gives a possibility to clearly distinguish these chameleon models from the Λ-cold-dark-matter (ΛCDM) model in future high-precision observations.

Higgs decays to dark matter: Beyond the minimal model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pospelov, Maxim; Ritz, Adam

2011-01-01

We examine the interplay between Higgs mediation of dark-matter annihilation and scattering on one hand and the invisible Higgs decay width on the other, in a generic class of models utilizing the Higgs portal. We find that, while the invisible width of the Higgs to dark matter is now constrained for a minimal singlet scalar dark matter particle by experiments such as XENON100, this conclusion is not robust within more generic examples of Higgs mediation. We present a survey of simple dark matter scenarios with m DM h /2 and Higgs portal mediation, where direct-detection signatures are suppressed, while the Higgs width is still dominated by decays to dark matter.

Decaying dark matter and the PAMELA anomaly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibarra, Alejandro; Tran, David

2009-01-01

Astrophysical and cosmological observations do not require the dark matter particles to be absolutely stable. If they are indeed unstable, their decay into positrons might occur at a sufficiently large rate to allow the indirect detection of dark matter through an anomalous contribution to the cosmic positron flux. In this paper we discuss the implications of the excess in the positron fraction recently reported by the PAMELA collaboration for the scenario of decaying dark matter. To this end, we have performed a model-independent analysis of possible signatures by studying various decay channels in the case of both a fermionic and a scalar dark matter particle. We find that the steep rise in the positron fraction measured by PAMELA at energies larger than 10 GeV can naturally be accommodated in several realizations of the decaying dark matter scenario. The data point toward a rather heavy dark matter particle, m DM ∼> 300 GeV, which preferentially decays directly into first or second generation charged leptons with a lifetime τ DM ∼ 10 26 s

Chromo-Rayleigh interactions of dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Yang; Osborne, James

2015-01-01

For a wide range of models, dark matter can interact with QCD gluons via chromo-Rayleigh interactions. We point out that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as a gluon machine, provides a superb probe of such interactions. In this paper, we introduce simplified models to UV-complete two effective dark matter chromo-Rayleigh interactions and identify the corresponding collider signatures, including four jets or a pair of di-jet resonances plus missing transverse energy. After performing collider studies for both the 8 TeV and 14 TeV LHC, we find that the LHC can be more sensitive to dark matter chromo-Rayleigh interactions than direct detection experiments and thus provides the best opportunity for future discovery of this class of models.

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.

Inverted dipole feature in directional detection of exothermic dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozorgnia, Nassim; Gelmini, Graciela B.; Gondolo, Paolo

2017-01-01

Directional dark matter detection attempts to measure the direction of motion of nuclei recoiling after having interacted with dark matter particles in the halo of our Galaxy. Due to Earth's motion with respect to the Galaxy, the dark matter flux is concentrated around a preferential direction. An anisotropy in the recoil direction rate is expected as an unmistakable signature of dark matter. The average nuclear recoil direction is expected to coincide with the average direction of dark matter particles arriving to Earth. Here we point out that for a particular type of dark matter, inelastic exothermic dark matter, the mean recoil direction as well as a secondary feature, a ring of maximum recoil rate around the mean recoil direction, could instead be opposite to the average dark matter arrival direction. Thus, the detection of an average nuclear recoil direction opposite to the usually expected direction would constitute a spectacular experimental confirmation of this type of dark matter.

Evidence for non-Abelian dark matter from large scale structure?

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

If dark matter multiplicity arises from a weakly coupled non-Abelian dark gauge group the corresponding "dark gluons" can have interesting signatures in cosmology which I will review: 1. the "dark gluons" contribute to the radiation content of the universe and 2. gluon interactions with the dark matter may explain the >3 sigma discrepancy between precision fits to the CMB from Planck and direct measurements of large scale structure in the universe.

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

Planckian Interacting Massive Particles as Dark Matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garny, Mathias; Sandora, McCullen; Sloth, Martin S.

2016-01-01

. In this case the WIMP miracle is a mirage, and instead minimality as dictated by Occam's razor would indicate that dark matter is related to the Planck scale, where quantum gravity is anyway expected to manifest itself. Assuming within this framework that dark matter is a Planckian Interacting Massive Particle......, we show that the most natural mass larger than $0.01\\,\\textrm{M}_p$ is already ruled out by the absence of tensor modes in the CMB. This also indicates that we expect tensor modes in the CMB to be observed soon for this type of minimal dark matter model. Finally, we touch upon the KK graviton mode...... as a possible realization of this scenario within UV complete models, as well as further potential signatures and peculiar properties of this type of dark matter candidate. This paradigm therefore leads to a subtle connection between quantum gravity, the physics of primordial inflation, and the nature of dark...

Recent Developments in Supersymmetric and Hidden Sector Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldman, Daniel; Liu Zuowei; Nath, Pran

2008-01-01

New results which correlate SUSY dark matter with LHC signals are presented, and a brief review of recent developments in supersymmetric and hidden sector dark matter is given. It is shown that the direct detection of dark matter is very sensitive to the hierarchical SUSY sparticle spectrum and the spectrum is very useful in distinguishing models. It is shown that the prospects of the discovery of neutralino dark matter are very bright on the 'Chargino Wall' due to a copious number of model points on the Wall, where the NLSP is the Chargino, and the spin independent neutralino-proton cross section is maintained at high values in the 10 -44 cm 2 range for neutralino masses up to ∼850 GeV. It is also shown that the direct detection of dark matter along with lepton plus jet signatures and missing energy provide dual, and often complementary, probes of supersymmetry. Finally, we discuss an out of the box possibility for dark matter, which includes dark matter from the hidden sector, which could either consist of extra weakly interacting dark matter (a Stino XWIMP), or milli-charged dark matter arising from the Stueckelberg extensions of the MSSM or the SM.

Constraints on Leptophilic Dark Matter from the AMS-02 Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavasonza, Leila Ali; Gast, Henning; Schael, Stefan; Krämer, Michael; Pellen, Mathieu

2017-01-01

The annihilation of dark matter particles in the Galactic halo of the Milky Way may lead to cosmic ray signatures that can be probed by the AMS-02 experiment, which has measured the composition and fluxes of charged cosmic rays with unprecedented precision. Given the absence of characteristic spectral features in the electron and positron fluxes measured by AMS-02, we derive upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section for leptophilic dark matter models. Our limits are based on a new background model that describes all recent measurements of the energy spectra of cosmic-ray positrons and electrons. For thermal dark matter relics, we can exclude dark matter masses below about 100 GeV. We include the radiation of electroweak gauge bosons in the dark matter annihilation process and compute the antiproton signal that can be expected within leptophilic dark matter models.

Constraints on Leptophilic Dark Matter from the AMS-02 Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavasonza, Leila Ali; Gast, Henning; Schael, Stefan [I. Physikalisches Institut, RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen (Germany); Krämer, Michael [Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology, RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen (Germany); Pellen, Mathieu, E-mail: cavasonza@physik.rwth-aachen.de [Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg (Germany)

2017-04-10

The annihilation of dark matter particles in the Galactic halo of the Milky Way may lead to cosmic ray signatures that can be probed by the AMS-02 experiment, which has measured the composition and fluxes of charged cosmic rays with unprecedented precision. Given the absence of characteristic spectral features in the electron and positron fluxes measured by AMS-02, we derive upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section for leptophilic dark matter models. Our limits are based on a new background model that describes all recent measurements of the energy spectra of cosmic-ray positrons and electrons. For thermal dark matter relics, we can exclude dark matter masses below about 100 GeV. We include the radiation of electroweak gauge bosons in the dark matter annihilation process and compute the antiproton signal that can be expected within leptophilic dark matter models.

Impact of Sommerfeld enhancement on helium reionization via WIMP dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Bandyopadhyay, Bidisha; Schleicher, Dominik R. G.

2018-03-01

Dark matter annihilation can have a strong impact on many astrophysical processes in the Universe. In the case of Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation cross sections, the annihilation rates are enhanced at late times, thus enhancing the potential annihilation signatures. We here calculate the Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation signatures during the epoch of helium reionization, the epoch where helium becomes fully ionized due to energetic photons. When considering the upper limits on the energy injection from the CMB, we find that the resulting abundance of He++ becomes independent of the dark matter particle mass. The resulting enhancement compared to a standard scenario is thus 1-2 orders of magnitude higher. For realistic scenarios compatible with CMB constraints, there is no significant shift in the epoch of helium reionization, which is completed between redshifts 3 and 4. While it is thus difficult to disentangle dark matter annihilation from astrophysical contributions (active galactic nuclei), a potential detection of dark matter particles and its interactions using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would allow one to quantify the dark matter contribution.

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

Did LIGO Detect Dark Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Bird, Simeon; Cholis, Ilias; Muñoz, Julian B; Ali-Haïmoud, Yacine; Kamionkowski, Marc; Kovetz, Ely D; Raccanelli, Alvise; Riess, Adam G

2016-05-20

We consider the possibility that the black-hole (BH) binary detected by LIGO may be a signature of dark matter. Interestingly enough, there remains a window for masses 20M_{⊙}≲M_{bh}≲100M_{⊙} where primordial black holes (PBHs) may constitute the dark matter. If two BHs in a galactic halo pass sufficiently close, they radiate enough energy in gravitational waves to become gravitationally bound. The bound BHs will rapidly spiral inward due to the emission of gravitational radiation and ultimately will merge. Uncertainties in the rate for such events arise from our imprecise knowledge of the phase-space structure of galactic halos on the smallest scales. Still, reasonable estimates span a range that overlaps the 2-53  Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1} rate estimated from GW150914, thus raising the possibility that LIGO has detected PBH dark matter. PBH mergers are likely to be distributed spatially more like dark matter than luminous matter and have neither optical nor neutrino counterparts. They may be distinguished from mergers of BHs from more traditional astrophysical sources through the observed mass spectrum, their high ellipticities, or their stochastic gravitational wave background. Next-generation experiments will be invaluable in performing these tests.

Direct detection signatures of self-interacting dark matter with a light mediator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nobile, Eugenio Del; Kaplinghat, Manoj; Yu, Hai-Bo

2015-01-01

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) is a simple and well-motivated scenario that could explain long-standing puzzles in structure formation on small scales. If the required self-interaction arises through a light mediator (with mass ∼ 10 MeV) in the dark sector, this new particle must be unstable to avoid overclosing the universe. The decay of the light mediator could happen due to a weak coupling of the hidden and visible sectors, providing new signatures for direct detection experiments. The SIDM nuclear recoil spectrum is more peaked towards low energies compared to the usual case of contact interactions, because the mediator mass is comparable to the momentum transfer of nuclear recoils. We show that the SIDM signal could be distinguished from that of DM particles with contact interactions by considering the time-average energy spectrum in experiments employing different target materials, or the average and modulated spectra in a single experiment. Using current limits from LUX and SuperCDMS, we also derive strong bounds on the mixing parameter between hidden and visible sector

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

Testing Lorentz invariance of dark matter with satellite galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bettoni, Dario [Institut für Theoretische Physik, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Nusser, Adi [Physics Department and the Asher Space Science Institute—Technion, Haifa 32000 (Israel); Blas, Diego; Sibiryakov, Sergey, E-mail: d.bettoni@thphys.uni-heidelberg.de, E-mail: adi@physics.technion.ac.il, E-mail: diego.blas@cern.ch, E-mail: sergey.sibiryakov@cern.ch [Theoretical Physics Department, CERN, CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland)

2017-05-01

We develop the framework for testing Lorentz invariance in the dark matter sector using galactic dynamics. We consider a Lorentz violating (LV) vector field acting on the dark matter component of a satellite galaxy orbiting in a host halo. We introduce a numerical model for the dynamics of satellites in a galactic halo and for a galaxy in a rich cluster to explore observational consequences of such an LV field. The orbital motion of a satellite excites a time dependent LV force which greatly affects its internal dynamics. Our analysis points out key observational signatures which serve as probes of LV forces. These include modifications to the line of sight velocity dispersion, mass profiles and shapes of satellites. With future data and a more detailed modeling these signatures can be exploited to constrain a new region of the parameter space describing the LV in the dark matter sector.

Particle Dark Matter and DAMA/LIBRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernabei, R.; Nozzoli, F.; Belli, P.; Cappella, F.; D'Angelo, A.; Prosperi, D.; Cerulli, R.; Dai, C. J.; He, H. L.; Ma, X. H.; Sheng, X. D.; Wang, R. G.; Incicchitti, A.; Montecchia, F.; Ye, Z. P.

2010-01-01

The DAMA/LIBRA set-up (about 250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl) sensitive mass) is running at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the I.N.F.N.. The first DAMA/LIBRA results confirm the evidence for the presence of a Dark Matter particle component in the galactic halo, as pointed out by the former DAMA/NaI set-up; cumulatively the data support such evidence at 8.2 σ C.L. and satisfy all the many peculiarities of the Dark Matter annual modulation signature. The main aspects and prospects of this model independent experimental approach will be outlined.

Where are we with the Dark Matter search?

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2012-01-01

By observing the movement and the distribution of stars and galaxies, we learn that about 24% of the Universe is made of Dark Matter – an unknown type of matter whose origin is one of the main mysteries still kept by Nature. The world’s scientists are testing experimental methods to identify the particles of this elusive matter. How long will it stay in the “dark”? How can the LHC experiments participate in the race for discovery?   Figure 1: Dark Matter particles produced at the LHC would presumably escape undetected by the experiments. However, the event should be accompanied by some "missing momentum", which could be a signature of Dark Matter. Within the framework of a simple model for the production of Dark Matter, the CMS analysis significantly complements the sensitivity of direct search experiments. In particular, CMS is sensitive in the low-mass region below 3.5 GeV (the regions above the curves are excluded). Source: CMS Collab...

Cosmic gamma-ray background from dark matter annihilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ando, Shin'ichiro

2007-01-01

High-energy photons from pair annihilation of dark matter particles contribute to the cosmic gamma-ray background (CGB) observed in a wide energy range. The precise shape of the energy spectrum of CGB depends on the nature of dark matter particles. In order to discriminate between the signals from dark matter annihilation and other astrophysical sources, however, the information from the energy spectrum of CGB may not be sufficient. We show that dark matter annihilation not only contributes to the mean CGB intensity, but also produces a characteristic anisotropy, which provides a powerful tool for testing the origins of the observed CGB. We show that the expected sensitivity of future gamma-ray detectors such as GLAST should allow us to measure the angular power spectrum of CGB anisotropy, if dark matter particles are supersymmetric neutralinos and they account for most of the observed mean intensity. As the intensity of photons from annihilation is proportional to the density squared, we show that the predicted shape of the angular power spectrum of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation is different from that due to other astrophysical sources such as blazars, whose intensity is linearly proportional to density. Therefore, the angular power spectrum of the CGB provides a 'smoking-gun' signature of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation

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.

Signatures of Horndeski gravity on the dark matter bispectrum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellini, Emilio [ICC, University of Barcelona, IEEC-UB, Martí Franqués, 1, E08028 Barcelona (Spain); Jimenez, Raul; Verde, Licia, E-mail: emilio.bellini@icc.ub.edu, E-mail: raul.jimenez@icc.ub.edu, E-mail: liciaverde@icc.ub.edu [Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona (Spain)

2015-05-01

We present a detailed study of second-order matter perturbations for the general Horndeski class of models. Being the most general scalar-tensor theory having second-order equations of motion, it includes many known gravity and dark energy theories and General Relativity with a cosmological constant as a specific case. This enables us to estimate the leading order dark matter bispectrum generated at late-times by gravitational instability. We parametrize the evolution of the first and second-order equations of motion as proposed by Bellini and Sawicki (2014), where the free functions of the theory are assumed to be proportional to the dark energy density. We show that it is unnatural to have large ∼> 10% (∼> 1%) deviations of the bispectrum introducing even larger ∼ 30% (∼ 5%) deviations in the linear growth rate. Considering that measurements of the linear growth rate have much higher signal-to-noise than bispectrum measurements, this indicates that for Horndeski models which reproduce the expansion history and the linear growth rate as predicted by GR the dark matter bispectrum kernel can be effectively modelled as the standard GR one. On the other hand, an observation of a large bispectrum deviation that can not be explained in terms of bias would imply either that the evolution of perturbations is strongly different than the evolution predicted by GR or that the theory of gravity is exotic (e.g., breaks the weak equivalence principle) and/or fine-tuned.

Collider detection of dark matter electromagnetic anapole moments

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Alexandre; Santos, A. C. O.; Sinha, Kuver

2018-03-01

Dark matter that interacts with the Standard Model by exchanging photons through higher multipole interactions occurs in a wide range of both strongly and weakly coupled hidden sector models. We study the collider detection prospects of these candidates, with a focus on Majorana dark matter that couples through the anapole moment. The study is conducted at the effective field theory level with the mono-Z signature incorporating varying levels of systematic uncertainties at the high-luminosity LHC. The projected collider reach on the anapole moment is then compared to the reach coming from direct detection experiments like LZ. Finally, the analysis is applied to a weakly coupled completion with leptophilic dark matter.

Direct detection of dark matter in models with a light Z'

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Mads Toudal; Kahlhoefer, Felix; Sarkar, Subir

2011-01-01

We discuss the direct detection signatures of dark matter interacting with nuclei via a Z' mediator, focussing on the case where both the dark matter and the $Z'$ have mass of a few GeV. Isospin violation (i.e. different couplings to protons and neutrons) arises naturally in this scenario...

Dark matter superfluidity and galactic dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lasha Berezhiani

2016-02-01

Full Text Available We propose a unified framework that reconciles the stunning success of MOND on galactic scales with the triumph of the ΛCDM model on cosmological scales. This is achieved through the physics of superfluidity. Dark matter consists of self-interacting axion-like particles that thermalize and condense to form a superfluid in galaxies, with ∼mK critical temperature. The superfluid phonons mediate a MOND acceleration on baryonic matter. Our framework naturally distinguishes between galaxies (where MOND is successful and galaxy clusters (where MOND is not: dark matter has a higher temperature in clusters, and hence is in a mixture of superfluid and normal phase. The rich and well-studied physics of superfluidity leads to a number of striking observational signatures.

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.

Solar-stellar astrophysics and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turck-Chièze, Sylvaine; Lopes, Ilídio

2012-01-01

In this review, we recall how stars contribute to the search for dark matter and the specific role of the Sun. We describe a more complete picture of the solar interior that emerges from neutrino detections, gravity and acoustic mode measurements of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite, becoming a reference for the most common stars in the Universe. The Sun is a unique star in that we can observe directly the effect of dark matter. The absence of a signature related to Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) in its core disfavors a WIMP mass range below 12GeV. We give arguments to continue this search on the Sun and other promising cases. We also examine another dark matter candidate, the sterile neutrino, and infer the limitations of the classical structural equations. Open questions on the young Sun, when planets formed, and on its present internal dynamics are finally discussed. Future directions are proposed for the next decade: a better description of the solar core, a generalization to stars coming from seismic missions and a better understanding of the dynamics of our galaxy which are all crucial keys for understanding dark matter.

Implications of the DAMA and CRESST experiments for mirror matter-type dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foot, R.

2004-01-01

Mirror atoms are expected to be a significant component of the galactic dark matter halo if mirror matter is identified with the nonbaryonic dark matter in the Universe. Mirror matter can interact with ordinary matter via gravity and via the photon-mirror photon kinetic mixing interaction--causing mirror charged particles to couple to ordinary photons with an effective electric charge εe. This means that the nuclei of mirror atoms can elastically scatter off the nuclei of ordinary atoms, leading to nuclear recoils, which can be detected in existing dark matter experiments. We show that the dark matter experiments most sensitive to this type of dark matter candidate (via the nuclear recoil signature) are the DAMA/NaI and CRESST/Sapphire experiments. Furthermore, we show that the impressive annual modulation signal obtained by the DAMA/NaI experiment can be explained by mirror matter-type dark matter for vertical bar ε vertical bar ∼5x10 -9 and is supported by DAMA's absolute rate measurement as well as the CRESST/Sapphire data. This value of vertical bar ε vertical bar is consistent with the value obtained from various solar system anomalies including the Pioneer spacecraft anomaly, anomalous meteorite events and lack of small craters on the asteroid Eros. It is also consistent with standard big bang nucleosynthesis

Baryogenesis and Dark Matter through a Higgs Asymmetry

CERN Document Server

Servant, Geraldine

2013-01-01

In addition to explaining the masses of elementary particles, the Higgs boson may have far-reaching implications for the generation of the matter content in the Universe. For instance, the Higgs plays a key role in two main theories of baryogenesis, namely electroweak baryogenesis and leptogenesis. In this letter, we propose a new cosmological scenario where the Higgs chemical potential mediates asymmetries between visible and dark matter sectors, either generating a baryon asymmetry from a dark matter asymmetry or vice-versa. We illustrate this mechanism with a simple model with two new fermions coupled to the Higgs and discuss associated signatures.

Warm Dark Matter and Cosmic Reionization

Science.gov (United States)

Villanueva-Domingo, Pablo; Gnedin, Nickolay Y.; Mena, Olga

2018-01-01

In models with dark matter made of particles with keV masses, such as a sterile neutrino, small-scale density perturbations are suppressed, delaying the period at which the lowest mass galaxies are formed and therefore shifting the reionization processes to later epochs. In this study, focusing on Warm Dark Matter (WDM) with masses close to its present lower bound, i.e., around the 3 keV region, we derive constraints from galaxy luminosity functions, the ionization history and the Gunn–Peterson effect. We show that even if star formation efficiency in the simulations is adjusted to match the observed UV galaxy luminosity functions in both CDM and WDM models, the full distribution of Gunn–Peterson optical depth retains the strong signature of delayed reionization in the WDM model. However, until the star formation and stellar feedback model used in modern galaxy formation simulations is constrained better, any conclusions on the nature of dark matter derived from reionization observables remain model-dependent.

From superWIMPs to decaying dark matter. Models, bounds and indirect searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weniger, Christoph

2010-06-01

Despite lots of observational and theoretical efforts, the particle nature of dark matter remains unknown. Beyond the paradigmatic WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), many theoretically well motivated models exist where dark matter interacts much more weakly than electroweak with Standard Model particles. In this case new phenomena occur, like the decay of dark matter or the interference with the standard cosmology of the early Universe. In this thesis we study some of these aspects of superweakly coupled dark matter in general, and in the special case of hidden U(1) X gauginos that kinetically mix with hypercharge. There, we will assume that the gauge group remains unbroken, similar to the Standard Model U(1) em . We study different kinds of cosmological bounds, including bounds from thermal overproduction, from primordial nucleosynthesis and from structure formation. Furthermore, we study the possible cosmic-ray signatures predicted by this scenario, with emphasis on the electron and positron channel in light of the recent observations by PAMELA and Fermi LAT. Moreover we study the cosmic-ray signatures of decaying dark matter independently of concrete particle-physics models. In particular we analyze in how far the rise in the positron fraction above 10 GeV, as observed by PAMELA, can be explained by dark matter decay. Lastly, we concentrate on related predictions for gamma-ray observations with the Fermi LAT, and propose to use the dipole-like anisotropy of the prompt gamma-ray dark matter signal to distinguish exotic dark matter contributions from the extragalactic gamma-ray background. (orig.)

From superWIMPs to decaying dark matter. Models, bounds and indirect searches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weniger, Christoph

2010-06-15

Despite lots of observational and theoretical efforts, the particle nature of dark matter remains unknown. Beyond the paradigmatic WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), many theoretically well motivated models exist where dark matter interacts much more weakly than electroweak with Standard Model particles. In this case new phenomena occur, like the decay of dark matter or the interference with the standard cosmology of the early Universe. In this thesis we study some of these aspects of superweakly coupled dark matter in general, and in the special case of hidden U(1){sub X} gauginos that kinetically mix with hypercharge. There, we will assume that the gauge group remains unbroken, similar to the Standard Model U(1){sub em}. We study different kinds of cosmological bounds, including bounds from thermal overproduction, from primordial nucleosynthesis and from structure formation. Furthermore, we study the possible cosmic-ray signatures predicted by this scenario, with emphasis on the electron and positron channel in light of the recent observations by PAMELA and Fermi LAT. Moreover we study the cosmic-ray signatures of decaying dark matter independently of concrete particle-physics models. In particular we analyze in how far the rise in the positron fraction above 10 GeV, as observed by PAMELA, can be explained by dark matter decay. Lastly, we concentrate on related predictions for gamma-ray observations with the Fermi LAT, and propose to use the dipole-like anisotropy of the prompt gamma-ray dark matter signal to distinguish exotic dark matter contributions from the extragalactic gamma-ray background. (orig.)

Planckian Interacting Massive Particles as Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Garny, Mathias; Sandora, McCullen; Sloth, Martin S

2016-03-11

The standard model could be self-consistent up to the Planck scale according to the present measurements of the Higgs boson mass and top quark Yukawa coupling. It is therefore possible that new physics is only coupled to the standard model through Planck suppressed higher dimensional operators. In this case the weakly interacting massive particle miracle is a mirage, and instead minimality as dictated by Occam's razor would indicate that dark matter is related to the Planck scale, where quantum gravity is anyway expected to manifest itself. Assuming within this framework that dark matter is a Planckian interacting massive particle, we show that the most natural mass larger than 0.01M_{p} is already ruled out by the absence of tensor modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This also indicates that we expect tensor modes in the CMB to be observed soon for this type of minimal dark matter model. Finally, we touch upon the Kaluza-Klein graviton mode as a possible realization of this scenario within UV complete models, as well as further potential signatures and peculiar properties of this type of dark matter candidate. This paradigm therefore leads to a subtle connection between quantum gravity, the physics of primordial inflation, and the nature of dark matter.

Tidal tails test the equivalence principle in the dark-matter sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kesden, Michael; Kamionkowski, Marc

2006-01-01

Satellite galaxies currently undergoing tidal disruption offer a unique opportunity to constrain an effective violation of the equivalence principle in the dark sector. While dark matter in the standard scenario interacts solely through gravity on large scales, a new long-range force between dark-matter particles may naturally arise in theories in which the dark matter couples to a light scalar field. An inverse-square-law force of this kind would manifest itself as a violation of the equivalence principle in the dynamics of dark matter compared to baryons in the form of gas or stars. In a previous paper, we showed that an attractive force would displace stars outwards from the bottom of the satellite's gravitational potential well, leading to a higher fraction of stars being disrupted from the tidal bulge further from the Galactic center. Since stars disrupted from the far (near) side of the satellite go on to form the trailing (leading) tidal stream, an attractive dark-matter force will produce a relative enhancement of the trailing stream compared to the leading stream. This distinctive signature of a dark-matter force might be detected through detailed observations of the tidal tails of a disrupting satellite, such as those recently performed by the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) on the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy. Here we show that this signature is robust to changes in our models for both the satellite and Milky Way, suggesting that we might hope to search for a dark-matter force in the tidal features of other recently discovered satellite galaxies in addition to the Sgr dwarf

Simultaneous Generation of WIMP Miracle-like Densities of Baryons and Dark Matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, John

2012-01-01

The observed density of dark matter is of the magnitude expected for a thermal relic weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP). In addition, the observed baryon density is within an order of magnitude of the dark matter density. This suggests that the baryon density is physically related to a typical thermal relic WIMP dark matter density. We present a model which simultaneously generates thermal relic WIMP-like densities for both baryons and dark matter by modifying a large initial baryon asymmetry. Production of unstable scalars carrying baryon number at the LHC would be a clear signature of the model.

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.

Dark matter and dark energy interactions: theoretical challenges, cosmological implications and observational signatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, B; Abdalla, E; Atrio-Barandela, F; Pavón, D

2016-09-01

Models where dark matter and dark energy interact with each other have been proposed to solve the coincidence problem. We review the motivations underlying the need to introduce such interaction, its influence on the background dynamics and how it modifies the evolution of linear perturbations. We test models using the most recent observational data and we find that the interaction is compatible with the current astronomical and cosmological data. Finally, we describe the forthcoming data sets from current and future facilities that are being constructed or designed that will allow a clearer understanding of the physics of the dark sector.

Probing dark matter with active galactic nuclei jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorchtein, Mikhail; Profumo, Stefano; Ubaldi, Lorenzo

2010-01-01

We study the possibility of detecting a signature of particle dark matter in the spectrum of gamma-ray photons from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) resulting from the scattering of high-energy particles in the AGN jet off of dark matter particles. We consider particle dark matter models in the context of both supersymmetry and universal extra dimensions , and we present the complete lowest-order calculation for processes where a photon is emitted in dark matter-electron and/or dark matter-proton scattering, where electrons and protons belong to the AGN jet. We find that the process is dominated by a resonance whose energy is dictated by the particle spectrum in the dark matter sector (neutralino and selectron for the case of supersymmetry, Kaluza-Klein photon and electron for universal extra dimensions ). The resulting gamma-ray spectrum exhibits a very characteristic spectral feature, consisting of a sharp break to a hard power-law behavior. Although the normalization of the gamma-ray flux depends strongly on assumptions on both the AGN jet geometry, composition and particle spectrum as well as on the particle dark matter model and density distribution, we show that for realistic parameters choices, and for two prominent nearby AGNs (Centaurus A and M87), the detection of this effect is in principle possible. Finally, we compare our predictions and results with recent gamma-ray observations from the Fermi, H.E.S.S., and VERITAS telescopes.

Unified scenario for composite right-handed neutrinos and dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Davoudiasl, Hooman; Giardino, Pier Paolo; Neil, Ethan T.; Rinaldi, Enrico

2017-12-01

We entertain the possibility that neutrino masses and dark matter (DM) originate from a common composite dark sector. A minimal effective theory can be constructed based on a dark S U (3 )D interaction with three flavors of massless dark quarks; electroweak symmetry breaking gives masses to the dark quarks. By assigning a Z2 charge to one flavor, a stable "dark kaon" can provide a good thermal relic DM candidate. We find that "dark neutrons" may be identified as right handed Dirac neutrinos. Some level of "neutron-anti-neutron" oscillation in the dark sector can then result in non-zero Majorana masses for light standard model neutrinos. A simple ultraviolet completion is presented, involving additional heavy S U (3 )D-charged particles with electroweak and lepton Yukawa couplings. At our benchmark point, there are "dark pions" that are much lighter than the Higgs and we expect spectacular collider signals arising from the UV framework. This includes the decay of the Higgs boson to τ τ ℓℓ', where ℓ(ℓ') can be any lepton, with displaced vertices. We discuss the observational signatures of this UV framework in dark matter searches and primordial gravitational wave experiments; the latter signature is potentially correlated with the H →τ τ ℓℓ' decay.

Intense gamma-ray lines from hidden vector dark matter decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arina, Chiara; Hambye, Thomas

2009-12-01

Scenarios with hidden, spontaneously broken, non-abelian gauge groups contain a natural dark matter candidate, the hidden vector, whose longevity is due to an accidental custodial symmetry in the renormalizable Lagrangian. Nevertheless, non-renormalizable dimension six operators break the custodial symmetry and induce the decay of the dark matter particle at cosmological times. We discuss in this paper the cosmic ray signatures of this scenario and we show that the decay of hidden vector dark matter particles generically produce an intense gamma ray line which could be observed by the Fermi-LAT experiment, if the scale of custodial symmetry breaking is close to the Grand Unification scale. This gamma line proceeds directly from a tree level dark matter 2-body decay in association with a Higgs boson. Within this model we also perform a determination of the relic density constraints taking into account the dark matter annihilation processes with one dark matter particle in the final state. The corresponding direct detection rates can be easily of order the current experimental sensitivities. (orig.)

Intense gamma-ray lines from hidden vector dark matter decay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arina, Chiara; Hambye, Thomas [Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). Service de Physique Theorique; Ibarra, Alejandro [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Physik-Department; Weniger, Christoph [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2009-12-15

Scenarios with hidden, spontaneously broken, non-abelian gauge groups contain a natural dark matter candidate, the hidden vector, whose longevity is due to an accidental custodial symmetry in the renormalizable Lagrangian. Nevertheless, non-renormalizable dimension six operators break the custodial symmetry and induce the decay of the dark matter particle at cosmological times. We discuss in this paper the cosmic ray signatures of this scenario and we show that the decay of hidden vector dark matter particles generically produce an intense gamma ray line which could be observed by the Fermi-LAT experiment, if the scale of custodial symmetry breaking is close to the Grand Unification scale. This gamma line proceeds directly from a tree level dark matter 2-body decay in association with a Higgs boson. Within this model we also perform a determination of the relic density constraints taking into account the dark matter annihilation processes with one dark matter particle in the final state. The corresponding direct detection rates can be easily of order the current experimental sensitivities. (orig.)

Intense gamma-ray lines from hidden vector dark matter decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arina, Chiara; Hambye, Thomas; Ibarra, Alejandro; Weniger, Christoph

2010-01-01

Scenarios with hidden, spontaneously broken, non-abelian gauge groups contain a natural dark matter candidate, the hidden vector, whose longevity is due to an accidental custodial symmetry in the renormalizable Lagrangian. Nevertheless, non-renormalizable dimension six operators break the custodial symmetry and induce the decay of the dark matter particle at cosmological times. We discuss in this paper the cosmic ray signatures of this scenario and we show that the decay of hidden vector dark matter particles generically produce an intense gamma ray line which could be observed by the Fermi-LAT experiment, if the scale of custodial symmetry breaking is close to the Grand Unification scale. This gamma line proceeds directly from a tree level dark matter 2-body decay in association with a Higgs boson. Within this model we also perform a determination of the relic density constraints taking into account the dark matter annihilation processes with one dark matter particle in the final state. The corresponding direct detection rates can be easily of order the current experimental sensitivities

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.

Baryogenesis and dark matter through a Higgs asymmetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Servant, Géraldine; Tulin, Sean

2013-10-11

In addition to explaining the masses of elementary particles, the Higgs boson may have far-reaching implications for the generation of the matter content in the Universe. For instance, the Higgs boson plays a key role in two main theories of baryogenesis, namely, electroweak baryogenesis and leptogenesis. In this Letter, we propose a new cosmological scenario where the Higgs chemical potential mediates asymmetries between visible and dark matter sectors, either generating a baryon asymmetry from a dark matter asymmetry or vice versa. We illustrate this mechanism with a simple model with two new fermions coupled to the Higgs boson and discuss the associated signatures.

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 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

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.

EDITORIAL: Focus on Dark Matter and Particle Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Aprile, Elena; Profumo, Stefano

2009-10-01

Doetinchem, H Gast, T Kirn and S Schael Axion searches with helioscopes and astrophysical signatures for axion(-like) particles K Zioutas, M Tsagri, Y Semertzidis, T Papaevangelou, T Dafni and V Anastassopoulos The indirect search for dark matter with IceCube Francis Halzen and Dan Hooper DIRECT DARK MATTER SEARCHES:EXPERIMENTS Gaseous dark matter detectors G Sciolla and C J Martoff Search for dark matter with CRESST Rafael F Lang and Wolfgang Seidel DIRECT AND INDIRECT PARTICLE DARK MATTER SEARCHES:THEORY Dark matter annihilation around intermediate mass black holes: an update Gianfranco Bertone, Mattia Fornasa, Marco Taoso and Andrew R Zentner Update on the direct detection of dark matter in MSSM models with non-universal Higgs masses John Ellis, Keith A Olive and Pearl Sandick Dark stars: a new study of the first stars in the Universe Katherine Freese, Peter Bodenheimer, Paolo Gondolo and Douglas Spolyar Determining the mass of dark matter particles with direct detection experiments Chung-Lin Shan The detection of subsolar mass dark matter halos Savvas M Koushiappas Neutrino coherent scattering rates at direct dark matter detectors Louis E Strigari Gamma rays from dark matter annihilation in the central region of the Galaxy Pasquale Dario Serpico and Dan Hooper DARK MATTER MODELS The dark matter interpretation of the 511 keV line Céline Boehm Axions as dark matter particles Leanne D Duffy and Karl van Bibber Sterile neutrinos Alexander Kusenko Dark matter candidates Lars Bergström Minimal dark matter: model and results Marco Cirelli and Alessandro Strumia Shedding light on the dark sector with direct WIMP production Partha Konar, Kyoungchul Kong, Konstantin T Matchev and Maxim Perelstein Axinos as dark matter particles Laura Covi and Jihn E Kim

Direct dark matter searches—Test of the Big Bounce Cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheung, Yeuk-Kwan E.; Vergados, J.D.

2015-01-01

We consider the possibility of using dark matter particle's mass and its interaction cross section as a smoking gun signal of the existence of a Big Bounce at the early stage in the evolution of our currently observed universe. A study of dark matter production in the pre-bounce contraction and the post bounce expansion epochs of this universe reveals a new venue for achieving the observed relic abundance of our present universe. Specifically, it predicts a characteristic relation governing a dark matter mass and interaction cross section and a factor of 1/2 in thermally averaged cross section, as compared to the non-thermal production in standard cosmology, is needed for creating enough dark matter particle to satisfy the currently observed relic abundance because dark matter is being created during the pre-bounce contraction, in addition to the post-bounce expansion. As the production rate is lower than the Hubble expansion rate information of the bounce universe evolution is preserved. Therefore once the value of dark matter mass and interaction cross section are obtained by direct detection in laboratories, this alternative route becomes a signature prediction of the bounce universe scenario. This leads us to consider a scalar dark matter candidate, which if it is light, has important implications on dark matter searches

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

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.

Annihilation cross section of Kaluza Klien dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Rakesh, E-mail: rakesh-sharma-ujn@yahoo.co.in [Northern India Textile Research Association Technical Campus Ghaziabad U.P. 201002 (India); Upadhyaya, G. K., E-mail: gopalujjain@yahoo.co.in; Sharma, S. [School of Studies in Physics, Vikram University Ujjain, M.P. 456010 India (India)

2015-07-31

The question as to how this universe came into being and as to how it has evolved to its present stage, is an old question. The answer to this question unfolds many secrets regarding fundamental particles and forces between them. Theodor Kaluza proposed the concept that the universe is composed of more than four space-time dimensions. In his work, electromagnetism is united with gravity. Various extra dimension formulations have been proposed to solve a variety of problems. Recently, the idea of more than four space time dimensions is applied to the search for particle identity of dark matter (DM). Signature of dark matter can be revealed by analysis of very high energy electrons which are coming from outer space. We investigate recent advancement in the field of dark matter search with reference to very high energy electrons from outer space [1-8].

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.

Detectability of γ-rays from clumps of dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lake, G.

1990-01-01

If the dark matter in our Galaxy is made up of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses of the order of several GeV (for example, photinos or Higgsinos), γ-rays produced by their annihilation would in principle be observable. But the expected flux from a smoothly distributed dark matter halo is much smaller than the observed diffuse background, and although narrow lines might be produced, their intensity would be much too low to see with the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO). A complementary approach is to consider unique spatial signatures. Numerical simulations of galaxy formation show that even in the central bulge of the Galaxy, the mean density of the dark matter could be equal to that of the stars. If this were so, GRO could see the Galactic Centre as a source of annihilating dark matter. Other lumps formed as part of the hierarchical formation of the Galaxy could also produce sources that would be recognized by the shape of their continuum spectrum and a line feature in sufficiently bright sources. Even Geminga, the second strongest source of γ-rays at energies greater than 50 MeV, could be annihilating dark matter. (author)

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.

High Energy Electron Signals from Dark Matter Annihilation in the Sun

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuster, Philip; /SLAC; Toro, Natalia; /Stanford U., ITP; Weiner, Neal; Yavin, Itay; /New York U., CCPP

2012-04-09

In this paper we discuss two mechanisms by which high energy electrons resulting from dark matter annihilations in or near the Sun can arrive at the Earth. Specifically, electrons can escape the sun if DM annihilates into long-lived states, or if dark matter scatters inelastically, which would leave a halo of dark matter outside of the sun. Such a localized source of electrons may affect the spectra observed by experiments with narrower fields of view oriented towards the sun, such as ATIC, differently from those with larger fields of view such as Fermi. We suggest a simple test of these possibilities with existing Fermi data that is more sensitive than limits from final state radiation. If observed, such a signal will constitute an unequivocal signature of dark matter.

Astrophysical dark matter: candidates from particle physics and detection possibilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freese, K.

1989-01-01

In this talk, I will discuss the arguments that 50% to 90% of the matter in galaxies, including our own, is made of an unknown type of dark matter. I will review the reason why cosmologists believe Ω = 1 and illustrate the contrast with the limits on the amount of baryonic matter from element abundances in Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Other arguments for nonbaryonic dark matter will also be discussed. Candidates for the dark matter from particle physics will be presented. I will focus on cold dark matter candidates known as WIMPs, weakly interacting massive (O(GeV)) particles. I will try to illustrate why these particles are interesting for astrophysics and outline ideas for cornering them. Detection possibilities for these particles include indirect detection, which takes advantage of the annihilation products of these particles in the galactic halo, the sun, or the earth. Direct detection via newly proposed cryogenic detectors must be sensitive to <∼ keV energy deposits. Annual modulation of the dark matter signal can be used as a signature for these halo particles. I hope to motivate the interest in these particles and discuss ideas for finding them

Dark energy with a gradient coupling to the dark matter fluid: cosmological dynamics and structure formation

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Jibitesh; Khyllep, Wompherdeiki; Tamanini, Nicola

2018-01-01

We consider scalar field models of dark energy interacting with dark matter through a coupling proportional to the contraction of the four-derivative of the scalar field with the four-velocity of the dark matter fluid. The coupling is realized at the Lagrangian level employing the formalism of Scalar-Fluid theories, which use a consistent Lagrangian approach for relativistic fluid to describe dark matter. This framework produces fully covariant field equations, from which we can derive unequivocal cosmological equations at both background and linear perturbations levels. The background evolution is analyzed in detail applying dynamical systems techniques, which allow us to find the complete asymptotic behavior of the universe given any set of model parameters and initial conditions. Furthermore we study linear cosmological perturbations investigating the growth of cosmic structures within the quasi-static approximation. We find that these interacting dark energy models give rise to interesting phenomenological dynamics, including late-time transitions from dark matter to dark energy domination, matter and accelerated scaling solutions and dynamical crossing of the phantom barrier. Moreover we obtain possible deviations from standard ΛCDM behavior at the linear perturbations level, which have an impact on the dynamics of structure formation and might provide characteristic observational signatures.

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.

Mono-everything: Combined limits on dark matter production at colliders from multiple final states

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhou, N.; Berge, D.; Whiteson, D.

2013-01-01

Searches for dark matter production at particle colliders are complementary to direct-detection and indirect-detection experiments and especially powerful for small masses, mχ<100  GeV. An important collider dark matter signature is due to the production of a pair of these invisible particles with

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.

Dark matter indirect searches: Multi-wavelength and anisotropies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ando, S.

2016-01-01

If dark matter is made of particles governed by weak-scale physics, they may annihilate or decay to leave observable signatures in high-energy gamma-ray sky. In addition, any charged particles produced by the same process will also give low-frequency photons through successive electromagnetic

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

Freeze-In dark matter with displaced signatures at colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Co, Raymond T.; D’Eramo, Francesco; Hall, Lawrence J.; Pappadopulo, Duccio

2015-01-01

Dark matter, X, may be generated by new physics at the TeV scale during an early matter-dominated (MD) era that ends at temperature T R ≪ TeV. Compared to the conventional radiation-dominated (RD) results, yields from both Freeze-Out and Freeze-In processes are greatly suppressed by dilution from entropy production, making Freeze-Out less plausible while allowing successful Freeze-In with a much larger coupling strength. Freeze-In is typically dominated by the decay of a particle B of the thermal bath, B→X. For a large fraction of the relevant cosmological parameter space, the decay rate required to produce the observed dark matter abundance leads to displaced signals at LHC and future colliders, for any m X in the range keV dark matter of mass GeV to TeV, which is typically overproduced in a conventional RD cosmology. If B is the higgsino, h-tilde, Higgs, W and Z particles appear at the displaced decays, h-tilde→ha-tilde, Za-tilde and h-tilde ± →W ± a-tilde. The scale of axion physics, f, is predicted to be in the range (3×10 8 −10 12 ) GeV and, over much of this range, can be extracted from the decay length

Search for sharp and smooth spectral signatures of μνSSM gravitino dark matter with Fermi-LAT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gómez-Vargas, Germán A. [Instituto de Astrofísica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago (Chile); López-Fogliani, Daniel E.; Perez, Andres D. [Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires, UBA and CONICET, Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Muñoz, Carlos [Departamento de Física Teórica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); De Austri, Roberto Ruiz, E-mail: ggomezv@uc.cl, E-mail: daniel.lopez@df.uba.ar, E-mail: c.munoz@uam.es, E-mail: andres.perez@df.uba.ar, E-mail: rruiz@ific.uv.es [Instituto de Física Corpuscular CSIC-UV, c/Catedrático José Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna (Valencia) (Spain)

2017-03-01

The μνSSM solves the μ problem of supersymmetric models and reproduces neutrino data, simply using couplings with right-handed neutrinos ν's. Given that these couplings break explicitly R parity, the gravitino is a natural candidate for decaying dark matter in the μνSSM. In this work we carry out a complete analysis of the detection of μνSSM gravitino dark matter through γ-ray observations. In addition to the two-body decay producing a sharp line, we include in the analysis the three-body decays producing a smooth spectral signature. We perform first a deep exploration of the low-energy parameter space of the μνSSM taking into account that neutrino data must be reproduced. Then, we compare the γ-ray fluxes predicted by the model with Fermi -LAT observations. In particular, with the 95% CL upper limits on the total diffuse extragalactic γ-ray background using 50 months of data, together with the upper limits on line emission from an updated analysis using 69.9 months of data. For standard values of bino and wino masses, gravitinos with masses larger than about 4 GeV, or lifetimes smaller than about 10{sup 28} s, produce too large fluxes and are excluded as dark matter candidates. However, when limiting scenarios with large and close values of the gaugino masses are considered, the constraints turn out to be less stringent, excluding masses larger than 17 GeV and lifetimes smaller than 4 × 10{sup 25} s.

Readout technologies for directional WIMP Dark Matter detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battat, J.B.R.; Irastorza, I.G.; Aleksandrov, A.; Asada, T.; Baracchini, E.; Billard, J.; Bosson, G.; Bourrion, O.; Bouvier, J.; Buonaura, A.; Burdge, K.; Cebrián, S.

2016-01-01

The measurement of the direction of WIMP-induced nuclear recoils is a compelling but technologically challenging strategy to provide an unambiguous signature of the detection of Galactic dark matter. Most directional detectors aim to reconstruct the dark-matter-induced nuclear recoil tracks, either in gas or solid targets. The main challenge with directional detection is the need for high spatial resolution over large volumes, which puts strong requirements on the readout technologies. In this paper we review the various detector readout technologies used by directional detectors. In particular, we summarize the challenges, advantages and drawbacks of each approach, and discuss future prospects for these technologies.

Search for transient ultralight dark matter signatures with networks of precision measurement devices using a Bayesian statistics method

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, B. M.; Blewitt, G.; Dailey, C.; Derevianko, A.

2018-04-01

We analyze the prospects of employing a distributed global network of precision measurement devices as a dark matter and exotic physics observatory. In particular, we consider the atomic clocks of the global positioning system (GPS), consisting of a constellation of 32 medium-Earth orbit satellites equipped with either Cs or Rb microwave clocks and a number of Earth-based receiver stations, some of which employ highly-stable H-maser atomic clocks. High-accuracy timing data is available for almost two decades. By analyzing the satellite and terrestrial atomic clock data, it is possible to search for transient signatures of exotic physics, such as "clumpy" dark matter and dark energy, effectively transforming the GPS constellation into a 50 000 km aperture sensor array. Here we characterize the noise of the GPS satellite atomic clocks, describe the search method based on Bayesian statistics, and test the method using simulated clock data. We present the projected discovery reach using our method, and demonstrate that it can surpass the existing constrains by several order of magnitude for certain models. Our method is not limited in scope to GPS or atomic clock networks, and can also be applied to other networks of precision measurement devices.

Recommendations of the LHC Dark Matter Working Group: Comparing LHC searches for heavy mediators of dark matter production in visible and invisible decay channels arXiv

CERN Document Server

Albert, Andreas; Boveia, Antonio; Buchmueller, Oliver; Busoni, Giorgio; De Roeck,Albert; Doglioni, Caterina; DuPree, Tristan; Fairbairn, Malcolm; Genest, Marie-Hélène; Gori, Stefania; Gustavino, Giuliano; Hahn, Kristian; Haisch, Ulrich; Harris, Philip C.; Hayden, Dan; Ippolito, Valerio; John, Isabelle; Kahlhoefer, Felix; Kulkarni, Suchita; Landsberg, Greg; Lowette, Steven; Mawatari, Kentarou; Riotto, Antonio; Shepherd, William; Tait, Tim M.P.; Tolley, Emma; Tunney, Patrick; Zaldivar, Bryan; Zinser, Markus

Weakly-coupled TeV-scale particles may mediate the interactions between normal matter and dark matter. If so, the LHC would produce dark matter through these mediators, leading to the familiar "mono-X" search signatures, but the mediators would also produce signals without missing momentum via the same vertices involved in their production. This document from the LHC Dark Matter Working Group suggests how to compare searches for these two types of signals in case of vector and axial-vector mediators, based on a workshop that took place on September 19/20, 2016 and subsequent discussions. These suggestions include how to extend the spin-1 mediated simplified models already in widespread use to include lepton couplings. This document also provides analytic calculations of the relic density in the simplified models and reports an issue that arose when ATLAS and CMS first began to use preliminary numerical calculations of the dark matter relic density in these models.

Search for dark matter in vector boson + MET final states with the CMS detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kutzner, Viktor; Acaroglu, Harun; Bispinck, Fabian; Brodski, Michael; Hebbeker, Thomas; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Materok, Marcel; Meyer, Arnd; Noll, Dennis; Padeken, Klaas [III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen (Germany)

2016-07-01

The origin of dark matter is one of the most important and challenging questions in high energy physics today. A search for dark matter is performed in the data collected by the CMS experiment in run I and run II. In this search, the dark matter particle recoils against a leptonically decaying W or Z boson, leading to the distinct signatures of either one or two isolated leptons and missing transverse energy. Both channels allow to study various specific features of dark matter production. Different aspects of the background determination and its systematic uncertainties are presented. Dark matter production can be described either by an effective field approach or by fully describing the mediator with a simplified model. Both options are discussed.

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

Planckian Interacting Massive Particles as Dark Matter

CERN Document Server

Garny, Mathias; Sloth, Martin S.

2016-03-10

The Standard Model could be self-consistent up to the Planck scale according to the present measurements of the Higgs mass and top quark Yukawa coupling. It is therefore possible that new physics is only coupled to the Standard Model through Planck suppressed higher dimensional operators. In this case the WIMP miracle is a mirage, and instead minimality as dictated by Occam's razor would indicate that dark matter is related to the Planck scale, where quantum gravity is anyway expected to manifest itself. Assuming within this framework that dark matter is a Planckian Interacting Massive Particle, we show that the most natural mass larger than $0.01\\,\\textrm{M}_p$ is already ruled out by the absence of tensor modes in the CMB. This also indicates that we expect tensor modes in the CMB to be observed soon for this type of minimal dark matter model. Finally, we touch upon the KK graviton mode as a possible realization of this scenario within UV complete models, as well as further potential signatures and peculiar...

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

Search for magnetic inelastic dark matter with XENON100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aprile, E.; Anthony, M. [Physics Department, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Aalbers, J.; Breur, P.A.; Brown, A. [Nikhef and the University of Amsterdam, Science Park, 1098XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); Agostini, F.; Bruno, G. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and Gran Sasso Science Institute, 67100 L' Aquila (Italy); Alfonsi, M. [Institut für Physik and Exzellenzcluster PRISMA, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Amaro, F.D. [LIBPhys, Department of Physics, University of Coimbra, 3004-516 Coimbra (Portugal); Arneodo, F.; Benabderrahmane, M.L. [New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates); Barrow, P.; Baudis, L. [Physik-Institut, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich (Switzerland); Bauermeister, B.; Calvén, J. [Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Stockholm SE-10691 (Sweden); Berger, T.; Brown, E. [Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States); Bruenner, S. [Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, 69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Budnik, R. [Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001 (Israel); Bütikofer, L., E-mail: lukas.buetikofer@lhep.unibe.ch, E-mail: xenon@lngs.infn.it [Physikalisches Institut, Universität Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg (Germany); and others

2017-10-01

We present the first search for dark matter-induced delayed coincidence signals in a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber, using the 224.6 live days of the XENON100 science run II. This very distinct signature is predicted in the framework of magnetic inelastic dark matter which has been proposed to reconcile the modulation signal reported by the DAMA/LIBRA collaboration with the null results from other direct detection experiments. No candidate event has been found in the region of interest and upper limits on the WIMP's magnetic dipole moment are derived. The scenarios proposed to explain the DAMA/LIBRA modulation signal by magnetic inelastic dark matter interactions of WIMPs with masses of 58.0 GeV/c{sup 2} and 122.7 GeV/c{sup 2} are excluded at 3.3 σ and 9.3 σ, respectively.

Horizontal branch stars as a probe of non baryonic dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salati, P.; Bouquet, A.; Raffelt, G.; Silk, J.; Grenoble-1 Univ., 74 - Annecy; California Univ., Berkeley, CA

1989-01-01

The solar neutrino problem can be interpreted as a signature for the existence and properties of certain dark matter candidate particles (''cosmions''). We investigate the breaking of convection by neutrino-like cosmions in horizontal branch (HB) stars. These particles may affect globular clusters in the inner galaxy or in dwarf spheroidals where the dark matter density is larger than in the solar neighborhood, leading to an observable reduction of the HB lifetime. 10 refs., 1 fig

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 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

Twin Higgs Asymmetric Dark Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

García García, Isabel; Lasenby, Robert; March-Russell, John

2015-09-18

We study asymmetric dark matter (ADM) in the context of the minimal (fraternal) twin Higgs solution to the little hierarchy problem, with a twin sector with gauged SU(3)^{'}×SU(2)^{'}, a twin Higgs doublet, and only third-generation twin fermions. Naturalness requires the QCD^{'} scale Λ_{QCD}^{'}≃0.5-20  GeV, and that t^{'} is heavy. We focus on the light b^{'} quark regime, m_{b^{'}}≲Λ_{QCD}^{'}, where QCD^{'} is characterized by a single scale Λ_{QCD}^{'} with no light pions. A twin baryon number asymmetry leads to a successful dark matter (DM) candidate: the spin-3/2 twin baryon, Δ^{'}∼b^{'}b^{'}b^{'}, with a dynamically determined mass (∼5Λ_{QCD}^{'}) in the preferred range for the DM-to-baryon ratio Ω_{DM}/Ω_{baryon}≃5. Gauging the U(1)^{'} group leads to twin atoms (Δ^{'}-τ^{'}[over ¯] bound states) that are successful ADM candidates in significant regions of parameter space, sometimes with observable changes to DM halo properties. Direct detection signatures satisfy current bounds, at times modified by dark form factors.

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.

“Dark matter searches” with a focus on new techniques (Mono-X)

CERN Document Server

Pearce, JD; The ATLAS collaboration

2013-01-01

The quest to understand the nature of Dark Matter has never been so exciting. Vast improvements in direct detection sensitivity combined with tantalizing hints from astrophysical data have lead some to dub the 2010's as the "Dark Matter Decade". Today collider based experiments, such as ATLAS and CMS, offer a new vantage point in the search for non-gravitational dark matter interactions. If Dark Matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it can be produced at the LHC and identified via the initial state radiation (ISR) of the incoming partons. The signature left in the detector is that of the ISR particle (jet, photon, Z or W) recoiling off of the invisible Dark Matter particles, which is manifest as a large momentum imbalance. Such collider based searches can be interpreted in terms of a higher dimensional effective field theory to place limits in the same parameter space as the direct detection and space-based experiments.

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...

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...

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

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

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

MATTER IN THE BEAM: WEAK LENSING, SUBSTRUCTURES, AND THE TEMPERATURE OF DARK MATTER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahdi, Hareth S.; Elahi, Pascal J.; Lewis, Geraint F. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Power, Chris, E-mail: hareth@physics.usyd.edu.au [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009 (Australia)

2016-08-01

Warm dark matter (WDM) models offer an attractive alternative to the current cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model. We present a novel method to differentiate between WDM and CDM cosmologies, namely, using weak lensing; this provides a unique probe as it is sensitive to all of the “matter in the beam,” not just dark matter haloes and the galaxies that reside in them, but also the diffuse material between haloes. We compare the weak lensing maps of CDM clusters to those in a WDM model corresponding to a thermally produced 0.5 keV dark matter particle. Our analysis clearly shows that the weak lensing magnification, convergence, and shear distributions can be used to distinguish between CDM and WDM models. WDM models increase the probability of weak magnifications, with the differences being significant to ≳5 σ , while leaving no significant imprint on the shear distribution. WDM clusters analyzed in this work are more homogeneous than CDM ones, and the fractional decrease in the amount of material in haloes is proportional to the average increase in the magnification. This difference arises from matter that would be bound in compact haloes in CDM being smoothly distributed over much larger volumes at lower densities in WDM. Moreover, the signature does not solely lie in the probability distribution function but in the full spatial distribution of the convergence field.

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.

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.

SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER IN EVENTS WITH A SINGLE BOSON AND MISSING TRANSVERSE MOMENTUM WITH ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Brandt, Oleg; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as their signature. The results of searches for Dark Matter with a single boson and large missing transverse momentum in 13 TeV will be presented.

Bounds on dark matter interpretation of Fermi-LAT GeV excess

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoungchul Kong

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Annihilation of light dark matter of mDM≈(10–40 GeV into the Standard Model fermions has been suggested as a possible origin of the gamma-ray excess at GeV energies in the Fermi-LAT data. In this paper, we examine possible model-independent signatures of such dark matter models in other experiments such as AMS-02, colliders, and cosmic microwave background (CMB measurements. We point out that first generation of fermion final states is disfavored by the existing experimental data. Currently AMS-02 positron measurements provide stringent bounds on cross sections of dark matter annihilation into leptonic final states, and e+e− final state is in severe tension with this constraint, if not ruled out. The e+e− channel will be complementarily verified in an early stage of ILC and future CMB measurements. Light quark final states (qq¯ are relatively strongly constrained by the LHC and dark matter direct detection experiments even though these bounds are model-dependent. Dark matter signals from annihilations into qq¯ channels would be constrained by AMS-02 antiproton data which will be released in very near future. In optimistic case, diffuse radio emission from nearby galaxy (clusters and the galactic center might provide another hint or limit on dark matter annihilation.

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

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: 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

Superweakly interacting massive particle dark matter signals from the early Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Jonathan L.; Rajaraman, Arvind; Takayama, Fumihiro

2003-01-01

Cold dark matter may be made of superweakly interacting massive particles, super-WIMP's, that naturally inherit the desired relic density from late decays of metastable WIMP's. Well-motivated examples are weak-scale gravitinos in supergravity and Kaluza-Klein gravitons from extra dimensions. These particles are impossible to detect in all dark matter experiments. We find, however, that super-WIMP dark matter may be discovered through cosmological signatures from the early Universe. In particular, super-WIMP dark matter has observable consequences for big bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and may explain the observed underabundance of 7 Li without upsetting the concordance between deuterium and CMB baryometers. We discuss the implications for future probes of CMB blackbody distortions and collider searches for new particles. In the course of this study, we also present a model-independent analysis of entropy production from late-decaying particles in light of Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe data

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 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

Dynamical matter-parity breaking and gravitino dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, Jonas; Weniger, Christoph; Yanagida, Tsutomu T.; Tokyo Univ.

2010-10-01

Scenarios where gravitinos with GeV masses make up dark matter are known to be in tension with high reheating temperatures, as required by e.g. thermal leptogenesis. This tension comes from the longevity of the NLSPs, which can destroy the successful predictions of the standard primordial nucleosynthesis. However, a small violation of matter parity can open new decay channels for the NLSP, avoiding the BBN problems, while being compatible with experimental cosmic-ray constraints. In this paper, we propose a model where matter parity, which we assume to be embedded in the U(1) B-L gauge symmetry, is broken dynamically in a hidden sector at low scales. This can naturally explain the smallness of the matter parity breaking in the visible sector. We discuss the dynamics of the corresponding pseudo Nambu-Goldstone modes of B-L breaking in the hidden sector, and we comment on typical cosmic-ray and collider signatures in our model. (orig.)

Dynamical matter-parity breaking and gravitino dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidt, Jonas; Weniger, Christoph [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Tokyo Univ. (JP). Inst. for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU); Yanagida, Tsutomu T. [Tokyo Univ. (JP). Inst. for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU); Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Physics

2010-10-15

Scenarios where gravitinos with GeV masses make up dark matter are known to be in tension with high reheating temperatures, as required by e.g. thermal leptogenesis. This tension comes from the longevity of the NLSPs, which can destroy the successful predictions of the standard primordial nucleosynthesis. However, a small violation of matter parity can open new decay channels for the NLSP, avoiding the BBN problems, while being compatible with experimental cosmic-ray constraints. In this paper, we propose a model where matter parity, which we assume to be embedded in the U(1){sub B-L} gauge symmetry, is broken dynamically in a hidden sector at low scales. This can naturally explain the smallness of the matter parity breaking in the visible sector. We discuss the dynamics of the corresponding pseudo Nambu-Goldstone modes of B-L breaking in the hidden sector, and we comment on typical cosmic-ray and collider signatures in our model. (orig.)

Simultaneous generation of WIMP miracle-like densities of baryons and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, John

2011-01-01

The observed density of dark matter is of the magnitude expected for a thermal relic weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP). In addition, the observed baryon density is within an order of magnitude of the dark matter density. This suggests that the baryon density is physically related to a typical thermal relic WIMP dark matter density. We present a model which simultaneously generates thermal relic WIMP-like densities for both baryons and dark matter by modifying a large initial baryon asymmetry. Dark matter is due to O(100) GeV gauge singlet scalars produced in the annihilation of the O(TeV) colored scalars which are responsible for the final thermal WIMP-like baryon asymmetry. The requirement of no baryon washout implies that there are two gauge singlet scalars. The low-temperature transfer of the asymmetry to conventional baryons can be understood if the long-lived O(TeV) colored scalars have large hypercharge, |Y|>4/3. Production of such scalars at the LHC would be a clear signature of the model.

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 matter line emission constraints from NuSTAR observations of the Bullet Cluster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riemer-Sørensen, S.; Wik, D.; Madejski, G.

2015-01-01

Some dark matter candidates, e.g., sterile neutrinos, provide observable signatures in the form of mono-energetic line emission. We present the first search for dark matter line emission in the range in a pointed observation of the Bullet Cluster with NuSTAR. We do not detect any significant line...... emission and instead we derive upper limits (95% CL) on the flux, and interpret these constraints in the context of sterile neutrinos and more generic dark matter candidates. NuSTAR does not have the sensitivity to constrain the recently claimed line detection at , but improves on the constraints...... for energies of 10–25 keV....

Sterile neutrino portal to Dark Matter I: the U(1)B−L case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escudero, Miguel; Rius, Nuria; Sanz, Verónica

2017-01-01

In this paper we explore the possibility that the sterile neutrino and Dark Matter sectors in the Universe have a common origin. We study the consequences of this assumption in the simple case of coupling the dark sector to the Standard Model via a global U(1) B−L , broken down spontaneously by a dark scalar. This dark scalar provides masses to the dark fermions and communicates with the Higgs via a Higgs portal coupling. We find an interesting interplay between Dark Matter annihilation to dark scalars — the CP-even that mixes with the Higgs and the CP-odd which becomes a Goldstone boson, the Majoron — and heavy neutrinos, as well as collider probes via the coupling to the Higgs. Moreover, Dark Matter annihilation into sterile neutrinos and its subsequent decay to gauge bosons and quarks, charged leptons or neutrinos lead to indirect detection signatures which are close to current bounds on the gamma ray flux from the galactic center and dwarf galaxies.

Mapping Dark Matter in Simulated Galaxy Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Bowyer, Rachel

2018-01-01

Galaxy clusters are the most massive bound objects in the Universe with most of their mass being dark matter. Cosmological simulations of structure formation show that clusters are embedded in a cosmic web of dark matter filaments and large scale structure. It is thought that these filaments are found preferentially close to the long axes of clusters. We extract galaxy clusters from the simulations "cosmo-OWLS" in order to study their properties directly and also to infer their properties from weak gravitational lensing signatures. We investigate various stacking procedures to enhance the signal of the filaments and large scale structure surrounding the clusters to better understand how the filaments of the cosmic web connect with galaxy clusters. This project was supported in part by the NSF REU grant AST-1358980 and by the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association.

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...

Searching for dark matter with neutron star mergers and quiet kilonovae

Science.gov (United States)

Bramante, Joseph; Linden, Tim; Tsai, Yu-Dai

2018-03-01

We identify new astrophysical signatures of dark matter that implodes neutron stars (NSs), which could decisively test whether NS-imploding dark matter is responsible for missing pulsars in the Milky Way galactic center, the source of some r -process elements, and the origin of fast-radio bursts. First, NS-imploding dark matter forms ˜10-10 solar mass or smaller black holes inside neutron stars, which proceed to convert neutron stars into ˜1.5 solar mass black holes (BHs). This decreases the number of neutron star mergers seen by LIGO/Virgo (LV) and associated merger kilonovae seen by telescopes like DES, BlackGEM, and ZTF, instead producing a population of "black mergers" containing ˜1.5 solar mass black holes. Second, dark matter-induced neutron star implosions may create a new kind of kilonovae that lacks a detectable, accompanying gravitational signal, which we call "quiet kilonovae." Using DES data and the Milky Way's r-process abundance, we constrain quiet kilonovae. Third, the spatial distribution of neutron star merger kilonovae and quiet kilonovae in galaxies can be used to detect dark matter. NS-imploding dark matter destroys most neutron stars at the centers of disc galaxies, so that neutron star merger kilonovae would appear mostly in a donut at large radii. We find that as few as ten neutron star merger kilonova events, located to ˜1 kpc precision could validate or exclude dark matter-induced neutron star implosions at 2 σ confidence, exploring dark matter-nucleon cross-sections 4-10 orders of magnitude below current direct detection experimental limits. Similarly, NS-imploding dark matter as the source of fast radio bursts can be tested at 2 σ confidence once 20 bursts are located in host galaxies by radio arrays like CHIME and HIRAX.

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)

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.

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....

Anisotropy of the cosmic gamma-ray background from dark matter annihilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ando, Shin'ichiro; Komatsu, Eiichiro

2006-01-01

density. Therefore, the angular power spectrum of the CGB provides a 'smoking-gun' signature of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation. While the mean CGB intensity expected from dark matter halos with smooth density profiles is smaller than observed, the dark matter substructure within halos may provide the origin of additional boost factors for the annihilation signal. Our formalism can be used for any other radiation processes that involve collision of particles

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

Top-philic dark matter within and beyond the WIMP paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Garny, Mathias; Heisig, Jan; Hufnagel, Marco; Lülf, Benedikt

2018-04-01

We present a comprehensive analysis of top-philic Majorana dark matter that interacts via a colored t -channel mediator. Despite the simplicity of the model—introducing three parameters only—it provides an extremely rich phenomenology allowing us to accommodate the relic density for a large range of coupling strengths spanning over 6 orders of magnitude. This model features all "exceptional" mechanisms for dark matter freeze-out, including the recently discovered conversion-driven freeze-out mode, with interesting signatures of long-lived colored particles at colliders. We constrain the cosmologically allowed parameter space with current experimental limits from direct, indirect and collider searches, with special emphasis on light dark matter below the top mass. In particular, we explore the interplay between limits from Xenon1T, Fermi-LAT and AMS-02 as well as limits from stop, monojet and Higgs invisible decay searches at the LHC. We find that several blind spots for light dark matter evade current constraints. The region in parameter space where the relic density is set by the mechanism of conversion-driven freeze-out can be conclusively tested by R -hadron searches at the LHC with 300 fb-1 .

Implications of unitarity and gauge invariance for simplified dark matter models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahlhoefer, Felix; Schmidt-Hoberg, Kai; Schwetz, Thomas; Vogl, Stefan

2016-01-01

We show that simplified models used to describe the interactions of dark matter with Standard Model particles do not in general respect gauge invariance and that perturbative unitarity may be violated in large regions of the parameter space. The modifications necessary to cure these inconsistencies may imply a much richer phenomenology and lead to stringent constraints on the model. We illustrate these observations by considering the simplified model of a fermionic dark matter particle and a vector mediator. Imposing gauge invariance then leads to strong constraints from dilepton resonance searches and electroweak precision tests. Furthermore, the new states required to restore perturbative unitarity can mix with Standard Model states and mediate interactions between the dark and the visible sector, leading to new experimental signatures such as invisible Higgs decays. The resulting constraints are typically stronger than the ‘classic’ constraints on DM simplified models such as monojet searches and make it difficult to avoid thermal overproduction of dark matter.

Implications of unitarity and gauge invariance for simplified dark matter models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahlhoefer, Felix; Schmidt-Hoberg, Kai; Schwetz, Thomas; Vogl, Stefan; Stockholm Univ.

2015-10-01

We show that simplified models used to describe the interactions of dark matter with Standard Model particles do not in general respect gauge invariance and that perturbative unitarity may be violated in large regions of the parameter space. The modifications necessary to cure these inconsistencies may imply a much richer phenomenology and lead to stringent constraints on the model. We illustrate these observations by considering the simplified model of a fermionic dark matter particle and a vector mediator. Imposing gauge invariance then leads to strong constraints from dilepton resonance searches and electroweak precision tests. Furthermore, the new states required to restore perturbative unitarity can mix with Standard Model states and mediate interactions between the dark and the visible sector, leading to new experimental signatures such as invisible Higgs decays. The resulting constraints are typically stronger than the 'classic' constraints on DM simplified models such as monojet searches and make it difficult to avoid thermal overproduction of dark matter.

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

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.

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.

Dark Matter searches with the ATLAS Detector

CERN Document Server

Hooberman, Benjamin Henry; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic Dark Matter (DM) component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If DM interacts non-gravitationally with the Standard Model, it could be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving missing transverse momentum (MET) as a signature. Recent results from the ATLAS detector will be presented, based on events with large MET accompanied by a variety of other objects.

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.

Signatures of Earth-scattering in the direct detection of Dark Matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kavanagh, Bradley J.; Catena, Riccardo; Kouvaris, Chris

2017-01-01

Direct detection experiments search for the interactions of Dark Matter (DM) particles with nuclei in terrestrial detectors. But if these interactions are sufficiently strong, DM particles may scatter in the Earth, affecting their distribution in the lab. We present a new analytic calculation...

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.

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.

Search for Dark Matter in the mono-X final states (X = jets, Z, W, H) with ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Lo Sterzo, Francesco; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

Dark Matter searches in the ATLAS Experiment are perfomed analysing a wide number of experimental signatures. Among these, mono-X searches are a powerful tool since many models can be probed depending on the nature (jet, photon, vector boson, Higgs boson) of the Standard Model object which is used to identify and select the events. In this report a short introduction of the theoretical framweork is given, followed by three examples of different signatures that probe different theoretical models that describe an interaction between the Standard Model and Dark Matter.

Sterile neutrino portal to Dark Matter I: the U(1){sub B−L} case

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Escudero, Miguel; Rius, Nuria [Departamento de Física Teórica and IFIC, Universidad de Valencia-CSIC,C/ Catedrático José Beltrán, 2, E-46980 Paterna (Spain); Sanz, Verónica [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex,Falmer Campus, Brighton BN1 9QH (United Kingdom)

2017-02-08

In this paper we explore the possibility that the sterile neutrino and Dark Matter sectors in the Universe have a common origin. We study the consequences of this assumption in the simple case of coupling the dark sector to the Standard Model via a global U(1){sub B−L}, broken down spontaneously by a dark scalar. This dark scalar provides masses to the dark fermions and communicates with the Higgs via a Higgs portal coupling. We find an interesting interplay between Dark Matter annihilation to dark scalars — the CP-even that mixes with the Higgs and the CP-odd which becomes a Goldstone boson, the Majoron — and heavy neutrinos, as well as collider probes via the coupling to the Higgs. Moreover, Dark Matter annihilation into sterile neutrinos and its subsequent decay to gauge bosons and quarks, charged leptons or neutrinos lead to indirect detection signatures which are close to current bounds on the gamma ray flux from the galactic center and dwarf galaxies.

A search for weakly interacting dark matter with the LUX experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

INIS-FR--11-0141/Pt.1-25

2010-01-01

Cosmological and astrophysical measurements indicate that our galaxy is filled with a new type of matter previously unknown to physics. This 'dark matter' apparently has no electromagnetic or strong interactions, but an interaction of the strength of the weak nuclear force is strongly suggested by the data. The LUX collaboration is attempting to detect the faint signature of weakly interacting dark matter as it passes through the earth. The experiment searches for recoiling atomic nuclei in a target consisting of 350 kg of liquefied xenon. LUX is the largest experiment of its type ever attempted, and it is expected to improve upon current experimental sensitivities by two orders of magnitude. The experiment is being assembled at the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (SUSEL) in Lead, South Dakota, USA, and first data is expected in 2011. We report on the status of LUX and the prospects for future large-scale dark matter searches with liquid xenon. (author)

Hidden photons in beam dump experiments and in connection with dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andreas, Sarah

2012-12-15

Hidden sectors with light extra U(1) gauge bosons, so-called hidden photons, recently received much interest as natural feature of beyond standard model scenarios like string theory and SUSY and because of their possible connection to dark matter. This paper presents limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dump experiments including two new limits from experiments at KEK and Orsay. Additionally, various hidden sector models containing both a hidden photon and a dark matter candidate are discussed with respect to their viability and potential signatures in direct detection.

Hidden photons in beam dump experiments and in connection with dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreas, Sarah

2012-12-01

Hidden sectors with light extra U(1) gauge bosons, so-called hidden photons, recently received much interest as natural feature of beyond standard model scenarios like string theory and SUSY and because of their possible connection to dark matter. This paper presents limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dump experiments including two new limits from experiments at KEK and Orsay. Additionally, various hidden sector models containing both a hidden photon and a dark matter candidate are discussed with respect to their viability and potential signatures in direct detection.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Mapping dark matter in the gamma-ray sky with galaxy catalogs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ando, S.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Komatsu, E.

2014-01-01

Cross correlating gamma-ray maps with locations of galaxies in the low-redshift Universe vastly increases sensitivity to signatures of annihilation of dark matter particles. Low-redshift galaxies are ideal targets, as the largest contribution to anisotropy in the gamma-ray sky from annihilation

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.

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

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.

Visible and dark matter from a first-order phase transition in a baryon-symmetric universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petraki, Kalliopi; Volkas, Raymond R.; Trodden, Mark

2012-01-01

The similar cosmological abundances observed for visible and dark matter suggest a common origin for both. By viewing the dark matter density as a dark-sector asymmetry, mirroring the situation in the visible sector, we show that the visible and dark matter asymmetries may have arisen simultaneously through a first-order phase transition in the early universe. The dark asymmetry can then be equal and opposite to the usual visible matter asymmetry, leading to a universe that is symmetric with respect to a generalised baryon number. We present both a general structure, and a precisely defined example of a viable model of this type. In that example, the dark matter is ''atomic'' as well as asymmetric, and various cosmological and astrophysical constraints are derived. Testable consequences for colliders include a Z' boson that couples through the B−L charge to the visible sector, but also decays invisibly to dark sector particles. The additional scalar particles in the theory can mix with the standard Higgs boson and provide other striking signatures

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.)

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.

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.

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

Mirror matter as self-interacting dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohapatra, R.N.; Nussinov, S.; Teplitz, V.L.

2002-01-01

It has been argued that the observed core density profile of galaxies is inconsistent with having a dark matter particle that is collisionless and that alternative dark matter candidates which are self-interacting may explain observations better. One new class of self-interacting dark matter that has been proposed in the context of mirror universe models of particle physics is the mirror hydrogen atom, whose stability is guaranteed by the conservation of mirror baryon number. We show that the effective transport cross section for mirror hydrogen atoms has the right order of magnitude for solving the 'cuspy' halo problem. Furthermore, the suppression of dissipation effects for mirror atoms due to a higher mirror mass scale prevents the mirror halo matter from collapsing into a disk, strengthening the argument for mirror matter as galactic dark matter

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.

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

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)

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

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.

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....

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.

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.

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

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

An indirect search for dark matter using antideuterons: the GAPS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hailey, C J

2009-01-01

The general antiparticle spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is an indirect dark matter search. GAPS detects the antideuterons produced in WIMP-WIMP annihilation, a generic feature in many theories beyond the Standard Model. Antideuterons are a nearly background free signature of exotic physics. GAPS has substantial discovery potential for dark matter within the minimal supersymmetric model and its extensions, and models with universal extra dimensions. GAPS complements underground experiments, reaching parts of supersymmetric parameter space unavailable to them, and working to better constrain the properties of dark matter where they overlap in parameter space. GAPS is designed to be launched from a balloon. GAPS is funded for a prototype flight in 2011, to be followed by a long duration balloon flight to execute its science program. We discuss recent theoretical investigations on antideuteron searches, and their implications for experiment design. We describe the GAPS experiment placing particular emphasis on recent investigations that represent technical or conceptual extensions of the original GAPS concept.

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.

Robust Constraints and Novel Gamma-Ray Signatures of Dark Matter That Interacts Strongly With Nucleons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hooper, Dan; McDermott, Samuel D.

2018-02-08

Due to shielding, direct detection experiments are in some cases insensitive to dark matter candidates with very large scattering cross sections with nucleons. In this paper, we revisit this class of models, and derive a simple analytic criterion for conservative but robust direct detection limits. While large spin-independent cross sections seem to be ruled out, we identify potentially viable parameter space for dark matter with a spin-dependent cross section with nucleons in the range of $10^{-27} {\\rm cm}^2 < \\sigma_{{\\rm DM}-p} < 10^{-24} \\, {\\rm cm}^{2}$. With these parameters, cosmic-ray scattering with dark matter in the extended halo of the Milky Way could generate a novel and distinctive gamma-ray signal at high galactic latitudes. Such a signal could be observable by Fermi or future space-based gamma-ray telescopes.

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.

A unified explanation for dark matter and electroweak baryogenesis with direct detection and gravitational wave signatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chala, Mikael; Nardini, Germano; Sobolev, Ivan; Moscow State Univ.

2016-05-01

A minimal extension of the Standard Model that provides both a dark matter candidate and a strong first-order electroweak phase transition (EWPT) consists of two additional Lorentz and gauge singlets. In this paper we work out a composite Higgs version of this scenario, based on the coset SO(7)/SO(6). We show that by embedding the elementary fermions in appropriate representations of SO(7), all dominant interactions are described by only three free effective parameters. Within the model dependencies of the embedding, the theory predicts one of the singlets to be stable and responsible for the observed dark matter abundance. At the same time, the second singlet introduces new CP-violation phases and triggers a strong first-order EWPT, making electroweak baryogenesis feasible. It turns out that this scenario does not conflict with current observations and it is promising for solving the dark matter and baryon asymmetry puzzles. The tight predictions of the model will be accessible at the forthcoming dark matter direct detection and gravitational wave experiments.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

Collider constraints and prospects of a scalar singlet extension to Higgs portal dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupuis, Grace

2016-01-01

This work considers an extension of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs sector by a real, scalar singlet field, including applicability to a dark matter (DM) model with the addition of a Yukawa coupling to a fermionic dark matter candidate. The collider signatures and constraints on the mixed two-Higgs scenario are determined, including limits from Higgs production signals and exclusion searches, as well as constraints arising from the Higgs total and invisible widths. As there is overwhelming Higgs data which is consistent with a SM scenario, the case in which an additional scalar has evaded detection is further explored in the context of Higgs precision measurement. The discovery reach and prospective signatures of the model at a proposed linear collider are investigated, with particular focus on the Higgs triple coupling, and di-Higgs production processes.

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–...

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)

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)

Probing dark matter decay and annihilation with Fermi LAT observations of nearby galaxy clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Xiaoyuan [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). National Astronomical Observatories; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Vertongen, Gilles [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, 75 - Paris (France); Weniger, Christoph [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany)

2011-09-15

Galaxy clusters are promising targets for indirect dark matter searches. Gamma-ray signatures from the decay or annihilation of dark matter particles inside these clusters could be observable with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Based on three years of Fermi LAT gamma-ray data, we analyze the flux coming from eight nearby clusters individually as well as in a combined likelihood analysis. Concentrating mostly on signals from dark matter decay, we take into account uncertainties of the cluster masses as determined by X-ray observations and model the cluster emission with extended sources. We do not find significant emission from any of the considered clusters and present limits on the dark matter lifetime and annihilation cross-section. We compare our lifetime limits derived from cluster observations with the limits that can be obtained from the extragalactic gamma-ray background, and find that in case of hadronic decay the cluster limits become competitive at dark matter masses below a few hundred GeV. Finally, we show that in presence of dark matter substructures down to 10{sup -6} solar masses the limits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section could improve by a factor of a few hundred, possibly going down to the thermal cross-section of 3 x 10{sup -26} cm{sup 3}s{sup -1} for dark matter masses dark matter in scenarios with R-parity violation. Implications of these limits for the possible observation of long-lived superparticles at the LHC are discussed. (orig.)

Probing dark matter decay and annihilation with Fermi LAT observations of nearby galaxy clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Xiaoyuan; Vertongen, Gilles; Weniger, Christoph

2011-09-01

Galaxy clusters are promising targets for indirect dark matter searches. Gamma-ray signatures from the decay or annihilation of dark matter particles inside these clusters could be observable with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Based on three years of Fermi LAT gamma-ray data, we analyze the flux coming from eight nearby clusters individually as well as in a combined likelihood analysis. Concentrating mostly on signals from dark matter decay, we take into account uncertainties of the cluster masses as determined by X-ray observations and model the cluster emission with extended sources. We do not find significant emission from any of the considered clusters and present limits on the dark matter lifetime and annihilation cross-section. We compare our lifetime limits derived from cluster observations with the limits that can be obtained from the extragalactic gamma-ray background, and find that in case of hadronic decay the cluster limits become competitive at dark matter masses below a few hundred GeV. Finally, we show that in presence of dark matter substructures down to 10 -6 solar masses the limits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section could improve by a factor of a few hundred, possibly going down to the thermal cross-section of 3 x 10 -26 cm 3 s -1 for dark matter masses < or similar 150 GeV and annihilation into b anti b. As a direct application of our results, we derive limits on the lifetime of gravitino dark matter in scenarios with R-parity violation. Implications of these limits for the possible observation of long-lived superparticles at the LHC are discussed. (orig.)

Dark matter detection - II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zacek, Viktor

2015-01-01

The quest for the mysterious missing mass of the universe has become one of the big challenges of today's particle physics and cosmology. Astronomical observations show that only 1% of the matter of the universe is luminous. Moreover there is now convincing evidence that 85% of all gravitationally observable matter in the universe is of a new exotic kind, different from the 'ordinary' matter surrounding us. In a series of three lectures we discuss past, recent and future efforts made world-wide to detect and/or decipher the nature of Dark Matter. In Lecture I we review our present knowledge of the Dark Matter content of the Universe and how experimenters search for it's candidates; In Lecture II we discuss so-called 'direct detection' techniques which allow to search for scattering of galactic dark matter particles with detectors in deep-underground laboratories; we discuss the interpretation of experimental results and the challenges posed by different backgrounds; In Lecture III we take a look at the 'indirect detection' of the annihilation of dark matter candidates in astrophysical objects, such as our sun or the center of the Milky Way; In addition we will have a look at efforts to produce Dark Matter particles directly at accelerators and we shall close with a look at alternative nonparticle searches and future prospects. (author)

Dark matter detection - I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zacek, Viktor

2015-01-01

The quest for the mysterious missing mass of the universe has become one of the big challenges of today's particle physics and cosmology. Astronomical observations show that only 1% of the matter of the universe is luminous. Moreover there is now convincing evidence that 85% of all gravitationally observable matter in the universe is of a new exotic kind, different from the 'ordinary' matter surrounding us. In a series of three lectures we discuss past, recent and future efforts made world-wide to detect and/or decipher the nature of Dark Matter. In Lecture I we review our present knowledge of the Dark Matter content of the Universe and how experimenters search for it's candidates; In Lecture II we discuss so-called 'direct detection' techniques which allow to search for scattering of galactic dark matter particles with detectors in deep-underground laboratories; we discuss the interpretation of experimental results and the challenges posed by different backgrounds; In Lecture III we take a look at the 'indirect detection' of the annihilation of dark matter candidates in astrophysical objects, such as our sun or the center of the Milky Way; In addition we will have a look at efforts to produce Dark Matter particles directly at accelerators and we shall close with a look at alternative nonparticle searches and future prospects. (author)

Dark matter detection - III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zacek, Viktor

2015-01-01

The quest for the missing mass of the universe has become one of the big challenges of todays particle physics and cosmology. Astronomical observations show that only 1% of the matter of the Universe is luminous. Moreover there is now convincing evidence that 85% of all gravitationally observable matter in the Universe is of a new exotic kind, different from the 'ordinary' matter surrounding us. In a series of three lectures we discuss past, recent and future efforts made world- wide to detect and/or decipher the nature of Dark Matter. In Lecture I we review our present knowledge of the Dark Matter content of the Universe and how experimenters search for it's candidates; In Lecture II we discuss so-called 'direct detection' techniques which allow to search for scattering of galactic dark matter particles with detectors in deep-underground laboratories; we discuss the interpretation of experimental results and the challenges posed by different backgrounds; In Lecture III we take a look at the 'indirect detection' of the annihilation of dark matter candidates in astrophysical objects, such as our sun or the center of the Milky Way; In addition we will have a look at efforts to produce Dark Matter particles directly at accelerators and we shall close with a look at alternative nonparticle searches and future prospects. (author)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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

Implications of LHC results for theories of dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tait, T.M.P.

2014-01-01

This write-up covers an invited talk prepared for the Rencontres de Blois particle physics conference in 2012. It provides some theoretical thoughts regarding searches for new phenomena at high energy colliders, with some specific reference to signatures including missing transverse momentum, which provide natural probes of the nature of dark matter. Some discussion of how these searches complement those performed in direct and indirect detection experiments is included. (author)

Proposal for an Experiment to Search for Light Dark Matter at the SPS

CERN Document Server

Gninenko, Sergei

2013-01-01

Several models of dark matter suggest the existence of dark sectors consisting of $SU(3)_C \\times SU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y$ singlet fields. These sectors of particles do not interact with the ordinary matter directly but could couple to it via gravity. In addition to gravity, there might be another very weak interaction between the ordinary and dark matter mediated by $U'(1)$ gauge bosons $A'$ (dark photons) mixing with our photons. In a class of models the corresponding dark gauge bosons could be light and have the $\\g - A'$ coupling strength laying in the experimentally accessible and theoretically interesting region. If such $A'$ mediators exist, their di-electron decays $\\aee$ could be searched for in a light-shining-through-a-wall experiment looking for an excess of events with the two-shower signature generated by a single high energy electron in the detector. A proposal to perform such an experiment aiming to probe the still unexplored area of the mixing strength $10^{-5}\\lesssim \\epsilon \\les...

Direct search for dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Jonghee; /Fermilab

2009-12-01

Dark matter is hypothetical matter which does not interact with electromagnetic radiation. The existence of dark matter is only inferred from gravitational effects of astrophysical observations to explain the missing mass component of the Universe. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles are currently the most popular candidate to explain the missing mass component. I review the current status of experimental searches of dark matter through direct detection using terrestrial detectors.

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.

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

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.

Inverse Compton gamma-rays from galactic dark matter annihilation. Anisotropy signatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Le; Sigl, Guenter; Miniati, Francesco

2010-08-01

High energy electrons and positrons from annihilating dark matter can imprint unique angular anisotropies on the diffuse gamma-ray flux by inverse Compton scattering off the interstellar radiation field. We develop a numerical tool to compute gamma-ray emission from such electrons and positrons diffusing in the smooth host halo and in substructure halos with masses down to 10 -6 M s un. We show that, unlike the total gamma-ray angular power spectrum observed by Fermi-LAT, the angular power spectrum from inverse Compton scattering is exponentially suppressed below an angular scale determined by the diffusion length of electrons and positrons. For TeV scale dark matter with a canonical thermal freeze-out cross section 3 x 10 -26 cm 3 /s, this feature may be detectable by Fermi-LAT in the energy range 100-300 GeV after more sophisticated foreground subtraction. We also find that the total flux and the shape of the angular power spectrum depends sensitively on the spatial distribution of subhalos in the Milky Way. Finally, the contribution from the smooth host halo component to the gamma-ray mean intensity is negligibly small compared to subhalos. (orig.)

Inverse Compton gamma-rays from galactic dark matter annihilation. Anisotropy signatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Le; Sigl, Guenter [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). 2. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Miniati, Francesco [ETH Zuerich (Switzerland). Physics Dept.

2010-08-15

High energy electrons and positrons from annihilating dark matter can imprint unique angular anisotropies on the diffuse gamma-ray flux by inverse Compton scattering off the interstellar radiation field. We develop a numerical tool to compute gamma-ray emission from such electrons and positrons diffusing in the smooth host halo and in substructure halos with masses down to 10{sup -6}M{sub s}un. We show that, unlike the total gamma-ray angular power spectrum observed by Fermi-LAT, the angular power spectrum from inverse Compton scattering is exponentially suppressed below an angular scale determined by the diffusion length of electrons and positrons. For TeV scale dark matter with a canonical thermal freeze-out cross section 3 x 10{sup -26} cm{sup 3}/s, this feature may be detectable by Fermi-LAT in the energy range 100-300 GeV after more sophisticated foreground subtraction. We also find that the total flux and the shape of the angular power spectrum depends sensitively on the spatial distribution of subhalos in the Milky Way. Finally, the contribution from the smooth host halo component to the gamma-ray mean intensity is negligibly small compared to subhalos. (orig.)

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 condensed dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aguirre, Anthony; Diez-Tejedor, Alberto, E-mail: aguirre@scipp.ucsc.edu, E-mail: alberto.diez@fisica.ugto.mx [Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064 (United States)

2016-04-01

We explore the viability of a boson dark matter candidate with an asymmetry between the number densities of particles and antiparticles. A simple thermal field theory analysis confirms that, under certain general conditions, this component would develop a Bose-Einstein condensate in the early universe that, for appropriate model parameters, could survive the ensuing cosmological evolution until now. The condensation of a dark matter component in equilibrium with the thermal plasma is a relativistic process, hence the amount of matter dictated by the charge asymmetry is complemented by a hot relic density frozen out at the time of decoupling. Contrary to the case of ordinary WIMPs, dark matter particles in a condensate must be lighter than a few tens of eV so that the density from thermal relics is not too large. Big-Bang nucleosynthesis constrains the temperature of decoupling to the scale of the QCD phase transition or above. This requires large dark matter-to-photon ratios and very weak interactions with standard model particles.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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)

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.

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.

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

Universal extra dimensions and the graviton portal to dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arun, Mathew Thomas [Department of Physics, Mar Thoma College, Thiruvalla 689 103, Kerala (India); Choudhury, Debajyoti; Sachdeva, Divya, E-mail: thomas.mathewarun@gmail.com, E-mail: debajyoti.choudhury@gmail.com, E-mail: divyasachdeva951@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astrophysics,University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007 (India)

2017-10-01

The Universal Extra Dimension (UED) paradigm is particularly attractive as it not only includes a natural candidate for the Dark Matter particle , but also addresses several issues related to particle physics. Non-observations at the Large Hadron Collider, though, has brought the paradigm into severe tension. However, a particular 5-dimensional UED model emerges from a six dimensional space-time with nested warping. The AdS {sub 6} bulk protects both the Higgs mass as well as the UED scale without invoking unnatural parameter values. The graviton excitations in the sixth direction open up new (co-)annihilation channels for the Dark Matter particle, thereby allowing for phenomenological consistency, otherwise denied to the minimal UED scenario. The model leads to unique signatures in both satellite-based experiments as well as the LHC.

Universal extra dimensions and the graviton portal to dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Arun, Mathew Thomas; Choudhury, Debajyoti; Sachdeva, Divya

2017-10-01

The Universal Extra Dimension (UED) paradigm is particularly attractive as it not only includes a natural candidate for the Dark Matter particle , but also addresses several issues related to particle physics. Non-observations at the Large Hadron Collider, though, has brought the paradigm into severe tension. However, a particular 5-dimensional UED model emerges from a six dimensional space-time with nested warping. The AdS6 bulk protects both the Higgs mass as well as the UED scale without invoking unnatural parameter values. The graviton excitations in the sixth direction open up new (co-)annihilation channels for the Dark Matter particle, thereby allowing for phenomenological consistency, otherwise denied to the minimal UED scenario. The model leads to unique signatures in both satellite-based experiments as well as the LHC.

A new direction for dark matter research: intermediate-mass compact halo objects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chapline, George F. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA (United States); Frampton, Paul H., E-mail: george.chapline@gmail.com, E-mail: paul.h.frampton@gmail.com [15 Summerheights, 29 Water Eaton Road, Oxford OX2 7PG (United Kingdom)

2016-11-01

The failure to find evidence for elementary particles that could serve as the constituents of dark matter brings to mind suggestions that dark matter might consist of massive compact objects (MACHOs). In particular, it has recently been argued that MACHOs with masses > 15 M {sub ⊙} may have been prolifically produced at the onset of the big bang. Although a variety of astrophysical signatures for primordial MACHOs with masses in this range have been discussed in the literature, we favor a strategy that uses the potential for magnification of stars outside our galaxy due to gravitational microlensing of these stars by MACHOs in the halo of our galaxy. We point out that the effect of the motion of the Earth on the shape of the micro-lensing brightening curves provides a promising approach to testing over the course of next several years the hypothesis that dark matter consists of massive compact objects.

Observing Higgs boson production through its decay into γ-rays: A messenger for dark matter candidates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernal, Nicolás, E-mail: nicolas@th.physik.uni-bonn.de [Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics and Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bonn, Nußallee 12, D-53115 Bonn (Germany); Boehm, Céline [Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); LAPTH, U. de Savoie, CNRS, BP 110, 74941 Annecy-Le-Vieux (France); Palomares-Ruiz, Sergio [Centro de Física Teórica de Partículas (CFTP), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), CSIC-Universitat de València, Apartado de Correos 22085, E-46071 Valencia (Spain); Silk, Joseph [UMR7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Toma, Takashi [Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)

2013-06-10

In this Letter, we study the γ-ray signatures subsequent to the production of a Higgs boson in space by dark matter annihilations. We investigate the cases where the Higgs boson is produced at rest or slightly boosted and show that such configurations can produce characteristic bumps in the γ-ray data. These results are relevant in the case of the Standard Model-like Higgs boson provided that the dark matter mass is about 63 GeV, 109 GeV or 126 GeV, but can be generalized to any other Higgs boson masses. Here, we point out that it may be worth looking for a 63 GeV line since it could be the signature of the decay of a Standard Model-like Higgs boson produced in space, as in the case of a di-Higgs final state if m{sub χ}≃126 GeV. We show that one can set generic constraints on the Higgs boson production rates using its decay properties. In particular, using the Fermi-LAT data from the galactic center, we find that the dark matter annihilation cross section into γ+ a Standard Model-like Higgs boson produced at rest or near rest cannot exceed 〈σv〉∼a few 10{sup −25} cm{sup 3}/s or 〈σv〉∼a few 10{sup −27} cm{sup 3}/s respectively, providing us with information on the Higgs coupling to the dark matter particle. We conclude that Higgs bosons can indeed be used as messengers to explore the dark matter mass range.

The search for dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Nigel; Spooner, Neil

2000-01-01

Experiments housed deep underground are searching for new particles that could simultaneously solve one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics and reveal what lies beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Physicists are very particular about balancing budgets. Energy, charge and momentum all have to be conserved and often money as well. Astronomers were therefore surprised and disturbed to learn in the 1930s that our own Milky Way galaxy behaved as if it contained more matter than could be seen with telescopes. This puzzling non-luminous matter became known as ''dark matter'' and we now know that over 90% of the matter in the entire universe is dark. In later decades the search for this dark matter shifted from the heavens to the Earth. In fact, the search for dark matter went underground. Today there are experiments searching for dark matter hundreds and thousands of metres below ground in mines, road tunnels and other subterranean locations. These experiments are becoming more sensitive every year and are beginning to test various new models and theories in particle physics and cosmology. (UK)

Precise predictions for V + jets dark matter backgrounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindert, J.M.; Glover, N.; Morgan, T.A. [University of Durham, Department of Physics, Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, Durham (United Kingdom); Pozzorini, S.; Gehrmann, T.; Schoenherr, M. [Universitaet Zuerich, Physik-Institut, Zurich (Switzerland); Boughezal, R. [Argonne National Laboratory, High Energy Physics Division, Argonne, IL (United States); Campbell, J.M. [Fermilab, Batavia, IL (United States); Denner, A. [Universitaet Wuerzburg, Institut fuer Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Wuerzburg (Germany); Dittmaier, S.; Maierhoefer, P. [Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, Physikalisches Institut, Freiburg (Germany); Gehrmann-De Ridder, A. [Universitaet Zuerich, Physik-Institut, Zurich (Switzerland); Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH, Zurich (Switzerland); Huss, A. [Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH, Zurich (Switzerland); Kallweit, S.; Mangano, M.L.; Salam, G.P. [CERN, Theoretical Physics Department, Geneva (Switzerland); Mueck, A. [RWTH Aachen University, Institut fuer Theoretische Teilchenphysik und Kosmologie, Aachen (Germany); Petriello, F. [Argonne National Laboratory, High Energy Physics Division, Argonne, IL (United States); Northwestern University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Evanston, IL (United States); Williams, C. [University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Department of Physics, Buffalo (United States)

2017-12-15

High-energy jets recoiling against missing transverse energy (MET) are powerful probes of dark matter at the LHC. Searches based on large MET signatures require a precise control of the Z(ν anti ν) + jet background in the signal region. This can be achieved by taking accurate data in control regions dominated by Z(l{sup +}l{sup -}) + jet, W(lν) + jet and γ + jet production, and extrapolating to the Z(ν anti ν) + jet background by means of precise theoretical predictions. In this context, recent advances in perturbative calculations open the door to significant sensitivity improvements in dark matter searches. In this spirit, we present a combination of state-of-the-art calculations for all relevant V + jets processes, including throughout NNLO QCD corrections and NLO electroweak corrections supplemented by Sudakov logarithms at two loops. Predictions at parton level are provided together with detailed recommendations for their usage in experimental analyses based on the reweighting of Monte Carlo samples. Particular attention is devoted to the estimate of theoretical uncertainties in the framework of dark matter searches, where subtle aspects such as correlations across different V + jet processes play a key role. The anticipated theoretical uncertainty in the Z(ν anti ν) + jet background is at the few percent level up to the TeV range. (orig.)

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 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

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

Dark-matter QCD-axion searches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, Leslie J

2010-01-01

The axion is a hypothetical elementary particle appearing in a simple and elegant extension to the Standard Model of particle physics that cancels otherwise huge CP-violating effects in QCD; this extension has a broken U(1) axial symmetry, where the resulting Goldstone Boson is the axion. A light axion of mass 10 -(6-3) eV (the so-called i nvisible 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 would be a compelling dark-matter candidate and is therefore a target of a number of searches. Compared to other dark-matter candidates, the plausible range of axion dark-matter couplings and masses is narrowly constrained. This restricted search space allows for 'definitive' searches, where non-observation would seriously impugn the dark-matter QCD-axion hypothesis. Axion searches employ a wide range of technologies and techniques, from astrophysical observations to laboratory electromagnetic signal detection. For some experiments, sensitivities are have reached likely dark-matter axion couplings and masses. This is a brief and selective overview of axion searches. With only very limited space, I briefly describe just two of the many experiments that are searching for dark-matter axions.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

Dark matter search with XENON1T

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aalbers, J.

2018-01-01

Most matter in the universe consists of 'dark matter' unknown to particle physics. Deep underground detectors such as XENON1T attempt to detect rare collisions of dark matter with ordinary atoms. This thesis describes the first dark matter search of XENON1T, how dark matter signals would appear in

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

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

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.

SOLAR CONSTRAINTS ON ASYMMETRIC DARK MATTER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Ilidio [Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofisica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Silk, Joseph, E-mail: ilidio.lopes@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: silk@astro.ox.ac.uk [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014 Paris (France)

2012-10-01

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 {eta}-parameterized asymmetric dark matter ({eta}ADM) models, the dark matter particles have an annihilation cross section close to the weak interaction cross section, and a value of dark matter asymmetry {eta} close to the baryon asymmetry {eta}{sub 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 {eta}ADM 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 {eta}-asymmetry with a value in the interval 10{sup -12}-10{sup -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 {eta}ADM scenarios that we discuss have a relic dark matter density {Omega}h {sup 2} and baryon asymmetry {eta}{sub B} in agreement with

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

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...

Explaining dark matter and neutrino mass in the light of TYPE-II seesaw model

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Anirban; Shaw, Avirup

2018-02-01

With the motivation of simultaneously explaining dark matter and neutrino masses, mixing angles, we have invoked the Type-II seesaw model extended by an extra SU(2) doublet Φ. Moreover, we have imposed a Z2 parity on Φ which remains unbroken as the vacuum expectation value of Φ is zero. Consequently, the lightest neutral component of Φ becomes naturally stable and can be a viable dark matter candidate. On the other hand, light Majorana masses for neutrinos have been generated following usual Type-II seesaw mechanism. Further in this framework, for the first time we have derived the full set of vacuum stability and unitarity conditions, which must be satisfied to obtain a stable vacuum as well as to preserve the unitarity of the model respectively. Thereafter, we have performed extensive phenomenological studies of both dark matter and neutrino sectors considering all possible theoretical and current experimental constraints. Finally, we have also discussed a qualitative collider signatures of dark matter and associated odd particles at the 13 TeV Large Hadron Collider.

Hunting 1-500 GeV dark matter gamma-ray lines with the Fermi LAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vertongen, Gilles; Weniger, Christoph

2010-12-01

Monochromatic photons could be produced in the annihilation or decay of dark matter particles. At high energies, the search for such line features in the cosmic gamma-ray spectrum is essentially background free because plausible astrophysical processes are not expected to produce such a signal. The observation of a gamma-ray line would hence be a 'smoking-gun' signature for dark matter, making the search for such signals particularly attractive. Among the different dark matter models predicting gamma-ray lines, the local supersymmetric extension of the standard model with small R-parity violation and gravitino LSP is of particular interest because it provides a framework where primordial nucleosynthesis, gravitino dark matter and thermal leptogenesis are naturally consistent. Using the two-years Fermi LAT data, we present a dedicated search for gamma-ray lines coming from dark matter annihilation or decay in the Galactic halo. Taking into account the full detector response, and using a binned profile likelihood method, we search for significant line features in the energy spectrum of the diffuse flux observed in different regions of the sky. No evidence for line signals at the 5σ level is found for photon energies between 1 and 500 GeV, and the corresponding bounds on dark matter decay rates and annihilation cross sections are presented. Implications for gravitino dark matter in presence of small R-parity violation are discussed, as well as the impact of our results on the prospect for seeing long-lived neutralinos or staus at the LHC. (orig.)

Dark matter dynamics in Abell 3827: new data consistent with standard cold dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, Richard; Harvey, David; Liesenborgs, Jori; Richard, Johan; Stach, Stuart; Swinbank, Mark; Taylor, Peter; Williams, Liliya; Clowe, Douglas; Courbin, Frédéric; Edge, Alastair; Israel, Holger; Jauzac, Mathilde; Joseph, Rémy; Jullo, Eric; Kitching, Thomas D.; Leonard, Adrienne; Merten, Julian; Nagai, Daisuke; Nightingale, James; Robertson, Andrew; Romualdez, Luis Javier; Saha, Prasenjit; Smit, Renske; Tam, Sut-Ieng; Tittley, Eric

2018-06-01

We present integral field spectroscopy of galaxy cluster Abell 3827, using Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) and Very Large Telescope/Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer. It reveals an unusual configuration of strong gravitational lensing in the cluster core, with at least seven lensed images of a single background spiral galaxy. Lens modelling based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging had suggested that the dark matter associated with one of the cluster's central galaxies may be offset. The new spectroscopic data enable better subtraction of foreground light, and better identification of multiple background images. The inferred distribution of dark matter is consistent with being centred on the galaxies, as expected by Λ cold dark matter. Each galaxy's dark matter also appears to be symmetric. Whilst, we do not find an offset between mass and light (suggestive of self-interacting dark matter) as previously reported, the numerical simulations that have been performed to calibrate Abell 3827 indicate that offsets and asymmetry are still worth looking for in collisions with particular geometries. Meanwhile, ALMA proves exceptionally useful for strong lens image identifications.

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

In search of dark matter

CERN Document Server

Freeman, Kenneth C

2006-01-01

The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult to solve problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of the known universe goes to the heart of our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In Search of Dark Matter is the story of the emergence of the dark matter problem, from the initial erroneous ‘discovery’ of dark matter by Jan Oort to contemporary explanations for the nature of dark matter and its role in the origin and evolution of the Universe. Written for the educated non-scientist and scientist alike, it spans a variety of scientific disciplines, from observational astronomy to particle physics. Concepts that the reader will encounter along the way are at the cutting edge of scientific research. However the themes are explained in such a way that no prior understanding of science beyond a high school education is necessary.

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

Search for Dark Matter in Events with a Single Boson and Missing Transverse Momentum using the ATLAS Detector

CERN Document Server

Okawa, Hideki; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The presence of a non-baryonic dark matter component in the Universe is inferred from the observation of its gravitational interaction. If dark matter interacts weakly with the Standard Model it would be produced at the LHC, escaping the detector and leaving a large missing transverse momentum as their signature. The results of searches with a single boson and large missing transverse momentum in 13 TeV will be presented.

Novel dark matter phenomenology at colliders

Science.gov (United States)

Wardlow, Kyle Patrick

While a suitable candidate particle for dark matter (DM) has yet to be discovered, it is possible one will be found by experiments currently investigating physics on the weak scale. If discovered on that energy scale, the dark matter will likely be producible in significant quantities at colliders like the LHC, allowing the properties of and underlying physical model characterizing the dark matter to be precisely determined. I assume that the dark matter will be produced as one of the decay products of a new massive resonance related to physics beyond the Standard Model, and using the energy distributions of the associated visible decay products, develop techniques for determining the symmetry protecting these potential dark matter candidates from decaying into lighter Standard Model (SM) particles and to simultaneously measure the masses of both the dark matter candidate and the particle from which it decays.

Little composite dark matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Balkin, Reuven; Perez, Gilad; Weiler, Andreas

2018-01-01

We examine the dark matter phenomenology of a composite electroweak singlet state. This singlet belongs to the Goldstone sector of a well-motivated extension of the Littlest Higgs with T -parity. A viable parameter space, consistent with the observed dark matter relic abundance as well as with the various collider, electroweak precision and dark matter direct detection experimental constraints is found for this scenario. T -parity implies a rich LHC phenomenology, which forms an interesting interplay between conventional natural SUSY type of signals involving third generation quarks and missing energy, from stop-like particle production and decay, and composite Higgs type of signals involving third generation quarks associated with Higgs and electroweak gauge boson, from vector-like top-partners production and decay. The composite features of the dark matter phenomenology allows the composite singlet to produce the correct relic abundance while interacting weakly with the Higgs via the usual Higgs portal coupling [Formula: see text], thus evading direct detection.

Little composite dark matter

Science.gov (United States)

Balkin, Reuven; Perez, Gilad; Weiler, Andreas

2018-02-01

We examine the dark matter phenomenology of a composite electroweak singlet state. This singlet belongs to the Goldstone sector of a well-motivated extension of the Littlest Higgs with T-parity. A viable parameter space, consistent with the observed dark matter relic abundance as well as with the various collider, electroweak precision and dark matter direct detection experimental constraints is found for this scenario. T-parity implies a rich LHC phenomenology, which forms an interesting interplay between conventional natural SUSY type of signals involving third generation quarks and missing energy, from stop-like particle production and decay, and composite Higgs type of signals involving third generation quarks associated with Higgs and electroweak gauge boson, from vector-like top-partners production and decay. The composite features of the dark matter phenomenology allows the composite singlet to produce the correct relic abundance while interacting weakly with the Higgs via the usual Higgs portal coupling λ _{ {DM}}˜ O(1%), thus evading direct detection.

Little composite dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balkin, Reuven; Weiler, Andreas [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, First Physik-Department, Garching (Germany); Perez, Gilad [Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Rehovot (Israel)

2018-02-15

We examine the dark matter phenomenology of a composite electroweak singlet state. This singlet belongs to the Goldstone sector of a well-motivated extension of the Littlest Higgs with T-parity. A viable parameter space, consistent with the observed dark matter relic abundance as well as with the various collider, electroweak precision and dark matter direct detection experimental constraints is found for this scenario. T-parity implies a rich LHC phenomenology, which forms an interesting interplay between conventional natural SUSY type of signals involving third generation quarks and missing energy, from stop-like particle production and decay, and composite Higgs type of signals involving third generation quarks associated with Higgs and electroweak gauge boson, from vector-like top-partners production and decay. The composite features of the dark matter phenomenology allows the composite singlet to produce the correct relic abundance while interacting weakly with the Higgs via the usual Higgs portal coupling λ{sub DM} ∝ O(1%), thus evading direct detection. (orig.)

Mirror dark matter and large scale structure