The puzzles of dark matter searches

Positive results of dark matter searches in DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA experiments, being put together with negative results of other groups, can imply nontrivial particle physics solutions for cosmological dark matter. Stable particles with charge -2 bind with primordial helium in O-helium "atoms" (OHe), representing a specific Warmer than Cold nuclear-interacting form of dark matter. Slowed down in the terrestrial matter, OHe is elusive for direct methods of underground Dark matter detection like those used in CDMS experiment, but its reactions with nuclei can lead to annual variations of energy release in the interval of energy 2-6 keV in DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA experiments. Schrodinger equation for system of nucleus and OHe is solved for spherically symmetrical potential well, formed by the Yukawa tail of nuclear scalar isoscalar attraction potential, acting on He beyond the nucleus, and dipole Coulomb repulsion between the nucleus and OHe at distances from the nuclear surface, smaller than the size of OHe. The window of parameters of this potential is found, at which the sodium and/or iodine nuclei have a few keV binding energy with OHe. At nuclear parameters, reproducing DAMA results, the energy release predicted for detectors with chemical content other than NaI differ in the most cases from the one in DAMA detector. In particular, it is shown that in the case of CDMS the energy of OHe-germanium bound state is beyond the range of 2-6 keV and its formation should not lead to ionization in the energy interval of DAMA signal. (abridged)Comment: to be published in the AIP Proceedings of the 'Invisible Universe International Conference', UNESCO-Paris, June 29-July 3, 2009; 10 pp., 6 Fig

Dark antiatoms can explain DAMA

We show that the existence of a sub-dominant form of dark matter, made of dark antiatoms of mass and size of the order of 1 TeV and 30 fm respectively, can explain the results of direct detection experiments, with a positive signal in DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA and no signal in other experiments. The signal comes from the binding of the dark antiatoms to thallium, a dopant in DAMA, and is not present for the constituent atoms of other experiments. The dark antiatoms are made of two particles oppositely charged under a dark U(1) symmetry and can bind to terrestrial atoms because of a kinetic mixing between the photon and the massless dark photon, such that the dark particles acquire an electric millicharge of the order of 0.0005e. This millicharge enables them to bind to high-Z atoms via radiative capture, after they thermalize in terrestrial matter through elastic collisions.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Feshbach spectroscopy and analysis of the interaction potentials of ultracold sodium

We have studied magnetic Feshbach resonances in an ultracold sample of Na prepared in the absolute hyperfine ground state. We report on the observation of three s-, eight d-, and three g-wave Feshbach resonances, including a more precise determination of two known s-wave resonances, and one s-wave resonance at a magnetic field exceeding 200mT. Using a coupled-channels calculation we have improved the sodium ground-state potentials by taking into account these new experimental data, and derived values for the scattering lengths. In addition, a description of the molecular states leading to the Feshbach resonances in terms of the asymptotic-bound-state model is presented.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Feshbach spectroscopy and scattering properties of ultracold Li+Na mixtures

We have observed 26 interspecies Feshbach resonances at fields up to 2050 G in ultracold $^6$Li+$^{23}$Na mixtures for different spin-state combinations. Applying the asymptotic bound-state model to assign the resonances, we have found that most resonances have d-wave character. This analysis serves as guidance for a coupled-channel calculation, which uses modified interaction potentials to describe the positions of the Feshbach resonances well within the experimental uncertainty and to calculate their widths. The scattering length derived from the improved interaction potentials is experimentally confirmed and deviates from previously reported values in sign and magnitude. We give prospects for $^7$Li+$^{23}$Na and predict broad Feshbach resonances suitable for tuning.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, version as published in PR

Magic Numbers for the Photoelectron Anisotropy in Li-Doped Dimethyl Ether Clusters

Photoelectron velocity map imaging of Li(CH$_3$OCH$_3$)$_n$ clusters (1 $\leq$ n $\leq$ 175) is used to search for magic numbers related to the photoelectron anisotropy. Comparison with density functional calculations reveals magic numbers at n=4, 5, and 6, resulting from the symmetric charge distribution with high s-character of the highest occupied molecular orbital. Since each of these three cluster sizes correspond to the completion of a first coordination shell, they can be considered as 'isomeric motifs of the first coordination shell'. Differences in the photoelectron anisotropy, the vertical ionization energies and the enthalpies of vaporization between Li(CH$_3$OCH$_3$)$_n$ and Na(CH$_3$OCH$_3$)$_n$ can be rationalized in terms of differences in their solvation shells, atomic ionization energies, polarizabilities, metal-oxygen bonds, ligand-ligand interactions, and by cooperative effects

Fragmentation phase transition in atomic clusters I --- Microcanonical thermodynamics

Here we first develop the thermodynamics of microcanonical phase transitions of first and second order in systems which are thermodynamically stable in the sense of van Hove. We show how both kinds of phase transitions can unambiguously be identified in relatively small isolated systems of $\sim 100$ atoms by the shape of the microcanonical caloric equation of state $$ I.e. within microcanonical thermodynamics one does not need to go to the thermodynamic limit in order to identify phase transitions. In contrast to ordinary (canonical) thermodynamics of the bulk microcanonical thermodynamics (MT) gives an insight into the coexistence region. The essential three parameters which identify the transition to be of first order, the transition temperature $T_{tr}$, the latent heat $q_{lat}$, and the interphase surface entropy $\Delta s_{surf}$ can very well be determined in relatively small systems like clusters by MT. The phase transition towards fragmentation is introduced. The general features of MT as applied to the fragmentation of atomic clusters are discussed. The similarities and differences to the boiling of macrosystems are pointed out.Comment: Same as before, abstract shortened my e-mail address: [email protected]

Two-Photon Pathway to Ultracold Ground State Molecules of 23^{23}Na40^{40}K

We report on high-resolution spectroscopy of ultracold fermionic \nak~Feshbach molecules, and identify a two-photon pathway to the rovibrational singlet ground state via a resonantly mixed \Bcres intermediate state. Photoassociation in a $^{23}$Na-$^{40}$K atomic mixture and one-photon spectroscopy on \nak~Feshbach molecules reveal about 20 vibrational levels of the electronically excited \ctrip state. Two of these levels are found to be strongly perturbed by nearby \Bsing states via spin-orbit coupling, resulting in additional lines of dominant singlet character in the perturbed complex {${\rm B}^1\Pi |v{=}4\rangle {\sim} {\rm c}^3\Sigma^+ | v{=}25\rangle$}, or of resonantly mixed character in {${\rm B}^1\Pi | v{=}12 \rangle {\sim}{\rm c}^3\Sigma^+ | v{=}35 \rangle$}. The dominantly singlet level is used to locate the absolute rovibrational singlet ground state ${\rm X}^1\Sigma^+ | v{=}0, J{=}0 \rangle$ via Autler-Townes spectroscopy. We demonstrate coherent two-photon coupling via dark state spectroscopy between the predominantly triplet Feshbach molecular state and the singlet ground state. Its binding energy is measured to be 5212.0447(1) \cm, a thousand-fold improvement in accuracy compared to previous determinations. In their absolute singlet ground state, \nak~molecules are chemically stable under binary collisions and possess a large electric dipole moment of $2.72$ Debye. Our work thus paves the way towards the creation of strongly dipolar Fermi gases of NaK molecules.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure