21 research outputs found
Section on Prospects for Dark Matter Detection of the White Paper on the Status and Future of Ground-Based TeV Gamma-Ray Astronomy
This is a report on the findings of the dark matter science working group for
the white paper on the status and future of TeV gamma-ray astronomy. The white
paper was commissioned by the American Physical Society, and the full white
paper can be found on astro-ph (arXiv:0810.0444). This detailed section
discusses the prospects for dark matter detection with future gamma-ray
experiments, and the complementarity of gamma-ray measurements with other
indirect, direct or accelerator-based searches. We conclude that any
comprehensive search for dark matter should include gamma-ray observations,
both to identify the dark matter particle (through the charac- teristics of the
gamma-ray spectrum) and to measure the distribution of dark matter in galactic
halos.Comment: Report from the Dark Matter Science Working group of the APS
commissioned White paper on ground-based TeV gamma ray astronomy (19 pages, 9
figures
Two photon annihilation of Kaluza-Klein dark matter
We investigate the fermionic one-loop cross section for the two photon
annihilation of Kaluza-Klein (KK) dark matter particles in a model of universal
extra dimensions (UED). This process gives a nearly mono-energetic gamma-ray
line with energy equal to the KK dark matter particle mass. We find that the
cross section is large enough that if a continuum signature is detected, the
energy distribution of gamma-rays should end at the particle mass with a peak
that is visible for an energy resolution of the detector at the percent level.
This would give an unmistakable signature of a dark matter origin of the
gamma-rays, and a unique determination of the dark matter particle mass, which
in the case studied should be around 800 GeV. Unlike the situation for
supersymmetric models where the two-gamma peak may or may not be visible
depending on parameters, this feature seems to be quite robust in UED models,
and should be similar in other models where annihilation into fermions is not
helicity suppressed. The observability of the signal still depends on largely
unknown astrophysical parameters related to the structure of the dark matter
halo. If the dark matter near the galactic center is adiabatically contracted
by the central star cluster, or if the dark matter halo has substructure
surviving tidal effects, prospects for detection look promising.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures; slightly revised versio
Determining Supersymmetric Parameters With Dark Matter Experiments
In this article, we explore the ability of direct and indirect dark matter
experiments to not only detect neutralino dark matter, but to constrain and
measure the parameters of supersymmetry. In particular, we explore the
relationship between the phenomenological quantities relevant to dark matter
experiments, such as the neutralino annihilation and elastic scattering cross
sections, and the underlying characteristics of the supersymmetric model, such
as the values of mu (and the composition of the lightest neutralino), m_A and
tan beta. We explore a broad range of supersymmetric models and then focus on a
smaller set of benchmark models. We find that by combining astrophysical
observations with collider measurements, mu can often be constrained far more
tightly than it can be from LHC data alone. In models in the A-funnel region of
parameter space, we find that dark matter experiments can potentially determine
m_A to roughly +/-100 GeV, even when heavy neutral MSSM Higgs bosons (A, H_1)
cannot be observed at the LHC. The information provided by astrophysical
experiments is often highly complementary to the information most easily
ascertained at colliders.Comment: 46 pages, 76 figure
Axino dark matter from thermal production
The axino is a promising candidate for dark matter in the Universe. It is
electrically and color neutral, very weakly interacting, and could be - as
assumed in this study - the lightest supersymmetric particle, which is stable
for unbroken R-parity. In supersymmetric extensions of the standard model, in
which the strong CP problem is solved via the Peccei-Quinn mechanism, the axino
arises naturally as the fermionic superpartner of the axion. We compute the
thermal production rate of axinos in supersymmetric QCD. Using hard thermal
loop resummation, we obtain a finite result in a gauge-invariant way, which
takes into account Debye screening in the hot quark-gluon-squark-gluino plasma.
The relic axino abundance from thermal scatterings after inflation is
evaluated. We find that thermally produced axinos could provide the dominant
part of cold dark matter, for example, for an axino mass of 100 keV and a
reheating temperature of 10^6 GeV.Comment: 33 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, erratum adde
Bose-Einstein Condensation, Dark Matter and Acoustic Peaks
Scalar mediated interactions among baryons extend well above the Compton
wavelength, when they are embedded in a Bose-Einstein condensate composed of
the mediating particles. Indeed, this non-trivial environment results in an
infinite-ranged interaction. We show that if the Dark Matter of the Universe is
composed of such a condensate, the imprints of an interaction between baryonic
and Dark Matter could be manifest as anomalies in the peak structure of the
Cosmic Microwave Background.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; changes reflect published versio
Have Atmospheric Cerenkov Telescopes Observed Dark Matter?
Two ground-based experiments have recently independently detected TeV
-rays from the direction of the Galactic center. The observations made
by the VERITAS and CANGAROO collaborations are unexpected, although not
impossible to interpret in terms of astrophysical sources. Here we examine in
detail whether the observed -rays may arise from the more exotic
alternative of annihilations of dark matter particles clustered in the center
of the Galaxy.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
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Section on prospects for dark matter detection of the white paper on the status and future of ground-based TeV gamma-ray astronomy.
This is a report on the findings of the dark matter science working group for the white paper on the status and future of TeV gamma-ray astronomy. The white paper was commissioned by the American Physical Society, and the full white paper can be found on astro-ph (arXiv:0810.0444). This detailed section discusses the prospects for dark matter detection with future gamma-ray experiments, and the complementarity of gamma-ray measurements with other indirect, direct or accelerator-based searches. We conclude that any comprehensive search for dark matter should include gamma-ray observations, both to identify the dark matter particle (through the characteristics of the gamma-ray spectrum) and to measure the distribution of dark matter in galactic halos
A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics
The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the mostpressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenontime-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the availableparameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), whilefeaturing extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates.These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decayand through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-baseddetector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantlyadvance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, andcosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.<br
A next-generation liquid xenon observatory for dark matter and neutrino physics
The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector