2 research outputs found
Determining the WIMP mass from a single direct detection experiment, a more detailed study
The energy spectrum of nuclear recoils in Weakly Interacting Massive Particle
(WIMP) direct detection experiments depends on the underlying WIMP mass. We
study how the accuracy with which the WIMP mass could be determined by a single
direct detection experiment depends on the detector configuration and the WIMP
properties. We investigate the effects of varying the underlying WIMP mass and
cross-section, the detector target nucleus, exposure, energy threshold and
maximum energy, the local circular speed and the background event rate and
spectrum. The number of events observed is directly proportional to both the
exposure and the cross-section, therefore these quantities have the greatest
bearing on the accuracy of the WIMP mass determination. The relative
capabilities of different detectors to determine the WIMP mass depend not only
on the WIMP and target masses, but also on their energy thresholds. We find
that the rapid decrease of the nuclear form factor with increasing momentum
transfer which occurs for heavy nuclei, means that heavy nuclei will not
necessarily be able to measure the mass of heavy WIMPs more accurately.
Uncertainty in the local circular speed and non-negligible background would
both lead to systematic errors in the WIMP mass determination. With a single
detector it will be difficult to disentangle a WIMP signal (and the WIMP mass)
from background if the background spectrum has a similar shape to the WIMP
spectrum (i.e. exponential background, or flat background and a heavy WIMP).Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, version to appear in JCAP, minor changes to
presentatio
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