1,857 research outputs found
Comments and Discussion [The Measurement and Determination of Loanable-Funds Saving]
macroeconomics, saving, capital formation, interest
The Effective Field Theory of Dark Matter Direct Detection
We extend and explore the general non-relativistic effective theory of dark
matter (DM) direct detection. We describe the basic non-relativistic building
blocks of operators and discuss their symmetry properties, writing down all
Galilean-invariant operators up to quadratic order in momentum transfer arising
from exchange of particles of spin 1 or less. Any DM particle theory can be
translated into the coefficients of an effective operator and any effective
operator can be simply related to most general description of the nuclear
response. We find several operators which lead to novel nuclear responses.
These responses differ significantly from the standard minimal WIMP cases in
their relative coupling strengths to various elements, changing how the results
from different experiments should be compared against each other. Response
functions are evaluated for common DM targets - F, Na, Ge, I, and Xe - using
standard shell model techniques. We point out that each of the nuclear
responses is familiar from past studies of semi-leptonic electroweak
interactions, and thus potentially testable in weak interaction studies. We
provide tables of the full set of required matrix elements at finite momentum
transfer for a range of common elements, making a careful and fully
model-independent analysis possible. Finally, we discuss embedding
non-relativistic effective theory operators into UV models of dark matter.Comment: 32+23 pages, 5 figures; v2: some typos corrected and definitions
clarified; v3: some factors of 4pi correcte
Density Perturbations and the Cosmological Constant from Inflationary Landscapes
An anthropic understanding of the cosmological constant requires that the
vacuum energy at late time scans from one patch of the universe to another. If
the vacuum energy during inflation also scans, the various patches of the
universe acquire exponentially differing volumes. In a generic landscape with
slow-roll inflation, we find that this gives a steeply varying probability
distribution for the normalization of the primordial density perturbations,
resulting in an exponentially small fraction of observers measuring the COBE
value of 10^-5. Inflationary landscapes should avoid this "\sigma problem", and
we explore features that can allow them to do that. One possibility is that,
prior to slow-roll inflation, the probability distribution for vacua is
extremely sharply peaked, selecting essentially a single anthropically allowed
vacuum. Such a selection could occur in theories of eternal inflation. A second
possibility is that the inflationary landscape has a special property: although
scanning leads to patches with volumes that differ exponentially, the value of
the density perturbation does not vary under this scanning. This second case is
preferred over the first, partly because a flat inflaton potential can result
from anthropic selection, and partly because the anthropic selection of a small
cosmological constant is more successful.Comment: 23 page
A Simple Explanation for DAMA with Moderate Channeling
We consider the possibility that the DAMA signal arises from channeled events
in simple models where the dark matter interaction with nuclei is suppressed at
small momenta. As with the standard WIMP, these models have two parameters (the
dark matter mass and the size of the cross-section), without the need to
introduce an additional energy threshold type of parameter. We find that they
can be consistent with channeling fractions as low as about ~ 15%, so long as
at least ~70% of the nuclear recoil energy for channeled events is deposited
electronically. Given that there are reasons not to expect very large
channeling fractions, these scenarios make the channeling explanation of DAMA
much more compelling.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
Non-relativistic effective theory of dark matter direct detection
Dark matter direct detection searches for signals coming from dark matter
scattering against nuclei at a very low recoil energy scale ~ 10 keV. In this
paper, a simple non-relativistic effective theory is constructed to describe
interactions between dark matter and nuclei without referring to any underlying
high energy models. It contains the minimal set of operators that will be
tested by direct detection. The effective theory approach highlights the set of
distinguishable recoil spectra that could arise from different theoretical
models. If dark matter is discovered in the near future in direct detection
experiments, a measurement of the shape of the recoil spectrum will provide
valuable information on the underlying dynamics. We bound the coefficients of
the operators in our non-relativistic effective theory by the null results of
current dark matter direct detection experiments. We also discuss the mapping
between the non-relativistic effective theory and field theory models or
operators, including aspects of the matching of quark and gluon operators to
nuclear form factors.Comment: 35 pages, 3 figures, Appendix C.3 revised, acknowledgments and
references adde
Puzzles of Dark Matter - More Light on Dark Atoms?
Positive results of dark matter searches in experiments DAMA/NaI and
DAMA/LIBRA confronted with results of other groups can imply nontrivial
particle physics solutions for cosmological dark matter. Stable particles with
charge -2, bound with primordial helium in O-helium "atoms" (OHe), represent a
specific nuclear-interacting form of dark matter. Slowed down in the
terrestrial matter, OHe is elusive for direct methods of underground Dark
matter detection using its nuclear recoil. However, low energy binding of OHe
with sodium nuclei can lead to annual variations of energy release from OHe
radiative capture in the interval of energy 2-4 keV in DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA
experiments. 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. Moreover there is no bound
systems of OHe with light and heavy nuclei, so that there is no radiative
capture of OHe in detectors with xenon or helium content. Due to dipole Coulomb
barrier, transitions to more energetic levels of Na+OHe system with much higher
energy release are suppressed in the correspondence with the results of DAMA
experiments. The proposed explanation inevitably leads to prediction of
abundance of anomalous Na, corresponding to the signal, observed by DAMA.Comment: Contribution to Proceedings of XIII Bled Workshop "What Comes beyond
the Standard Model?
CoGeNT Interpretations
Recently, the CoGeNT experiment has reported events in excess of expected
background. We analyze dark matter scenarios which can potentially explain this
signal. Under the standard case of spin independent scattering with equal
couplings to protons and neutrons, we find significant tensions with existing
constraints. Consistency with these limits is possible if a large fraction of
the putative signal events is coming from an additional source of experimental
background. In this case, dark matter recoils cannot be said to explain the
excess, but are consistent with it. We also investigate modifications to dark
matter scattering that can evade the null experiments. In particular, we
explore generalized spin independent couplings to protons and neutrons, spin
dependent couplings, momentum dependent scattering, and inelastic interactions.
We find that some of these generalizations can explain most of the CoGeNT
events without violation of other constraints. Generalized couplings with some
momentum dependence, allows further consistency with the DAMA modulation
signal, realizing a scenario where both CoGeNT and DAMA signals are coming from
dark matter. A model with dark matter interacting and annihilating into a new
light boson can realize most of the scenarios considered.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figs, v2: published version, some discussions clarifie
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