10 research outputs found
Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter, Electrons and Gamma Ray Telescopes
Kaluza-Klein dark matter particles can annihilate efficiently into
electron-positron pairs, providing a discrete feature (a sharp edge) in the
cosmic spectrum at an energy equal to the particle's mass (typically
several hundred GeV to one TeV). Although this feature is probably beyond the
reach of satellite or balloon-based cosmic ray experiments (those that
distinguish the charge and mass of the primary particle), gamma ray telescopes
may provide an alternative detection method. Designed to observe very
high-energy gamma-rays, ACTs also observe the diffuse flux of electron-induced
electromagnetic showers. The GLAST satellite, designed for gamma ray astronomy,
will also observe any high energy showers (several hundred GeV and above) in
its calorimeter. We show that high-significance detections of an
electron-positron feature from Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilations are
possible with GLAST, and also with ACTs such as HESS, VERITAS or MAGIC.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Increasing the Neutralino Relic Abundance with Slepton Coannihilations: Consequences for Indirect Dark Matter Detection
We point out that if the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is a
Higgsino- or Wino-like neutralino, the net effect of coannihilations with
sleptons is to increase the relic abundance, rather than producing the usual
suppression, which takes place if the LSP is Bino-like. The reason for the
enhancement lies in the effective thermally averaged cross section at
freeze-out: sleptons annihilate (and co-annihilate) less efficiently than the
neutralino(s)-chargino system, therefore slepton coannihilations effectively
act as parasite degrees of freedom at freeze-out. Henceforth, the thermal relic
abundance of LSP's corresponds to the cold Dark Matter abundance for smaller
values of the LSP mass, and larger values of the neutralino pair annihilation
cross section. In turn, at a given thermal neutralino relic abundance, this
implies larger indirect detection rates, as a result of an increase in the
fluxes of antimatter, gamma rays and neutrinos from the Sun orginating from
neutralino pair annihilations.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, references added, typos corrected, matches with
the published versio
Neutralino Dark Matter in Mirage Mediation
We study the phenomenology of neutralino dark matter (DM) in mirage mediation
scenario of supersymmetry breaking which results from the moduli stabilization
in some string/brane models. Depending upon the model parameters, especially
the anomaly to modulus mediation ratio determined by the moduli stabilization
mechanism, the nature of the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) changes
from Bino-like neutralino to Higgsino-like one via Bino-Higgsino mixing region.
For the Bino-like LSP, the standard thermal production mechanism can give a
right amount of relic DM density through the stop/stau-neutralino
coannihilation or the pseudo-scalar Higgs resonance process. We also examine
the prospect of direct and indirect DM detection in various parameter regions
of mirage mediation. Neutralino DM in galactic halo might be detected by near
future direct detection experiments in the case of Bino-Higgsino mixed LSP. The
gamma ray flux from Galactic Center might be detectable also if the DM density
profile takes a cuspy shape.Comment: One reference adde
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
Adiabatic compression and indirect detection of supersymmetric dark matter
Recent developments in the modelling of the dark matter distribution in our
Galaxy point out the necessity to consider some physical processes to satisfy
observational data. In particular, models with adiabatic compression, which
include the effect of the baryonic gas in the halo, increase significantly the
dark matter density in the central region of the Milky Way. On the other hand,
the non-universality in scalar and gaugino sectors of supergravity models can
also increase significantly the neutralino annihilation cross section. We show
that the combination of both effects gives rise to a gamma-ray flux arising
from the Galactic Center largely reachable by future experiments like GLAST. We
also analyse in this framework the EGRET excess data above 1 GeV, as well as
the recent data from CANGAROO and HESS. The analysis has been carried out
imposing the most recent experimental constraints, such as the lower bound on
the Higgs mass, the \bsg branching ratio, and the muon . In addition, the
recently improved upper bound on has also been taken
into account. The astrophysical (WMAP) bounds on the dark matter density have
also been imposed on the theoretical computation of the relic neutralino
density through thermal production.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, final version to appear in JCA
A comparison between the detection of gamma rays and positrons from neutralino annihilation
We study the indirect detection of neutralino dark matter using positrons and
gamma rays from its annihilation in the galactic halo. Considering the HESS
data as the spectrum constituting the gamma--ray background, we compare the
prospects for the experiments GLAST and PAMELA in a general supergravity
framework with non--universal scalar and gaugino masses. We show that with a
boost factor of about 10, PAMELA will be competitive with GLAST for typical NFW
cuspy profiles.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 1 reference added. Final version to appear in
JCA
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
Dark matter and Colliders searches in the MSSM
We study the complementarity between dark matter experiments (direct
detection and indirect detections) and accelerator facilities (the CERN LHC and
a TeV Linear Collider) in the framework of the
constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We show how
non--universality in the scalar and gaugino sectors can affect the experimental
prospects to discover the supersymmetric particles. The future experiments will
cover a large part of the parameter space of the MSSM favored by WMAP
constraint on the relic density, but there still exist some regions beyond
reach for some extreme (fine tuned) values of the supersymmetric parameters.
Whereas the Focus Point region characterized by heavy scalars will be easily
probed by experiments searching for dark matter, the regions with heavy
gauginos and light sfermions will be accessible more easily by collider
experiments. More informations on both supersymmetry and astrophysics
parameters can be thus obtained by correlating the different signals.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, corrected typos and reference adde
Dark Matter Candidates: A Ten-Point Test
An extraordinarily rich zoo of non-baryonic Dark Matter candidates has been
proposed over the last three decades. Here we present a 10-point test that a
new particle has to pass, in order to be considered a viable DM candidate: I.)
Does it match the appropriate relic density? II.) Is it {\it cold}? III.) Is it
neutral? IV.) Is it consistent with BBN? V.) Does it leave stellar evolution
unchanged? VI.) Is it compatible with constraints on self-interactions? VII.)
Is it consistent with {\it direct} DM searches? VIII.) Is it compatible with
gamma-ray constraints? IX.) Is it compatible with other astrophysical bounds?
X.) Can it be probed experimentally?Comment: 29 pages, 12 figure