2 research outputs found
Collider, direct and indirect detection of supersymmetric dark matter
We present an overview of supersymmetry searches, both at collider
experiments and via searches for dark matter (DM). We focus on three DM
possibilities in the SUSY context: the thermally produced neutralino, a mixture
of axion and axino, and the gravitino, and compare and contrast signals that
may be expected at colliders, in direct detection (DD) experiments searching of
DM relics left over from the Big Bang, and indirect detection (ID) experiments
designed to detect the products of DM annihilations within the solar interior
or galactic halo. Detection of DM particles using multiple strategies provides
complementary information that may shed light on the new physics associated
with the dark matter sector. In contrast to the mSUGRA model where the measured
cold DM relic density restricts us to special regions mostly on the edge of the
m_0-m_{1/2} plane, the entire parameter plane becomes allowed if the
universality assumption is relaxed in models with just one additional
parameter. Then, thermally produced neutralinos with a well-tempered mix of
wino, bino and higgsino components, or with a mass adjusted so that their
annihilation in the early universe is Higgs-resonance-enhanced, can be the DM.
Well-tempered neutralinos typically yield heightened rates for DD and ID
experiments compared to generic predictions from minimal supergravity. If
instead DM consists of axinos (possibly together with axions) or gravitinos,
then there exists the possibility of detection of quasi-stable next-to-lightest
SUSY particles at colliding beam experiments, with especially striking
consequences if the NLSP is charged, but no DD or ID detection. The exception
for mixed axion/axino DM is that DD of axions may be possible.Comment: 28 pages, 11 eps figures; invited contribution to NJP Focus Issue on
"Dark Matter and Particle Physics
Demonstration of surface electron rejection with interleaved germanium detectors for dark matter searches
The SuperCDMS experiment in the Soudan Underground Laboratory searches for dark matter with a 9-kg array of cryogenic germanium detectors. Symmetric sensors on opposite sides measure both charge and phonons from each particle interaction, providing excellent discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils, and between surface and interior events. Surface event rejection capabilities were tested with two 210 Pb sources producing ∼130 beta decays/hr. In ∼800 live hours, no events leaked into the 8–115 keV signal region, giving upper limit leakage fraction 1.7 × 10−5 at 90% C.L., corresponding to < 0.6 surface event background in the future 200-kg SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment