Generalized mirror matter models

Non-minimal gauge models with exact unbroken improper space-time symmetries are constructed and their cosmological and astrophysical implications explored.Comment: about 5 page

A CoGeNT confirmation of the DAMA signal

The CoGeNT collaboration has recently reported a rising low energy spectrum in their ultra low noise germanium detector. This is particularly interesting as the energy range probed by CoGeNT overlaps with the energy region in which DAMA has observed their annual modulation signal. We show that the mirror dark matter candidate can simultaneously explain both the DAMA annual modulation signal and the rising low energy spectrum observed by CoGeNT. This constitutes a model dependent confirmation of the DAMA signal and adds weight to the mirror dark matter paradigm.Comment: About 8 pages, expanded and update

Mirror and hidden sector dark matter in the light of new CoGeNT data

The CoGeNT collaboration has recently made available new data collected over a period of 15 months. In addition to more accurately measuring the spectrum of nuclear recoil candidate events they have announced evidence for an annual modulation signal. We examine the implications of these new results within the context of mirror/hidden sector dark matter models. We find that the new CoGeNT data can be explained within this framework with parameter space consistent with the DAMA annual modulation signal, and the null results of the other experiments. We also point out that the CoGeNT spectrum at low energies is observed to obey $dR/dE_R \propto 1/E_R^2$ which suggests that dark matter interacts via Rutherford scattering rather than the more commonly assumed contact (four-fermion) interaction.Comment: About 12 pages, matches published versio

Detecting dark matter using centrifuging techniques

A new and inexpensive technique for detecting self interacting dark matter in the form of small grains in bulk matter is proposed. Depending on the interactions with ordinary matter, dark matter grains in bulk matter may be isolated by using a centrifuge and using ordinary matter as a filter. The case of mirror matter interacting with ordinary matter via photon-mirror photon kinetic mixing provides a concrete example of this type of dark matter candidate.Comment: About 9 page

Primordial He' abundance implied by the mirror dark matter interpretation of the DAMA/Libra signal

We compute the primordial mirror helium He' mass fraction emerging from Big Bang nucleosynthesis in the mirror sector of particles in the presence of kinetic mixing between photons and mirror photons. We explore the kinetic mixing parameter (epsilon) values relevant for cosmology and which are also currently probed by the dark matter direct detection experiments. In particular, we find that for epsilon \sim 10^{-9}, as suggested by the DAMA/Libra and other experiments, a large He' mass fraction (Y_{He'} \approx 90%) is produced. Such a large value of the primordial He' mass fraction will have important implications for the mirror dark matter interpretation of the direct detection experiments, as well as for the study of mirror star formation and evolution.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Evolutionary and structural properties of mirror star MACHOs

There can exist a hidden sector of the Universe in the form of parallel ''mirror'' world which has the same particle physics as the observable world and interacts with the latter only gravitationally. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis bounds demand that the mirror sector should have a smaller temperature than the ordinary one. This implies that the mirror matter could play a role of dark matter, and in addition its chemical content should be dominated by helium. Here we study the evolutionary and structural properties of the mirror stars which essentially are similar to that of the ordinary stars but with higher helium contents. Being invisible in terms of photons, they could be observed only as MACHOs in the microlensing experiments. Using a numerical code, we compute evolution of stars with large helium abundances (Y = 0.30-0.80) and a wide range of masses, from 0.5 to 10 solar masses. We found that helium dominated mirror star should have much faster evolutionary time (up to a factor 30) than the ordinary star with the same mass. In addition, we show the diagrams of luminosities, effective temperatures, central temperatures and densities, and compute the masses of the He core at ignition and the minimum mass for carbon ignition, for different chemical compositions. The general conclusion is that mirror stars evolve faster as compared to ordinary ones, and explode earlier as type II supernovae, thus enriching the galactic halo of processed mirror gas with higher metallicity, with implications for MACHO observations and galaxy evolution.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures; minor change

Natural electroweak symmetry breaking in generalised mirror matter models

It has recently been pointed out that the mirror or twin Higgs model is more technically natural than the standard model, thus alleviating the ``little'' hierarchy problem. In this paper we generalise the analysis to models with an arbitrary number of isomorphic standard model sectors, and demonstrate that technical naturalness increases with the number of additional sectors. We consider two kinds of models. The first has $N$ standard model sectors symmetric under arbitrary permutations thereof. The second has $p$ left-chiral standard model sectors and $p$ right-chiral or mirror standard model sectors, with $p$-fold permutation symmetries within both and a discrete parity transformation interchanging left and right. In both kinds of models the lightest scalar has an invisible width fraction 1/N, which will provide an important means of experimentally testing this class of models.Comment: about 8 page

Reconciling the positive DAMA annual modulation signal with the negative results of the CDMS II experiment

We examine the recent CDMS II results in the context of the mirror matter interpretation of the DAMA/NaI experiment.We find that the favoured mirror matter interpretation of the DAMA/NaI experiment -- a $He'/H'$ dominated halo with a small $O'$ component is fully consistent with the null results reported by CDMS II. While the CDMS II experiment is quite sensitive to a heavy $Fe'$ component, and may yet find a positive result, a more decisive test of mirror matter-type dark matter would require a lower threshold experiment using light target elements.Comment: about 6 page

A mirror world explanation for the Pioneer spacecraft anomalies?

We show that the anomalous acceleration of the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft can be explained if there is some mirror gas or mirror dust in our solar system.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, accepted in Phys. Lett.

Physical origin of "chaoticity" of neutrino asymmetry

We consider the indeterminacy in the sign of the neutrino asymmetry generated by active-sterile neutrino oscillations in the early universe. The dynamics of asymmetry growth is discussed in detail and the indeterminacy in the final sign of the asymmetry is shown to be a real physical phenomenon. Recently published contradicting results are carefully considered and the underlying assumptions leading to the disagreement are resolved.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 4 eps figures, uses cite.st