Related papers: Astrophysical uncertainties on direct detection ex…
The existence of dark matter as evidenced by numerous indirect observations is one of the most important indications that there must be physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. This article reviews the concepts of direct…
This is a set of four lectures presented at the Theoretical Advanced Study Institute (TASI-09) in June 2009. I provide an introduction to experiments designed to detect WIMP dark matter directly, focusing on building intuitive understanding…
One of the most popular classes of candidates for dark matter are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), i.e. particles possessing masses and couplings falling roughly within the electroweak scale. Apart from offering a natural…
The status and prospects of the experimental efforts in the detection of Particle Dark Matter is reviewed. Emphasis is put in the direct searches for WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), outlining the various strategies and…
The details of what constitutes the majority of the mass that makes up dark matter in the Universe remains one of the prime puzzles of cosmology and particle physics today - eighty years after the first observational indications. Today, it…
Direct detection experiments aim at the detection of dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) by searching for signals from elastic dark matter nucleus scattering. Additionally, inelastic scattering in which…
Determining the dark matter (DM) mass is of paramount importance for understanding dark matter. We present a novel parametrization of the DM speed distribution which will allow the DM mass to be accurately measured using data from Weakly…
In Dark Matter direct detection we are facing the situation of some experiments reporting positive signals which are in conflict with limits from other experiments. Such conclusions are subject to large uncertainties introduced by the…
The dark matter of our galactic halo may be constituted by elementary particles that interact weakly with ordinary matter (WIMPs). In spite of the very low counting rates expected for these dark matter particles to scatter off nuclei in a…
Direct detection of dark matter with directional sensitivity is a promising concept for improving the search for weakly interacting massive particles. With information on the direction of WIMP induced nuclear recoils one has access to the…
The recent WMAP data have confirmed that exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant) dominate in the flat Universe. Modern particle theories naturally provide viable cold dark matter candidates with masses in…
Rates for detection of weakly-interacting massive-particle (WIMP) dark matter are usually carried out assuming the Milky Way halo is an isothermal sphere. However, it is possible that our halo is not precisely spherical; it may have some…
Once weakly-interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are unambiguously detected in direct-detection experiments, the challenge will be to determine what one may infer from the data. Here, I examine the prospects for reconstructing the local…
More and more claims of having detected WIMP dark matter are being put forward. Some are discussed here, stressing the importance of exploiting distinctive signatures to ascertain their WIMP origin. The best signals for WIMP discovery are…
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are leading candidates for the dominant part of the mass density of the Universe. Here we will review direct WIMP detection techniques by giving examples of currently running experiments, and…
The differential event rate for direct detection of dark matter, both the time averaged and the modulated one due to the motion of the Earth, are discussed. The calculations focus on relatively light cold dark matter candidates (WIMP) and…
Terrestrial dark matter detection experiments probe the velocity-space distribution of dark matter particles in the vicinity of the Earth. We present a novel method, to be used in conjunction with standard cosmological simulations of…
Cosmological observations indicate that most of the matter in the Universe is Dark Matter. Dark Matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) can be detected directly, via its elastic scattering off target nuclei. Most…
We study the impact of the assumed velocity distribution of galactic dark matter particles on the interpretation of results from nuclear recoil detectors. By converting experimental data to variables that make the astrophysical unknowns…
Direct detection experiments searching for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter typically use a simplified model of the Galactic halo to derive parameter constraints. However, there is strong evidence that this Standard…