Related papers: Planck-scale effects on WIMP dark matter
General considerations in general relativity and quantum mechanics are known to potentially rule out continuous global symmetries in the context of any consistent theory of quantum gravity. Assuming the validity of such considerations, we…
Global-symmetry violating higher-dimension operators, expected to be induced by Planck-scale physics, in general drastically alter the properties of the axion field associated with the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem, and…
The lack of confirmation for the existence of supersymmetric particles and Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) appeals to extension of the field of studies of the physical nature of dark matter, involving non-supersymmetric and…
In existing dark matter models with global symmetries the relic abundance of dark matter is either equal to that of anti-dark matter (thermal WIMP), or vastly larger, with essentially no remaining anti-dark matter (asymmetric dark matter).…
Global symmetry can guarantee the stability of dark matter particles (DMps). However, the nonminimal coupling between dark matter (DM) and gravity can destroy the global symmetry of DMps, which in turn leads to their decay. Under the…
The Standard Model could be self-consistent up to the Planck scale according to the present measurements of the Higgs mass and top quark Yukawa coupling. It is therefore possible that new physics is only coupled to the Standard Model…
We study a discrete flavour symmetric scenario for neutrino mass and dark matter under the circumstances where such global discrete symmetries can be explicitly broken at Planck scale, possibly by gravitational effects. Such explicit…
In this work, we investigate dark matter (DM) detection in the context of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Upon annihilation, WIMPs generate cascades of secondary particles through various channels, many of which culminate in…
The effects of a possible rotation of the galactic dark halo on the calculation of the direct detection rates for particle dark matter are analyzed, with special attention to the extraction of the upper limits on the WIMP--nucleon scalar…
Scalar-tensor theories of gravity provide a consistent framework to accommodate an ultra-light quintessence scalar field. While the equivalence principle is respected by construction, deviations from General Relativity and standard…
This paper considers the effects of gravitational induced uncertainty on some well-known quantum optics issues. First we will show that gravitational effects at quantum level destroy the notion of harmonic oscillations. Then it will be…
The WIMP "miracle" suggests a new physics threshold ranging from the weak scale up to several tens of TeVs. Obtaining the correct dark matter density in many theories aiming to solve the hierarchy problem may thus require some amount of…
We investigate a new class of dark matter: superweakly-interacting massive particles (superWIMPs). As with conventional WIMPs, superWIMPs appear in well-motivated particle theories with naturally the correct relic density. In contrast to…
I summarize the recent advances in determining the effects of self-annihilating WIMP dark matter on the modification of the recombination history, at times earlier than the formation of astrophysical objects. Depending on mass and…
The hidden scalar field, which couples to the visible sector only through Planck-suppressed interactions, is a candidate for dark matter owing to its long lifetime. Decay of such a scalar field offers observational tests of this scenario.…
A constant (spacetime-independent) $q$-field may play a crucial role for the cancellation of Planck-scale contributions to the gravitating vacuum energy density. We now show that a small spacetime-dependent perturbation of the equilibrium…
Two leading dark matter candidates from supersymmetry and other theories of physics beyond the standard model are WIMPs and weak scale gravitinos. If the lightest stable particle is a gravitino, then a WIMP will decay into it with a natural…
Progress in observational cosmology over the past five years has established that the Universe is dominated dynamically by dark matter and dark energy. Both these new and apparently independent forms of matter-energy have properties that…
We examine the effect of some uncertainties in the input astrophysical parameters on direct detection searches for WIMPs in the Galactic halo. We concentrate on the possible WIMP annual modulation signal recently reported by the DAMA…
The combination of S-matrix unitarity and the dynamics of thermal freeze-out for massive relic particles (denoted here simply by WIMPs) implies a lower limit on the density of such particles, that provide a (potentially sub-dominant)…