Related papers: Dark Matter 2014
The identity of dark matter is a question of central importance in both astrophysics and particle physics. In the past, the leading particle candidates were cold and collisionless, and typically predicted missing energy signals at particle…
Several ideas for new physics beyond the standard model may provide particle candidates for the dark matter in the Galactic halo. The two leading candidates are an axion and a weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP), such as the…
A generic weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) is one of the most attractive candidates to account for the cold dark matter in our Universe, since it would be thermally produced with the correct abundance to account for the observed…
Astrophysical observations indicate that about 23% of the energy density of the universe is in the form of non-baryonic particles beyond the standard model of particle physics. One exciting and well motivated candidate is the lightest…
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…
It is shown that weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are possible cold dark matter candidates, can be studied by exclusive measurements of X-rays following WIMPs nuclear interactions. Inner-shell atomic electrons are ionized…
These lectures on non-baryonic dark matter matter are divided into two parts. In the first part, I discuss the need for non-baryonic dark matter in light of recent results in cosmology, and I present some of the most popular candidates for…
Several aspects of the motivation for particle dark matter search are introduced. The experimental principles and present state of the most important experiments are presented. Direct searches for WIMPs are explained in some detail,…
Whilst the need for dark matter was established almost a century ago, only its gravitational interaction has been confirmed so far, allowing for plethora of models for dark matter. The Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) category…
SuperWeakly-Interacting Massive Particles (superWIMPs) produced in the late decays of other particles are well-motivated dark matter candidates and may be favored over standard Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) by small scale…
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…
Among the prominent low-mass dark matter candidates is the QCD axion but also other light and weakly interacting particles beyond the Standard Model. We review briefly the case for such dark matter and give an overview on most recent…
We perform an indirect search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) using the MACRO detector to look for neutrino-induced upward-going muons resulting from the annihilation of WIMPs trapped in the Sun and Earth. The search is…
In the present work we examine the possibility of detecting light dark matter particles (WIMP) utilizing their possible interactions with the electrons. Employing reasonable theoretical models we evaluate the expected event rates in the…
Indirect detection of dark matter particles, i.e. the detection of annihilation or decay products of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, has entered a pivotal phase as experiments reach sensitivities that probe the most interesting…
We review various issues related to the direct detection of constituents of dark matter, which are assumed to be Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). We specifically consider heavy WIMPs such as: 1) The lightest supersymmetric…
Although weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) have long been among the most studied and theoretically attractive classes of candidates for the dark matter of our universe, the lack of their detection in direct detection and collider…
An ever-increasing body of evidence suggests that weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) constitute the bulk of the matter in the Universe. Experimental data, dimensional analysis and Standard Model particle physics are sufficient to…
One of the most promising strategies to identify the nature of dark matter consists in the search for new particles at accelerators and with so-called direct detection experiments. Working within the framework of simplified models, and…
Direct searches for dark matter lead to serious problems for simple models with stable neutral Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) as candidates for dark matter. A possibility is discussed that new stable quarks and charged leptons…