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The highly radiopure $\simeq$ 250 kg NaI(Tl) DAMA/LIBRA set-up is running at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the I.N.F.N.. In this paper the first result obtained by exploiting the model independent annual modulation signature for…
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…
We discuss the effect induced on the neutralino-nucleon scalar cross-section by the present uncertainties in the values of the quark masses and of the quark scalar densities in the nucleon. We examine the implications of this aspect on the…
The XENON100 experiment, in operation at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, is designed to search for dark matter WIMPs scattering off 62 kg of liquid xenon in an ultra-low background dual-phase time projection chamber. In…
The nature of dark matter, which constitutes 27% of the Universe's matter-energy content, remains one of the most challenging open questions in physics. Over the past two decades, the DAMA/LIBRA experiment has reported an annual modulation…
Coherent elastic neutrino- and WIMP-nucleus interaction signatures are expected to be quite similar. This paper discusses how a next generation ton-scale dark matter detector could discover neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering, a…
Direct and indirect detection rates of relic neutralinos are reviewed in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The theoretical estimates are compared with the most recent experimental limits from low-background…
Neutralinos that are mostly wino or higgsino are shown to be compatible with the recent DAMA annual modulation signal. The nucleon scattering rates for these dark matter candidates are typically an order of magnitude above the…
DARk matter WImp search with liquid xenoN (DARWIN) will be an experiment for the direct detection of dark matter using a multi-ton liquid xenon time projection chamber at its core. Its primary goal will be to explore the experimentally…
The aim of the current work is a detailed time-series analysis of the data from Dark Matter direct detection experiments as well as related datasets. We examine recent claims that the cosmic ray muon flux can be responsible for generating…
Spin-dependent WIMP searches have traditionally presented results within an odd group approximation and by suppressing one of the spin-dependent interaction cross sections. We here elaborate on a model-independent analysis in which…
The search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) by direct detection faces an encroaching background due to coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering. As the sensitivity of these experiments improves, the question of how to best…
We explore the dark matter interpretation of the anomalies claimed by the DAMA and CoGeNT experiments, in conjunction with the various null direct-detection experiments. An independent analysis of the CoGeNT data is employed and several…
Direct detection experiments, which are designed to detect the scattering of dark matter off nuclei in detectors, are a critical component in the search for the Universe's missing matter. The count rate in these experiments should…
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…
We are conducting an experiment to search for WIMPs, or weakly-interacting massive particles, in the galactic halo using terrestrial detectors. This generic class of hypothetical particles, whose properties are similar to those predicted by…
The long-standing model-independent annual modulation effect measured by DAMA deep underground at Gran Sasso Laboratory with different experimental configurations is summarized and perspectives will be highlighted. DAMA/LIBRA-phase2 set-up,…
As dark matter (DM) direct detection experiments continue to improve their sensitivity they will inevitably encounter an irreducible background arising from coherent neutrino scattering. This so-called "neutrino floor" may significantly…
An analysis is given of the annual modulation signal for the direct detection of relic neutralinos within the framework of supergravity unified models. It is shown that both the minimal and the non-minimal SUGRA models can generate…
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…