Related papers: Discriminating WIMP-nucleus response functions in …
Assuming for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) a Maxwellian velocity distribution in the Galaxy we explore in a systematic way the relative sensitivity of an extensive set of existing and projected Dark Matter (DM) direct…
The common analysis of direct searches for spin-independent Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) assumes that a spin-independent WIMP couples with the same strength with both nucleons, \textit{i.e.} that the spin-independent…
We present comparisons of direct dark matter (DM) detection data for light WIMPs with exothermic scattering with nuclei (exoDM), both assuming the Standard Halo Model (SHM) and in a halo model - independent manner. Exothermic interactions…
Cosmological observations and the dynamics of the Milky Way provide ample evidence for an invisible and dominant mass component. This so-called dark matter could be made of new, colour and charge neutral particles, which were…
The SIMPLE project uses superheated C2ClF5 liquid detectors to search for particle dark matter candidates. We report the results of the first stage exposure (14.1 kgd) of its latest two-stage, Phase II run, with 15 superheated droplet…
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…
We show that compatibility between the DAMA modulation result (as well as less statistically significant excesses such as the CDMS Silicon effect and the excess claimed by CRESST) with constraints from other experiments can be achieved by…
Direct dark matter searches are promising techniques to identify the nature of dark matter particles. I describe the future of this field of research, focussing on the question of what can be achieved in the next decade. I will present the…
Various issues related to the direct detection of supersymmetric dark matter are reviewed. Such are: 1) Construction of supersymmetric models with a number of parameters, which are constrained from the data at low energies as well as…
Dark matter detectors built primarily to probe elastic scattering of WIMPs on nuclei are also precise probes of light, weakly coupled particles that may be absorbed by the detector material. In this paper, we derive constraints on the…
We update our exploration of the MSSM parameter space at the weak scale where new accelerator and cosmological constraints are respected. The dependence of WIMP-nucleon cross sections on parameters of the MSSM, uncertainties of the nucleon…
The differential event rate in Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) direct detection experiments depends on the local dark matter density and velocity distribution. Accurate modelling of the local dark matter distribution is therefore…
I evaluate the current results of spin-dependent weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) searches within a model-independent framework, showing the most restrictive limits to date derive from the combination of xenon and sodium iodide…
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are one of the leading candidates for Dark Matter. We develop a model-independent method for determining the mass $m_\chi$ of the WIMP by using data (i.e., measured recoil energies) of direct…
Identifying the true theory of dark matter depends crucially on accurately characterizing interactions of dark matter (DM) with other species. In the context of DM direct detection, we present a study of the prospects for correctly…
Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are one of the leading candidates for Dark Matter. So far we can use direct Dark Matter detection to estimate the mass of halo WIMPs only by fitting predicted recoil spectra to future…
Experiments that use liquid noble gasses as target materials, such as argon and xenon, play a significant role in direct detection searches for WIMP(-like) dark matter. As these experiments grow in size, they will soon encounter a new…
In this thesis, we investigate various possibilities of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter (DM) and their implications. These possibilities are important because they challenge the viability of WIMP DM in light of tight…
Direct detection of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) candidates of Dark Matter (DM) is studied within the context of a self-consistent truncated isothermal model of the finite-size dark halo of the Galaxy based on the "King model"…
XENON10 is an experiment to directly detect weakly interacting massive particle (WIMPs), which may comprise the bulk of the non-baryonic dark matter in our Universe. We report new results for spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon interactions with…