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Beneke, M., Hellmann, C., & Ruiz-Femenia, P. (2015). Heavy neutralino relic abundance with Sommerfeld enhancements – a study of pMSSM scenarios. J. High Energy Phys., 03(3), 162–37pp.
Abstract: We present a detailed discussion of Sommerfeld enhancements in neutralino dark matter relic abundance calculations for several popular benchmark scenarios in the general MSSM. Our analysis is focused on models with heavy wino- and higgsino-like neutralino LSI' and models interpolating between these two scenarios. This work is the first phenomenological application of effective field theory methods that we have developed in earlier work and that allow for the consistent study of Sommerfeld enhancements in nonrelativistic neutralino and chargino co-annihilation reactions within the general MSSM, away from the pure-wino and pure-higgsino limits.
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Beneke, M., Hellmann, C., & Ruiz-Femenia, P. (2015). Non-relativistic pair annihilation of nearly mass degenerate neutralinos and charginos III. Computation of the Sommerfeld enhancements. J. High Energy Phys., 05(5), 115–57pp.
Abstract: This paper concludes the presentation of the non-relativistic effective field theory formalism designed to calculate the radiative corrections that enhance the pair-annihilation cross sections of slowly moving neutralinos and charginos within the general minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). While papers I and II focused on the computation of the tree-level annihilation rates that feed into the short-distance part, here we describe in detail the method to obtain the Sommerfeld factors that contain the enhanced long-distance corrections. This includes the computation of the potential interactions in the MSSM, which are provided in compact analytic form, and a novel solution of the multi-state Schrodinger equation that is free from the numerical instabilities generated by large mass splittings between the scattering states. Our results allow for a precise computation of the MSSM neutralino dark matter relic abundance and pair-annihilation rates in the present Universe, when Sommerfeld enhancements are important.
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Bennett, J. J., Buldgen, G., de Salas, P. F., Drewes, M., Gariazzo, S., Pastor, S., et al. (2021). Towards a precision calculation of the effective number of neutrinos N-eff in the Standard Model. Part II. Neutrino decoupling in the presence of flavour oscillations and finite-temperature QED. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 073–33pp.
Abstract: We present in this work a new calculation of the standard-model benchmark value for the effective number of neutrinos, N-eff(SM), that quantifies the cosmological neutrinoto-photon energy densities. The calculation takes into account neutrino flavour oscillations, finite-temperature effects in the quantum electrodynamics plasma to O(e(3)), where e is the elementary electric charge, and a full evaluation of the neutrino-neutrino collision integral. We provide furthermore a detailed assessment of the uncertainties in the benchmark N(eff)(SM )value, through testing the value's dependence on (i) optional approximate modelling of the weak collision integrals, (ii) measurement errors in the physical parameters of the weak sector, and (iii) numerical convergence, particularly in relation to momentum discretisation. Our new, recommended standard-model benchmark is N-eff(SM) 3.0440 +/- 0.0002, where the nominal uncertainty is attributed predominantly to errors incurred in the numerical solution procedure (vertical bar delta N-eff vertical bar similar to 10(-4)), augmented by measurement errors in the solar mixing angle sin(2) theta(12) (vertical bar delta N-eff vertical bar similar to 10(-4)).
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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Abraham, J. et al), & Pastor, S. (2010). A study of the effect of molecular and aerosol conditions in the atmosphere on air fluorescence measurements at the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astropart Phys., 33(2), 108–129.
Abstract: The air fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory is designed to perforin calorimetric measurements of extensive air showers created by Cosmic rays of above 10(18) eV. To correct these measurements for the effects introduced by atmospheric fluctuations, the Observatory contains a group Of monitoring instruments to record atmospheric conditions across the detector site, ail area exceeding 3000 km(2). The atmospheric data are used extensively in the reconstruction of air showers, and are particularly important for the correct determination of shower energies and the depths of shower maxima. This paper contains a summary of the molecular and aerosol conditions measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory since the start of regular operations in 2004, and includes a discussion of the impact of these measurements oil air shower reconstructions. Between 10(18) and 10(20) eV, the systematic Uncertainties due to all atmospheric effects increase from 4% to 8% in measurements of shower energy, and 4 g cm(-2) to 8 g cm(-2) in measurements of the shower maximum.
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T2K Collaboration(Abe, K. et al), Antonova, M., Cervera-Villanueva, A., Fernandez, P., Izmaylov, A., & Novella, P. (2020). Measurement of the charged-current electron (anti-)neutrino inclusive cross-sections at the T2K off-axis near detector ND280. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 114–43pp.
Abstract: The electron (anti-)neutrino component of the T2K neutrino beam constitutes the largest background in the measurement of electron (anti-)neutrino appearance at the far detector. The electron neutrino scattering is measured directly with the T2K off-axis near detector, ND280. The selection of the electron (anti-)neutrino events in the plastic scintillator target from both neutrino and anti-neutrino mode beams is discussed in this paper. The flux integrated single differential charged-current inclusive electron (anti-)neutrino cross-sections, d sigma/dp and d sigma/d cos(theta), and the total cross-sections in a limited phase-space in momentum and scattering angle (p 300 MeV/c and theta <= 45 degrees) are measured using a binned maximum likelihood fit and compared to the neutrino Monte Carlo generator predictions, resulting in good agreement.
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Bernal, N., Donini, A., Folgado, M. G., & Rius, N. (2020). Kaluza-Klein FIMP dark matter in warped extra-dimensions. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 142–31pp.
Abstract: We study for the first time the case in which Dark Matter (DM) is made of Feebly Interacting Massive Particles (FIMP) interacting just gravitationally with the standard model particles in an extra-dimensional Randall-Sundrum scenario. We assume that both the dark matter and the standard model are localized in the IR-brane and only interact via gravitational mediators, namely the graviton, the Kaluza-Klein gravitons and the radion. We found that in the early Universe DM could be generated via two main processes: the direct freeze-in and the sequential freeze-in. The regions where the observed DM relic abundance is produced are largely compatible with cosmological and collider bounds.
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Bernal, N., Donini, A., Folgado, M. G., & Rius, N. (2021). FIMP Dark Matter in Clockwork/Linear Dilaton extra-dimensions. J. High Energy Phys., 04(4), 061–29pp.
Abstract: We study the possibility that Dark Matter (DM) is made of Feebly Interacting Massive Particles (FIMP) interacting just gravitationally with the Standard Model particles in the framework of a Clockwork/Linear Dilaton (CW/LD) model. We restrict here to the case in which the DM particles are scalar fields. This paper extends our previous study of FIMP's in Randall-Sundrum (RS) warped extra-dimensions. As it was the case in the RS scenario, also in the CW/LD model we find a significant region of the parameter space in which the observed DM relic abundance can be reproduced with scalar DM mass in the MeV range, with a reheating temperature varying from 10 GeV to 10(9) GeV. We comment on the similarities of the results in both extra-dimensional models.
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Bernal, N., Martin-Albo, J., & Palomares-Ruiz, S. (2013). A novel way of constraining WIMPs annihilations in the Sun: MeV neutrinos. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 08(8), 011–19pp.
Abstract: Annihilation of dark matter particles accumulated in the Sun would produce a flux of high-energy neutrinos whose prospects of detection in neutrino telescopes and detectors have been extensively discussed in the literature. However, for annihilations into Standard Model particles, there would also be a flux of neutrinos in the MeV range from the decays at rest of muons and positively charged pions. These low-energy neutrinos have never been considered before and they open the possibility to also constrain dark matter annihilation in the Sun into e(+)e(-), mu(+)mu(-) or light quarks. Here we perform a detailed analysis using the recent Super-Kamiokande data in the few tens of MeV range to set limits on the WIMP-nucleon scattering cross section for different annihilation channels and computing the evaporation rate of WIMPs from the Sun for all values of the scattering cross section in a consistent way.
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Bernal, N., Colucci, S., Josse-Michaux, F. X., Racker, J., & Ubaldi, L. (2013). On baryogenesis from dark matter annihilation. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 10(10), 035–30pp.
Abstract: We study in detail the conditions to generate the baryon asymmetry of the universe from the annihilation of dark matter. This scenario requires a low energy mechanism for thermal baryogenesis, hence we first discuss some of these mechanisms together with the specific constraints due to the connection with the dark matter sector. Then we show that, contrary to what stated in previous studies, it is possible to generate the cosmological asymmetry without adding a light sterile dark sector, both in models with violation and with conservation of B – L. In addition, one of the models we propose yields some connection to neutrino masses.
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Bernal, N., Forero-Romero, J. E., Garani, R., & Palomares-Ruiz, S. (2014). Systematic uncertainties from halo asphericity in dark matter searches. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 09(9), 004–30pp.
Abstract: Although commonly assumed to be spherical, dark matter halos are predicted to be non-spherical by N-body simulations and their asphericity has a potential impact on the systematic uncertainties in dark matter searches. The evaluation of these uncertainties is the main aim of this work, where we study the impact of aspherical dark matter density distributions in Milky-Way-like halos on direct and indirect searches. Using data from the large N-body cosmological simulation Bolshoi, we perform a statistical analysis and quantify the systematic uncertainties on the determination of local dark matter density and the so-called J factors for dark matter annihilations and decays from the galactic center. We find that, due to our ignorance about the extent of the non-sphericity of the Milky Way dark matter halo, systematic uncertainties can be as large as 35%, within the 95% most probable region, for a spherically averaged value for the local density of 0.3-0.4 GeV/cm(3). Similarly, systematic uncertainties on the J factors evaluated around the galactic center can be as large as 10% and 15%, within the 95% most probable region, for dark matter annihilations and decays, respectively.
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