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Bertone, G., Cerdeño, D. G., Fornasa, M., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Trotta, R. (2010). Identification of dark matter particles with LHC and direct detection data. Phys. Rev. D, 82(5), 055008–7pp.
Abstract: Dark matter (DM) is currently searched for with a variety of detection strategies. Accelerator searches are particularly promising, but even if weakly interacting massive particles are found at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), it will be difficult to prove that they constitute the bulk of the DM in the Universe Omega(DM). We show that a significantly better reconstruction of the DM properties can be obtained with a combined analysis of LHC and direct detection data, by making a simple Ansatz on the weakly interacting massive particles local density rho(0)((chi) over bar1), i.e., by assuming that the local density scales with the cosmological relic abundance, (rho(0)((chi) over bar1)/rho(DM)) = (Omega(0)((chi) over bar1)/Omega(DM)). We demonstrate this method in an explicit example in the context of a 24-parameter supersymmetric model, with a neutralino lightest supersymmetric particle in the stau coannihilation region. Our results show that future ton-scale direct detection experiments will allow to break degeneracies in the supersymmetric parameter space and achieve a significantly better reconstruction of the neutralino composition and its relic density than with LHC data alone.
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Taoso, M., Iocco, F., Meynet, G., Bertone, G., & Eggenberger, P. (2010). Effect of low mass dark matter particles on the Sun. Phys. Rev. D, 82(8), 083509–14pp.
Abstract: We study the effect of dark matter (DM) particles in the Sun, focusing, in particular, on the possible reduction of the solar neutrinos flux due to the energy carried away by DM particles from the innermost regions of the Sun, and to the consequent reduction of the temperature of the solar core. We find that in the very low-mass range between 4 and 10 GeV, recently advocated to explain the findings of the DAMA and CoGent experiments, the effects on neutrino fluxes are detectable only for DM models with a very small, or vanishing, self-annihilation cross section, such as the so-called asymmetric DM models, and we study the combination of DM masses and spin-dependent cross sections which can be excluded with current solar neutrino data. Finally, we revisit the recent claim that DM models with large self-interacting cross sections can lead to a modification of the position of the convective zone, alleviating or solving the solar composition problem. We show that when the "geometric'' upper limit on the capture rate is correctly taken into account, the effects of DM are reduced by orders of magnitude, and the position of the convective zone remains unchanged.
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Bertone, G., Kong, K. C., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Trotta, R. (2011). Global fits of the minimal universal extra dimensions scenario. Phys. Rev. D, 83(3), 036008–15pp.
Abstract: In theories with universal extra dimensions (UED), the gamma(1) particle, first excited state of the hypercharge gauge boson, provides an excellent dark matter (DM) candidate. Here, we use a modified version of the SUPERBAYES code to perform a Bayesian analysis of the minimal UED scenario, in order to assess its detectability at accelerators and with DM experiments. We derive, in particular, the most probable range of mass and scattering cross sections off nucleons, keeping into account cosmological and electroweak precision constraints. The consequences for the detectability of the gamma(1) with direct and indirect experiments are dramatic. The spin-independent cross section probability distribution peaks at similar to 10(-11) pb, i.e. below the sensitivity of ton-scale experiments. The spin-dependent cross section drives the predicted neutrino flux from the center of the Sun below the reach of present and upcoming experiments. The only strategy that remains open appears to be direct detection with ton-scale experiments sensitive to spin-dependent cross sections. On the other hand, the LHC with 1 fb(-1) of data should be able to probe the current best-fit UED parameters.
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Pato, M., Baudis, L., Bertone, G., Ruiz de Austri, R., Strigari, L. E., & Trotta, R. (2011). Complementarity of dark matter direct detection targets. Phys. Rev. D, 83(8), 083505–11pp.
Abstract: We investigate the reconstruction capabilities of the dark matter mass and spin-independent cross section from future ton-scale direct detection experiments using germanium, xenon, or argon as targets. Adopting realistic values for the exposure, energy threshold, and resolution of dark matter experiments which will come online within 5 to 10 years, the degree of complementarity between different targets is quantified. We investigate how the uncertainty in the astrophysical parameters controlling the local dark matter density and velocity distribution affects the reconstruction. For a 50 GeV WIMP, astrophysical uncertainties degrade the accuracy in the mass reconstruction by up to a factor of similar to 4 for xenon and germanium, compared to the case when astrophysical quantities are fixed. However, the combination of argon, germanium, and xenon data increases the constraining power by a factor of similar to 2 compared to germanium or xenon alone. We show that future direct detection experiments can achieve self-calibration of some astrophysical parameters, and they will be able to constrain the WIMP mass with only very weak external astrophysical constraints.
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Bertone, G., Cerdeño, D. G., Fornasa, M., Ruiz de Austri, R., Strege, C., & Trotta, R. (2012). Global fits of the cMSSM including the first LHC and XENON100 data. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 01(1), 015–23pp.
Abstract: We present updated global fits of the constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (cMSSM), including the most recent constraints from the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the LHC, as well as the most recent results of the XENON100 experiment. Our robust analysis takes into account both astrophysical and hadronic uncertainties that enter in the calculation of the rate of WIMP-induced recoils in direct detection experiment. We study the consequences for neutralino Dark Matter, and show that current direct detection data already allow to robustly rule out the so-called Focus Point region, therefore demonstrating the importance of particle astrophysics experiments in constraining extensions of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. We also observe an increased compatibility between results obtained from a Bayesian and a Frequentist statistical perspective. We find that upcoming ton-scale direct detection experiments will probe essentially the entire currently favoured region (at the 99% level), almost independently of the statistical approach used. Prospects for indirect detection of the cMSSM are further reduced.
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