The objective of this workshop series is to assess the status of work attempting to identify what constitutes dark matter - in particular, to consider the techniques being used, how successful they are, and what new techniques are likely to improve prospects for identifying likely dark matter candidates in the future.
The objective of the workshop series ?The Identification of Dark Matter? is to assess critically the status of work attempting to identify what constitutes dark matter; in particular, to consider what techniques are currently being used, how successful they are, and what new techniques are likely to improve the prospects for identifying dark matter candidates in the future. This proceedings volume includes reviews on major particle astrophysics topics in the field of dark matter, as well as short contributed papers.
Dark matter is among the most important open problems in modern physics. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, this book describes the theoretical and experimental aspects of the dark matter problem in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Featuring contributions from 48 leading theorists and experimentalists, it presents many aspects, from astrophysical observations to particle physics candidates, and from the prospects for detection at colliders to direct and indirect searches. The book introduces observational evidence for dark matter along with a detailed discussion of the state-of-the-art of numerical simulations and alternative explanations in terms of modified gravity. It then moves on to the candidates arising from theories beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, and to the prospects for detection at accelerators. It concludes by looking at direct and indirect dark matter searches, and the prospects for detecting the particle nature of dark matter with astrophysical experiments.
Supersymmetry is at an exciting stage of development. It extends the Standard Model of particle physics into a more powerful theory that both explains more and allows more questions to be addressed. Most importantly, it opens a window for studying and testing fundamental theories at the Planck scale. Experimentally we are finally entering the intensity and energy and sensitivity regions where superpartners and supersymmetric dark matter candidates are likely to be detected, and then studied. There has been progress in understanding the remarkable physics implications of supersymmetry, including the derivation of the Higgs mechanism, the unification of the Standard Model forces, cosmological connections such as a candidate for the cold dark matter of the universe and consequences for understanding the cosmological history of the universe, and more.This volume begins with an excellent pedagogical introduction to the physics and methods and formalism of supersymmetry which is accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of the Standard Model of particle physics. Next is an overview of open questions, followed by chapters on topics such as how to detect superpartners and tools for studying them, the current limits on superpartner masses as we enter the LHC era, the lightest superpartner as a dark matter candidate in thermal and non-thermal cosmological histories, and associated Z' physics. Most chapters have been extended and updated from the earlier edition and some are new.This superb book will allow interested physicists to understand the coming experimental and theoretical progress in supersymmetry and the implications of discoveries of superpartners, and will also help students and workers to quickly learn new aspects of supersymmetry they want to pursue.
This volume is the latest in a prominent biannual series of scientific meetings on the exciting research topics of dark matter and, more recently, of dark energy. It contains a state-of-the-art update on detection efforts by experimental groups around the world trying to pin down exotic new forms of matter under the names of axions, neutralinos, wimps, primordial black holes, q balls, sterile neutrinos, as well as a tantalizing new form of dark energy component called phantom energy and quintessence. The book is self-contained as it also includes general reviews on recent cosmological observations — supernovae measurements, cosmic matter distribution surveys and cosmic radiation anisotropies — introducing even the uninitiated reader to this fascinating frontier of research.
This thesis covers several theoretical aspects of WIMP (weakly interacting massive particles) dark matter searches, with a particular emphasis on colliders. It mainly focuses on the use of effective field theories as a tool for Large Hadron Collider (LHC) searches, discussing in detail the issue of their validity, and on simplified dark matter models, which are receiving a growing attention from the physics community. It highlights the theoretical consistency of simplified models, which is essential in order to correctly exploit their potential and for them to be a common reference when comparing results from different experiments. This thesis is of interest to researchers (both theorists and experimentalists) in the field of dark matter searches, and offers a comprehensive introduction to dark matter and to WIMP searches for students and non-experts.
This thesis focuses on the search for unknown dark matter (DM) satellites in the Milky Way using the Fermi Large Area Space Telescope (LAT). The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) is a next generation space observatory, which was successfully launched on June 11th, 2008. The LAT is the principal scientific instrument onboard. Its unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity in the 100 MeV to > 300 GeV energy range makes it an excellent instrument for probing the sky for DM satellites. Current N-body simulations based on the Lambda-CDM cosmology model predict a large number of as yet unobserved DM satellites in our galaxy; some satellites are predicted to be extended sources (> 1deg extension) as seen by the LAT. Our work assumes that a significant component of DM is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) in the 100 GeV mass range. The annihilation of WIMPs results in many high energy gamma rays that can be well measured by the LAT. The WIMP produced gamma-ray spectrum from the putative DM satellites is considerably harder than most astrophysical sources. Also, DM satellites have no astronomical counterparts in the X-ray and radio bands, and the emission has no time variability. My thesis will focus on a blind analysis in the search for unknown DM satellites using one year of LAT data, and setting constraints on some WIMP models based on the results of our analysis in which we find no candidates.
TheFifthHEIDELBERGInternationalConferenceonDarkMatterinAst- and Particle Physics, DARK 2004, took place at Texas A&M University, College Station Texas, USA, October 3–9, 2004. It was, after Cape Town 2002, the second conference of this series held outside Germany. The earlier meetings, starting in 1996, were held in Heidelberg. Dark Matter is still one of the most exciting and central ?elds of ast- physics, particle physics and cosmology. The conference covered, as usual for this series, a large range of topics, theoretical and experimental. Theoretical talks covered SUSY/SUGRA phenomenology, which provides at present a preferred theoretical framework for the existence of cold dark matter. Also included were other possible explanations of dark matter such as SUSY Q balls, exciting New Symmetries, etc. The most important experiments in the underground search for cold and hot dark matter were presented. Talks describing the current experimental dark matter bounds, what might be obtained in the near future, and the reach of future large (i.e. one ton) detectors were given. The potential of future colliders to correlate accelerator physics with dark matter searches was also outlined. Thus the reader will be able to see the present status and future prospects in the search for dark matter. The exciting astronomical evidence for dark matter and corresponding observations concerning the Milky Way’s black hole, high-redshift clusters, wakes in dark matter halos were other important topics at the conference.
The prestigious Identification of Dark Matter workshop series was initiated to assess the status of work that attempts to identify the constitution of dark matter. In particular, it aims to review the success of current methods that are used in the search for dark matter, as well as the new techniques that are likely to improve prospects for detecting possible dark matter candidates in the future. In the 5th International Workshop, special emphasis was placed on the recent results obtained in experiments searching for baryonic and non-baryonic dark matter. This volume comprises the high-quality review articles and papers contributed by leaders and promising young physicists who attended the conference. It provides the most recent updates on dark matter searches from both experimental and theoretical points of view.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Engineering & Physical Sciences
This work was nominated as an outstanding PhD thesis by the LPSC, Université Grenoble Alpes, France. The LHC Run 1 was a milestone in particle physics, leading to the discovery of the Higgs boson, the last missing piece of the so-called "Standard Model" (SM), and to important constraints on new physics, which challenge popular theories like weak-scale supersymmetry. This thesis provides a detailed account of the legacy of the LHC Run 1 ≤¥regarding these aspects. First, the SM and the need for its extension are presented in a concise yet revealing way. Subsequently, the impact of the LHC Higgs results on scenarios of new physics is assessed in detail, including a careful discussion of the relevant uncertainties. Two approaches are considered: generic modifications of the Higgs couplings, possibly arising from extended Higgs sectors or higher-dimensional operators; and tests of specific new physics models. Lastly, the implications of the null results of the searches for new physics are discussed with a particular focus on supersymmetric dark matter candidates. Here as well, two approaches are presented: the "simplified models" approach, and recasting by event simulation. This thesis stands out for its educational approach, its clear language and the depth of the physics discussion. The methods and tools presented offer readers essential practical tools for future research.
