Status of direct searches for WIMP dark matter

dc.creatorSchnee, Richard W.
dc.date2006-12-20
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:21:17Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:21:17Z
dc.descriptionAstrophysical observations indicate that about 23% of the energy density of the universe is in the form of non-baryonic particles beyond the standard model of particle physics. One exciting and well motivated candidate is the lightest supersymmetric partner particle (LSP), which could be a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) left over from the Big Bang. To determine that the LSP is the dark matter, it is necessary both to measure the particle's properties at an accelerator and to detect the particle in the galaxy directly (or indirectly). Direct detection of these particles requires sophisticated detectors to defeat much higher-rate backgrounds due to radioactivity and other sources. Promising techniques identify individual interactions in shielded fiducial volumes and distinguish nuclear-recoil signal events from electron-recoil backgrounds, based on the timing, energy density, and/or the division of the energy into signals of ionization, scintillation, or phonons. I review the techniques of the dozens of experiments searching for WIMPs and summarize the most interesting results and prospects for detection.
dc.description8 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Proceedings of SUSY06, the 14th International Conference on Supersymmetry and the Unification of Fundamental Interactions, UC Irvine, California, 12-17 June 2006
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0612565
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0612565
dc.identifierAIPConf.Proc.903:8-15,2007
dc.identifierdoi:10.1063/1.2735125
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/175126
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleStatus of direct searches for WIMP dark matter
dc.typetext

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