Primordial Black Holes as All Dark Matter

We argue that a primordial black hole is a natural and unique candidate for all dark matter. We show that, in a smooth-hybrid new double inflation model, a right amount of the primordial black holes, with a sharply-defined mass, can be produced at the end of the smooth-hybrid regime, through preheating. We first consider masses < 10^(-7)M_sun which are allowed by all the previous constraints. We next discuss much heavier mass 10^5 M_sun hinted at by entropy, and galactic size evolution, arguments. Effects on the running of the scalar spectral index are computed.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, a version to appear in JCAP

Effects of Residue Background Events in Direct Dark Matter Detection Experiments on the Determination of the WIMP Mass

In the earlier work on the development of a model-independent data analysis method for determining the mass of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) by using measured recoil energies from direct Dark Matter detection experiments directly, it was assumed that the analyzed data sets are background-free, i.e., all events are WIMP signals. In this article, as a more realistic study, we take into account a fraction of possible residue background events, which pass all discrimination criteria and then mix with other real WIMP-induced events in our data sets. Our simulations show that, for the determination of the WIMP mass, the maximal acceptable fraction of residue background events in the analyzed data sets of O(50) total events is ~20%, for background windows of the entire experimental possible energy ranges, or in low energy ranges; while, for background windows in relatively higher energy ranges, this maximal acceptable fraction of residue background events can not be larger than ~10%. For a WIMP mass of 100 GeV with 20% background events in the windows of the entire experimental possible energy ranges, the reconstructed WIMP mass and the 1-sigma statistical uncertainty are ~97 GeV^{+61%}_{-35%} (~94 GeV^{+55%}_{-33%} for background-free data sets).Comment: 27 pages, 22 eps figures; v2: revised version for publication, references added and update

Annihilation of NMSSM neutralinos in the Sun and neutrino telescope limits

We investigate neutralino dark matter in the framework of NMSSM performing a scan over its parameter space and calculating neutralino capture and annihilation rates in the Sun. We discuss the prospects of searches for neutralino dark matter in neutrino experiments depending on neutralino content and its main annihilation channel. We recalculate the upper limits on neutralino-proton elastic cross sections directly from neutrino telescopes upper bounds on annihilation rates in the Sun. This procedure has advantages as compared with corresponding recalcalations from the limits on muon flux, namely, it is independent on details of the experiment and the recalculation coefficients are universal for any kind of WIMP dark matter models. We derive 90% c.l. upper limits on neutralino-proton cross sections from the results of the Baksan Underground Scintillator Telescope.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in JCAP, references adde

Small steps towards Grand Unification and the electron/positron excesses in cosmic-ray experiments

We consider a small extension of the standard model by adding two Majorana fermions; those are adjoint representations of the SU(2)_L and SU(3)_c gauge groups of the standard model. In this extension, the gauge coupling unification at an energy scale higher than 10^{15} GeV is realized when the masses of the triplet and the octet fermions are smaller than 10^4 GeV and 10^{12} GeV, respectively. We also show that an appropriate symmetry ensures a long lifetime of the neutral component of the triplet fermion whose thermal relic density naturally explains the observed dark matter density. The electron/positron excesses observed in recent cosmic-ray experiments can be also explained by the decay of the triplet fermion.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Scalar Bilepton Dark Matter

In this work we show that 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos has a natural weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark mater candidate. It is a complex scalar with mass of order of some hundreds of GeV which carries two units of lepton number, a scalar bilepton. This makes it a very peculiar WIMP, very distinct from Supersymmetric or Extra-dimension candidates. Besides, although we have to make some reasonable assumptions concerning the several parameters in the model, no fine tunning is required in order to get the correct dark matter abundance. We also analyze the prospects for WIMP direct detection by considering recent and projected sensitivities for WIMP-nucleon elastic cross section from CDMS and XENON Collaborations.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, uses iopart.cls, same text as published version with a small different arrangement of figure

Prospects For Identifying Dark Matter With CoGeNT

It has previously been shown that the excess of events reported by the CoGeNT collaboration could be generated by elastically scattering dark matter particles with a mass of approximately 5-15 GeV. This mass range is very similar to that required to generate the annual modulation observed by DAMA/LIBRA and the gamma rays from the region surrounding the Galactic Center identified within the data of the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. To confidently conclude that CoGeNT's excess is the result of dark matter, however, further data will likely be needed. In this paper, we make projections for the first full year of CoGeNT data, and for its planned upgrade. Not only will this body of data more accurately constrain the spectrum of nuclear recoil events, and corresponding dark matter parameter space, but will also make it possible to identify seasonal variations in the rate. In particular, if the CoGeNT excess is the product of dark matter, then one year of CoGeNT data will likely reveal an annual modulation with a significance of 2-3$\sigma$. The planned CoGeNT upgrade will not only detect such an annual modulation with high significance, but will be capable of measuring the energy spectrum of the modulation amplitude. These measurements will be essential to irrefutably confirming a dark matter origin of these events.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

CoGeNT Interpretations

Recently, the CoGeNT experiment has reported events in excess of expected background. We analyze dark matter scenarios which can potentially explain this signal. Under the standard case of spin independent scattering with equal couplings to protons and neutrons, we find significant tensions with existing constraints. Consistency with these limits is possible if a large fraction of the putative signal events is coming from an additional source of experimental background. In this case, dark matter recoils cannot be said to explain the excess, but are consistent with it. We also investigate modifications to dark matter scattering that can evade the null experiments. In particular, we explore generalized spin independent couplings to protons and neutrons, spin dependent couplings, momentum dependent scattering, and inelastic interactions. We find that some of these generalizations can explain most of the CoGeNT events without violation of other constraints. Generalized couplings with some momentum dependence, allows further consistency with the DAMA modulation signal, realizing a scenario where both CoGeNT and DAMA signals are coming from dark matter. A model with dark matter interacting and annihilating into a new light boson can realize most of the scenarios considered.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figs, v2: published version, some discussions clarifie

Positronium Portal into Hidden Sector: A new Experiment to Search for Mirror Dark Matter

The understanding of the origin of dark matter has great importance for cosmology and particle physics. Several interesting extensions of the standard model dealing with solution of this problem motivate the concept of hidden sectors consisting of SU(3)xSU(2)_LxU(1)_Y singlet fields. Among these models, the mirror matter model is certainly one of the most interesting. The model explains the origin of parity violation in weak interactions, it could also explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe and provide a natural ground for the explanation of dark matter. The mirror matter could have a portal to our world through photon-mirror photon mixing (epsilon). This mixing would lead to orthopositronium (o-Ps) to mirror orthopositronium oscillations, the experimental signature of which is the apparently invisible decay of o-Ps. In this paper, we describe an experiment to search for the decay o-Ps -> invisible in vacuum by using a pulsed slow positron beam and a massive 4pi BGO crystal calorimeter. The developed high efficiency positron tagging system, the low calorimeter energy threshold and high hermiticity allow the expected sensitivity in mixing strength to be epsilon about 10^-9, which is more than one order of magnitude below the current Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limit and in a region of parameter space of great theoretical and phenomenological interest. The vacuum experiment with such sensitivity is particularly timely in light of the recent DAMA/LIBRA observations of the annual modulation signal consistent with a mirror type dark matter interpretation.Comment: 40 pages, 29 Figures 2 Tables v2: Ref. added, Fig. 29 and some text added to explain idea for backscattering e+ background suppression, corrected typos v3: minor corrections: Eq 2.1 corrected (6 lines-> 5 lines), Eq.2.17: two extra "-" signs remove

Mixed Bino-Wino-Higgsino Dark Matter in Gauge Messenger Models

Almost degenerate bino and wino masses at the weak scale is one of unique features of gauge messenger models. The lightest neutralino is a mixture of bino, wino and higgsino and can produce the correct amount of the dark matter density if it is the lightest supersymmetric particle. Furthermore, as a result of squeezed spectrum of superpartners which is typical for gauge messenger models, various co-annihilation and resonance regions overlap and very often the correct amount of the neutralino relic density is generated as an interplay of several processes. This feature makes the explanation of the observed amount of the dark matter density much less sensitive to fundamental parameters. We calculate the neutralino relic density assuming thermal history and present both spin independent and spin dependent cross sections for the direct detection. We also discuss phenomenological constraints from b to s gamma and muon g-2 and compare results of gauge messenger models to well known results of the mSUGRA scenario.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, references added, version to appear at JCA

Low energy antideuterons: shedding light on dark matter

Low energy antideuterons suffer a very low secondary and tertiary astrophysical background, while they can be abundantly synthesized in dark matter pair annihilations, therefore providing a privileged indirect dark matter detection technique. The recent publication of the first upper limit on the low energy antideuteron flux by the BESS collaboration, a new evaluation of the standard astrophysical background, and remarkable progresses in the development of a dedicated experiment, GAPS, motivate a new and accurate analysis of the antideuteron flux expected in particle dark matter models. To this extent, we consider here supersymmetric, universal extra-dimensions (UED) Kaluza-Klein and warped extra-dimensional dark matter models, and assess both the prospects for antideuteron detection as well as the various related sources of uncertainties. The GAPS experiment, even in a preliminary balloon-borne setup, will explore many supersymmetric configurations, and, eventually, in its final space-borne configuration, will be sensitive to primary antideuterons over the whole cosmologically allowed UED parameter space, providing a search technique which is highly complementary with other direct and indirect dark matter detection experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures; version to appear in JCA