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Particle Dark Matter: Evidence, Candidates and Constraints

Gianfranco Bertone, Dan Hooper, Joseph Silk

TL;DR

This review synthesizes the status of particle dark matter by connecting cosmological relic-density calculations with particle-theory candidates, emphasizing neutralinos in SUSY and the B^(1) KK particle in universal extra dimensions. It highlights how freeze-out physics, coannihilations, and early-universe dynamics determine viable parameter spaces across mSUGRA, pMSSM, AMSB and other SUSY-breaking scenarios, as well as KK spectra in UED. The paper surveys multi-scale evidence for DM from galactic to cosmological observations, and discusses how N-body simulations and Milky Way/center-region physics inform DM distribution and detection signals. It concludes with a detailed look at direct/indirect detection strategies and the prospects for probing SUSY and UED dark matter in upcoming experiments and collider programs.

Abstract

In this review article, we discuss the current status of particle dark matter, including experimental evidence and theoretical motivations. We discuss a wide array of candidates for particle dark matter, but focus on neutralinos in models of supersymmetry and Kaluza-Klein dark matter in models of universal extra dimensions. We devote much of our attention to direct and indirect detection techniques, the constraints placed by these experiments and the reach of future experimental efforts.

Particle Dark Matter: Evidence, Candidates and Constraints

TL;DR

This review synthesizes the status of particle dark matter by connecting cosmological relic-density calculations with particle-theory candidates, emphasizing neutralinos in SUSY and the B^(1) KK particle in universal extra dimensions. It highlights how freeze-out physics, coannihilations, and early-universe dynamics determine viable parameter spaces across mSUGRA, pMSSM, AMSB and other SUSY-breaking scenarios, as well as KK spectra in UED. The paper surveys multi-scale evidence for DM from galactic to cosmological observations, and discusses how N-body simulations and Milky Way/center-region physics inform DM distribution and detection signals. It concludes with a detailed look at direct/indirect detection strategies and the prospects for probing SUSY and UED dark matter in upcoming experiments and collider programs.

Abstract

In this review article, we discuss the current status of particle dark matter, including experimental evidence and theoretical motivations. We discuss a wide array of candidates for particle dark matter, but focus on neutralinos in models of supersymmetry and Kaluza-Klein dark matter in models of universal extra dimensions. We devote much of our attention to direct and indirect detection techniques, the constraints placed by these experiments and the reach of future experimental efforts.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 35 sections, 77 equations, 13 figures, 5 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview
  3. Standard Cosmology
  4. The Standard Model of Particle Physics
  5. A very brief history of the Universe
  6. Relic Density
  7. The standard calculation
  8. Including coannihilations
  9. Links with Physics Beyond the Standard Model
  10. Evidence and Distribution
  11. The Galactic Scale
  12. The Scale of Galaxy Clusters
  13. Cosmological Scales
  14. N-Body Simulations
  15. The Case of the Milky Way
  16. ...and 20 more sections

Figures (13)

  • Figure 1: Big Bang nucleosynthesis predictions for the abundances of light elements as a function of the baryon over photon ratio $\eta$ or $\Omega_b h^2$Coc:2003ce. From Ref. subirbbn.
  • Figure 2: Rotation curve of NGC 6503. The dotted, dashed and dash-dotted lines are the contributions of gas, disk and dark matter, respectively. From Ref. rot.
  • Figure 3: Left panel: The distribution of inner slopes, $\alpha$, of dark matter density profiles in LSB galaxies. The hatched (blank) histogram represents well--resolved (unresolved) galaxies. Right panel: The value of $\alpha$ as a function of the radius of the innermost point. From Ref. deBlok:2001fe.
  • Figure 4: Chandra X-ray (left) and Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 optical (right) images of Abell 2390 ($z=0.230$) and MS2137.3-2353 ($z=0.313$). Note the clear gravitational arcs in the Hubble images. From Ref. Fabian:2003ex.
  • Figure 5: CMB Temperature fluctuations: A comparison between COBE and WMAP. Image from http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
  • ...and 8 more figures