Prospects of solar axion searches with crystal detectors

A calculation of the expected signal due to Primakoff coherent conversion of solar axions into photons via Bragg scattering in several crystal detectors is presented. The results are confronted with the experimental sensitivities of present and future experiments concluding that the sensitivity of crystal detectors does not challenge the globular cluster limit on the axion-photon coupling g_aγγ. In particular, in the axion mass window m_a 0.03 eV explored with this technique (not accessible at present by other methods), g_aγγ might be constrained down to 10⁻⁹ GeV⁻¹ (the recent helioseismological bound) provided that significant improvements in the parameters and performances of these detectors be achieved and large statistics accumulated. This bound should be considered as a minimal goal for the sensitivity of future crystal experiments. Consequently, finding a positive signal at this level of sensitivity would necessarily imply revisiting other more stringent astrophysical limits derived for the same range of m_a values.     

Differentiation of bulk and surface events in p-type point-contact germanium detectors for light WIMP searches

The p-type point-contact germanium detectors are novel techniques offering kg-scale radiation sensors with sub-keV sensitivities. They have been used for light dark matter WIMPs searches and may have potential applications in neutrino physics. There are, however, anomalous surface behaviour which needs to be characterized and understood. We describe the methods and results of a research program whose goals are to identify the bulk and surface events via software pulse shape analysis techniques, and to devise calibration schemes to evaluate the selection efficiency factors. Efficiencies-corrected background spectra from the low-background facility at Kuo-Sheng Neutrino Laboratory are derived.     

Improving photoelectron counting and particle identification in scintillation detectors with Bayesian techniques

Many current and future dark matter and neutrino detectors are designed to measure scintillation light with a large array of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The energy resolution and particle identification capabilities of these detectors depend in part on the ability to accurately identify individual photoelectrons in PMT waveforms despite large variability in pulse amplitudes and pulse pileup. We describe a Bayesian technique that can identify the times of individual photoelectrons in a sampled PMT waveform without deconvolution, even when pileup is present. To demonstrate the technique, we apply it to the general problem of particle identification in single-phase liquid argon dark matter detectors. Using the output of the Bayesian photoelectron counting algorithm described in this paper, we construct several test statistics for rejection of backgrounds for dark matter searches in argon. Compared to simpler methods based on either observed charge or peak finding, the photoelectron counting technique improves both energy resolution and particle identification of low energy events in calibration data from the DEAP-1 detector and simulation of the larger MiniCLEAN dark matter detector.     

Direction dependence and diurnal modulation in dark matter detectors

In this paper we study the effect of the channeling of ions recoiling from collisions with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in single crystal detectors. In particular we investigate the possibility that channeling may give rise to diurnal modulations of the counting rate as the Earth rotates relative to the direction of the WIMP wind, and the effect that channeling has on the “quenching factor” of a detector.     

Background discrimination capabilities of a heat and ionization germanium cryogenic detector

The discrimination capabilities of a 70 g heat and ionization Ge bolometer are studied. This first prototype has been used by the EDELWEISS dark matter experiment, installed in the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, for direct detection of WIMPs. Gamma and neutron calibrations demonstrate that this type of detector is able to reject more than 99.6% of the background while retaining 95% of the signal, provided that the background events distribution is not biased towards the surface of the Ge crystal. However, the 1.17 kg day of data taken in a relatively important radioactive environment show an extra population slightly overlapping the signal. This background is likely due to interactions of low energy photons or electrons near the surface of the crystal, and is somewhat reduced by applying a higher charge-collecting inverse bias voltage (−6 V instead of −2 V) to the Ge diode. Despite this contamination, more than 98% of the background can be rejected while retaining 50% of the signal. This yields a conservative upper limit of 0.7 event day⁻¹ kg⁻¹ keV_recoil⁻¹ at 90% confidence level in the 15–45 keV recoil energy interval; the present sensitivity appears to be limited by the fast ambient neutrons. Upgrades in progress on the installation are summarized.     

Nonthermal production of baryon and dark matter

We study nonthermal production of baryon and dark matter. If we extend the MSSM by introducing some singlet chiral superfields so as to enlarge the conserved global symmetry, the abundance of the baryon and the dark matter in the universe may be explained as the charge asymmetry of that symmetry. In such a case, the baryon energy density and the dark matter energy density in the present universe can be correlated each other and take the similar order values naturally.     

Dark matter and rotation curves of stars in galaxies

The dark matter accretion theory (around a central body) of the author on the basis of his 5‐dimensional Projective Unified Field Theory (PUFT) is applied to the orbital motion of stars around the center of the Galaxy. The departure of the motion from Newtonian mechanics leads to approximately flat rotation curves being in rough accordance with the empirical facts. The spirality of the motion is investigated.     

Evolutionary and structural properties of mirror star MACHOs

There can exist a hidden sector of the Universe in the form of parallel “mirror” world which has the same particle physics as the observable world and interacts with the latter only gravitationally. Big Bang nucleosynthesis bounds demand that the mirror sector should have a smaller temperature than the ordinary one. This implies that the mirror matter could play a role of dark matter, and in addition its chemical content should be dominated by helium. Here we study the evolutionary and structural properties of the mirror stars which essentially are similar to that of the ordinary stars but with higher helium contents. Being invisible in terms of photons, they could be observed only as MACHOs in the microlensing experiments. Using a numerical code, we compute evolution of stars with large helium abundances (Y = 0.30–0.80) and a wide range of masses, from 0.5 to 10 M. We found that helium dominated mirror star should have much faster evolutionary time (up to a factor 30) than the ordinary star with the same mass. In addition, we show the diagrams of luminosities, effective temperatures, central temperatures and densities, and compute the masses of the He-core at ignition and the minimum mass for carbon ignition, for different chemical compositions. The general conclusion is that mirror stars evolve faster as compared to ordinary ones, and explode earlier as type II supernovae, thus enriching the galactic halo of processed mirror gas with higher metallicity, with implications for MACHO observations and galaxy evolution.     

On the interaction of jet plasma with dark matter subhaloes in active galaxies

The interaction of fragmented plasma of active galactic nuclei jets with galactic haloes via gravitational scattering and lensing by dark matter subhaloes is studied using analytical calculations and numerical Monte-Carlo method. The lensing of jet radiation by halo masses is found to be negligible and unobservable. Moving through a galactic halo jet plasma fragments are sequentially deflected on hyperbolic orbits by gravitational field of subhaloes and deviates at some angles when leaving halo, causing widening of the jet. Based on this model jet opening angles are calculated numerically for various values of jet and halo characteristics. Though these angles are very small, gravitational scattering by halo masses results in specific radial profile of jet radiation intensity, that does not depend on halo mass distribution and jet properties. The intensity of jet radiation, obeying the derived profile, decreases by reasonable observable factors giving possibility to probe the presence of dark matter subhaloes.     

Performances and prospects of the “ROSEBUD” dark matter search experiment

A cryogenic search for WIMP Dark Matter with small sapphire bolometers through the WIMP scattering off Al₂O₃ nuclei, the ROSEBUD (Rare Objects SEarch with Bolometers UndergrounD) experiment, is being installed in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Spain) at 2450 m water equivalent. The performances of the bolometers, the radioactive background expected from the measurement of the radiopurity of the ROSEBUD components and the estimated sensitivity of the experiment for low mass WIMP detection are presented.     

Optimized running conditions and sensitivity for direction sensitive detectors of WIMP dark matter

Optimum fill pressures for direction-sensitive dark matter detectors based on tracking in gases are considered. Given the minimum resolvable track length and the gas fill, the Lindhard–Scharf stopping model leads to the existence of an optimum pressure which maximizes the specific event rate R (event rate per unit detector volume). In addition, maximizing the detectibility of the recoil nucleus diurnal asymmetry is considered. Optimum fill pressures are calculated for Ar, CF₄, CS₂ and Xe gas fills, as a function of the WIMP mass and the minimum resolvable track length. The associated minimum target volumes required to achieve currently competitive WIMP-nucleon cross-section sensitivity are also calculated. The standard isothermal sphere model of the galactic WIMP halo is used throughout, but the method could be extended to use any desired WIMP distribution function.     

Study and suppression of anomalous fast events in inorganic scintillators for dark matter searches

The status of dark matter searches with inorganic scintillator detectors at Boulby mine is reviewed and the results of tests with a CsI(Tl) crystal are presented. The objectives of the latter experiment were to study anomalous fast events previously observed and to identify ways to remove this background. Clear indications were found that these events were due to surface contamination of crystals by alphas, probably from radon decay. A new array of unencapsulated NaI(Tl) crystals immersed either in liquid paraffin or pure nitrogen atmosphere is under construction at Boulby. Such an approach allows complete control of the surface of the crystals and the ability to remove any surface contamination. First data from the unencapsulated NaI(Tl) do not show the presence of anomalous fast events.     

Density profiles of dark matter halos with anisotropic velocity tensors

We present density profiles, that are solutions of the spherical Jeans equation, derived under the following two assumptions: (i) the coarse grained phase-density follows a power-law of radius, ρ/σ³ ∝ r⁻, and (ii) the velocity anisotropy parameter is given by the relation β_a(r)=β₁+2β₂ (r/r_*)/[1+(r/r_*)²] where β₁, β₂ are parameters and r_* equals twice the virial radius, r_vir, of the system. These assumptions are well motivated by the results of N-body simulations. Density profiles have increasing logarithmic slopes γ, defined by γ=−d ln ρ/d ln r. The values of γ at r=10^−2.5r_vir, a distance where the systems could be resolved by large N-body simulations, lie in the range 1.0–1.6. These inner values of γ increase for increasing β₁ and for increasing concentration of the system. On the other hand, slopes at r=r_vir lie in the range 2.42–3.82. A model density profile that fits well the results at radial distances between 10⁻³r_vir and r_vir and connects kinematic and structural characteristics of spherical systems is described.     

The efficiency of different methods of observations by using Cerenkov detectors of eas with imaging cameras

The detection efficiency of the atmospheric Cerenkov flashes in searching for very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray sources using the multichannel imaging cameras (MIC) are compared for various technique. Here the detection efficiency is regarded as the time needed for gamma-ray source detection with the preset flux at a certain confidence level. The shorter the time the higher the efficiency.The Monte Carlo simulation of the flashes detection process by MIC has been used for the comparison of various observational methods. The analysis has shown that the tracking of the source followed by the background tracking is the most efficient. Scanning and off-axis observations are 1.5–2.0 times less efficient.     

Breakup of liquids by high velocity flow and size distribution of chondrules

As a new approach to understanding the chondrule formation process, we carried out aerodynamic experiments in which a liquid layer was attached to solid cores, and the breakup of this layer occurred by means of the interaction with a high-velocity gas flow. The size distribution of the dispersed droplets was investigated and compared with the size distributions of chondrules. Both distributions had an exponential form. Using the experimental results, the hydrodynamic pressure to produce the chondrule size distributions was estimated to be ∼ 10⁴ Pa.     

The formation and evolution of clusters of galaxies in different cosmogonies

The formation of galaxy clusters in hierarchically clustering universes is investigated by means of high-resolution N -body simulations. The simulations are performed using a newly developed multimass scheme which combines a PM code with a high-resolution N -body code. Numerical effects resulting from time-stepping and gravitational softening are investigated, as well as the influence of the simulation box size and of the assumed boundary conditions. Special emphasis is laid on the formation process and the influence of various cosmological parameters. Cosmogonies with massive neutrinos are also considered. Differences between clusters in the same cosmological model seem to dominate over differences caused by differing background cosmogony. The cosmological model can alter the time evolution of cluster collapse, but the merging pattern remains fairly similar, e.g. the number of mergers and the mass ratio of mergers. The gross properties of a halo, such as its size and total angular momentum, also evolve in a similar manner for all cosmogonies, and can be described using analytical models. It is shown that the density distribution of a halo shows a characteristic radial dependence which follows a power law with a slope of =1 at small radii and =3 at large radii, independent of the background cosmogony or the considered redshift. The shape of the density profiles follows the generic form proposed by Navarro et al. for all hierarchically clustering scenarios, and retains very little information about the formation process or the cosmological model. Only the central matter concentration of a halo is correlated with the formation time and therefore the corresponding cosmogony. We emphasize the role of non-radial motions of the halo particles in the evolution of the density profile.