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Weakly Interacting Massive Particles
Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are hypothetical particles that are one of the proposed candidates for dark matter. There exists no formal definition of a WIMP, but broadly, it is an elementary particle which interacts via gravity and any other force (or forces) which is as weak as or weaker than the weak nuclear force, but also non-vanishing in strength. Many WIMP candidates are expected to have been produced thermally in the early Universe, similarly to the particles of the Standard Model according to Big Bang cosmology, and usually will constitute cold dark matter. Obtaining the correct abundance of dark matter today via thermal production requires a self-annihilation Cross section (physics), cross section of \langle \sigma v \rangle ≃ , which is roughly what is expected for a new particle in the 100 GeV/''c''2 mass range that interacts via the electroweak force. Experimental efforts to detect WIMPs include the search for products of WIMP annihilation, inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Matter
In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relativity unless more matter is present than can be observed. Such effects occur in the context of Galaxy formation and evolution, formation and evolution of galaxies, gravitational lensing, the observable universe's current structure, mass position in galactic collisions, the motion of galaxies within galaxy clusters, and cosmic microwave background Anisotropy, anisotropies. Dark matter is thought to serve as gravitational scaffolding for cosmic structures. After the Big Bang, dark matter clumped into blobs along narrow filaments with superclusters of galaxies forming a cosmic web at scales on which entire galaxies appear like tiny particles. In the standard Lambda-CDM model of cosmology, the mass–energy equivalence, mass–energy content o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermal Equilibrium
Two physical systems are in thermal equilibrium if there is no net flow of thermal energy between them when they are connected by a path permeable to heat. Thermal equilibrium obeys the zeroth law of thermodynamics. A system is said to be in thermal equilibrium with itself if the temperature within the system is spatially uniform and temporally constant. Systems in thermodynamic equilibrium are always in thermal equilibrium, but the converse is not always true. If the connection between the systems allows transfer of energy as 'change in internal energy' but does not allow transfer of matter or transfer of energy as work, the two systems may reach thermal equilibrium without reaching thermodynamic equilibrium. Two varieties of thermal equilibrium Relation of thermal equilibrium between two thermally connected bodies The relation of thermal equilibrium is an instance of equilibrium between two bodies, which means that it refers to transfer through a selectively permeable par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Dark Matter
Hot dark matter (HDM) is a theoretical form of dark matter which consists of particles that travel with ultrarelativistic velocities. Description Dark matter is a form of matter that neither emits nor absorbs light. Within physics, this behavior is characterized by dark matter not interacting with electromagnetic radiation, hence making it ''dark'' and rendering it undetectable via conventional instruments in physics. Data from galaxy rotation curves indicate that approximately 80% of the mass of a galaxy cannot be seen, forcing researchers to innovate ways that ''indirectly'' detect it through dark matter's effects on gravitational fluctuations. As we shall see below, it is useful to differentiate dark matter into "hot" (HDM) and "cold" (CDM) types–some even suggesting a middle-ground of "warm" dark matter (WDM). The terminology refers to the mass of the dark matter particles (which dictates the speed at which they travel): HDM travels faster than CDM because the HDM par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axions
An axion () is a hypothetical elementary particle originally theorized in 1978 independently by Frank Wilczek and Steven Weinberg as the Goldstone boson of Peccei–Quinn theory, which had been proposed in 1977 to solve the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). If axions exist and have low mass within a specific range, they are of interest as a possible component of cold dark matter. History Strong CP problem As shown by Gerard 't Hooft, strong interactions of the Standard Model, QCD, possess a non-trivial vacuum structure that in principle permits violation of the combined symmetries of charge conjugation and parity, collectively known as CP. Together with effects generated by weak interactions, the effective periodic strong CP-violating term, , appears as a Standard Model input – its value is not predicted by the theory, but must be measured. However, large CP-violating interactions originating from QCD would induce a large electric dipole moment (EDM) for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massive Compact Halo Objects
A MAssive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) is a kind of astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ... body that might explain the apparent presence of dark matter in galactic halos. A MACHO is a body that emits little or no radiation and drifts through interstellar space unassociated with any planetary system (and may or may not be composed of normal baryonic matter). Since MACHOs are not luminous, they are hard to detect. MACHO candidates include black holes or neutron stars as well as brown dwarfs and Rogue planet, unassociated planets. White dwarfs and very faint red dwarfs have also been proposed as candidate MACHOs. The term was coined by astrophysicist Kim Griest. Detection A MACHO may be detected when it passes in front of or nearly in front of a star and the MA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Dark Matter
Light dark matter, in astronomy and cosmology, are dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS) candidates with masses less than 1 GeV (i.e., a mass similar to or less than a neutron or proton). These particles are heavier than warm dark matter and hot dark matter, but are lighter than the traditional forms of cold dark matter, such as Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs). The Lee- Weinberg bound limits the mass of the favored dark matter candidate, WIMPs, that interact via the weak interaction to \approx 2 GeV. This bound arises as follows. The lower the mass of WIMPs is, the lower the annihilation cross section, which is of the order \approx m^2/M^4, where ''m'' is the WIMP mass and ''M'' the mass of the Z boson. This means that low mass WIMPs, which would be abundantly produced in the early universe, freeze out (i.e. stop interacting) much earlier and thus at a higher temperature, than higher mass WIMPs. This leads to a higher relic WIMP density. If the mass is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electron Volt
In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV), also written electron-volt and electron volt, is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating through an electric potential difference of one volt in vacuum. When used as a unit of energy, the numerical value of 1 eV in joules (symbol J) is equal to the numerical value of the charge of an electron in coulombs (symbol C). Under the 2019 revision of the SI, this sets 1 eV equal to the exact value Historically, the electronvolt was devised as a standard unit of measure through its usefulness in electrostatic particle accelerator sciences, because a particle with electric charge ''q'' gains an energy after passing through a voltage of ''V''. Definition and use An electronvolt is the amount of energy gained or lost by a single electron when it moves through an electric potential difference of one volt. Hence, it has a value of one volt, which is , multiplied by the elementary charge Therefore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
T-parity
T-symmetry or time reversal symmetry is the theoretical symmetry of physical laws under the transformation of time reversal, : T: t \mapsto -t. Since the second law of thermodynamics states that entropy increases as time flows toward the future, in general, the macroscopic universe does not show symmetry under time reversal. In other words, time is said to be non-symmetric, or asymmetric, except for special equilibrium states when the second law of thermodynamics predicts the time symmetry to hold. However, quantum noninvasive measurements are predicted to violate time symmetry even in equilibrium, contrary to their classical counterparts, although this has not yet been experimentally confirmed. Time ''asymmetries'' (see Arrow of time) generally are caused by one of three categories: # intrinsic to the dynamic physical law (e.g., for the weak force) # due to the initial conditions of the universe (e.g., for the second law of thermodynamics) # due to measurements (e.g., for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lightest Supersymmetric Particle
In particle physics, the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is the generic name given to the lightest of the additional hypothetical particles found in supersymmetric models. In models with R-parity conservation, the LSP is stable; in other words, it cannot decay into any Standard Model particle, since all SM particles have the opposite R-parity. There is extensive observational evidence for an additional component of the matter density in the universe, which goes under the name dark matter. The LSP of supersymmetric models is a dark matter candidate and is a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP). Constraints on LSP from cosmology The LSP is unlikely to be a charged wino, charged higgsino, slepton, sneutrino, gluino, squark, or gravitino but is most likely a mixture of neutral higgsinos, the bino and the neutral winos, i.e. a neutralino. In particular, if the LSP were charged (and is abundant in our galaxy) such particles would have been captured by the Earth's mag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SUSY
Supersymmetry is a theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between particles with integer spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It proposes that for every known particle, there exists a partner particle with different spin properties. There have been multiple experiments on supersymmetry that have failed to provide evidence that it exists in nature. If evidence is found, supersymmetry could help explain certain phenomena, such as the nature of dark matter and the hierarchy problem in particle physics. A supersymmetric theory is a theory in which the equations for force and the equations for matter are identical. In theoretical and mathematical physics, any theory with this property has the ''principle of supersymmetry'' (SUSY). Dozens of supersymmetric theories exist. In theory, supersymmetry is a type of spacetime symmetry between two basic classes of particles: bosons, which have an integer-valued spin and fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Higgs
In particle physics, little Higgs models are based on the idea that the Higgs boson is a pseudo-Goldstone boson arising from some global symmetry breaking at a TeV energy scale. The goal of little Higgs models is to use the spontaneous breaking of such approximate global symmetries to stabilize the mass of the Higgs boson(s) responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking. The little Higgs models predict a naturally-light Higgs particle. Loop cancellation The main idea behind the little Higgs models is that the one-loop contribution to the tachyonic Higgs boson mass coming from the top quark cancels.Other one-loop contributions are small enough that they don't really matter: The Yukawa coupling of the top quark is enormous because of its huge mass, and all the other fermions' Yukawa couplings and gauge couplings are negligible by comparison. The simplified reason for that cancellation is that a loop's contribution is proportional to the coupling constant of one of the SU(2) groups ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
