A search for supersymmetric dark matter with the macro detector /
There is strong evidence for the existence of non-luminous,
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1996.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=739363741&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | There is strong evidence for the existence of non-luminous, "dark" matter in the Universe on scales ranging from the local stellar neighbourhood to clusters of galaxies. A variety of candidates - from astrophysics and particle physics - have been proposed to account for the dark matter. Of these, the currently most favored candidates are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPS, which arise in Supersymmetric extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics. This thesis describes an indirect search f or WIMPs conducted by the MACRO (Monopole Astrophysics and Cosmic Ray Observatory) detector at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy. WIMPs present in the galactic halo are expected to get gravitationally trapped in the cores of large celestial bodies such as the Sun and the Earth. Their subsequent annihilations give rise to energetic neutrinos which can suffer charged-current interactions in the rock beneath an underground detector, resulting in muons that are observed as "upward-going" in the detector. Upper limits on the upward- going muon flux from the directions of the Sun and the Earth are obtained from an analysis of the data collected by MACRO between April 1994 and January 1996. Constraints can be placed on some supersymmetric models based on a comparison of these limits with the fluxes predicted by the models. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Physics". |
| Physical Description: | xvi, 168 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 150-155. |