High Energy Physics Seminars
The Quest for Direct Detection of Dark Matter Interactions
by Prof. Mani Tripathi ((Physics Department, UCDavis, USA))
Monday, July 18, 2011
from
to
(Asia/Kolkata)
at Colaba Campus ( AG66 )
at Colaba Campus ( AG66 )
AG 66
Description |
There is overwhelming evidence for the presence of dark matter in the universe, accounting for approximately 25% of the total energy density. However, all of this evidence has been gathered via the gravitational interactions of dark matter. Parti- cle physics models have candidates for quantized dark matter, the most compelling of which is the Weakly Interacting Massive Par- ticle (WIMP) hypothesis. In particular, Supersymmetry presents the possibility of the Neutralino, which is a stable particle with all of the desired properties. Detecting WIMPs on earth, via their very small cross sections for elastic scattering off of heavy nuclei, will be the subject of my talk. I will survey the field of exper- iments studying nuclear recoil detection and present the current best limits. I will go into some depth in the most promising of these technologies: dual-phase liquid xenon time projection cham- bers. I will also present the plans for the next decade and beyond of how this field will evolve. |