54599526
DAMA/LIBRA results and perspectives
The DAMA/LIBRA experiment (~ 250 kg sensitive mass composed by highly radio-pure NaI(Tl)) is in data taking in the underground Laboratory of Gran Sasso (LNGS). Its first phase (DAMA/LIBRA–phase1) and the former DAMA/NaI experiment (~ 100 kg of highly radio-pure NaI(Tl)) collected data for 14 independent annual cycles, exploiting the model-independent Dark Matter (DM) annual modulation signature (total exposure 1:33 ton × yr). A DM annual modulation effect has been observed at 9.3 σ C.L., supporting the presence of DM particles in the galactic halo. No systematic or side reaction able to mimic the observed DM annual modulation has been found or suggested by anyone. Recent analyses on possible diurnal effects, on the Earth shadowing effect and on possible interpretation in terms of Asymmetric Mirror DM will be mentioned. At present DAMA/LIBRA is running in its phase2 with increased sensitivity.
124862840
DIRECT DETECTION OF DARK MATTER PARTICLES
55768496
Particle Dark Matter in the galactic halo: results from DAMA/LIBRA
The DAMA/LIBRA experiment has a sensitive mass of about 250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl). It is running at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN in Italy and is mainly devoted to the investigation of dark matter (DM) particles in the galactic halo by exploiting the model-independent DM annual modulation signature. The present DAMA/LIBRA and the former DAMA/NaI experiments (the first generation experiment having an exposed mass of about 100 kg) have thus far cumulatively released the results of data collected over 13 annual cycles (total exposure: 1.17 t year). They give model-independent evidence of the presence of DM particles in the galactic halo on the basis of the investigated DM signature at 8.9 sigma C.L. for the cumulative exposure. The main aspects of the obtained results are summarized and some comments are addressed.
17529257
Direct detection of dark-matter particles
In this conference the model-independent result on the presence of 
dark-matter particles in the galactic halo obtained over seven annual cycles by the 
 100 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl) DAMA/NaI has been presented and several corollary 
investigations have also been discussed. More recently the model-independent 
result obtained over the first four annual cycles by the second generation 250 kg 
highly radiopure NaI(Tl) DAMA/LIBRA set-up at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory 
of the INFN has also been released. Both the experiments have the unique 
feature to effectively investigate the presence of dark-matter particles in the galactic 
halo by exploiting the model-independent annual modulation signature. The 
data collected by the two experiments over eleven annual cycles for a total exposure 
of 0.82 ton × y have pointed out at 8.2σ CL a positive result; several corollary 
model-dependent quests for the candidate particle(s) and related astrophysical, nuclear 
and particle physics scenarios are under updating. The future experimental 
activity can give rise to many new interesting results.
117048271
First DAMA/LIBRA Results and Beyond
The DAMA project is an observatory for rare processes and it is operative deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the I.N.F.N. Its main apparatus is the DAMA/LIBRA set-up, consisting of ≃250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl) detectors. Its first results — obtained by exploiting over four annual cycles the model independent annual modulation signature for Dark Matter (DM) particles — confirm by those of the former DAMA/NaI, supporting the evidence for Dark Matter presence in the galactic halo at 8.2 σ C.L.. The DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA data, in fact, satisfy all the many peculiarities of the DM annual modulation signature. Neither systematic effects nor side reactions able to account for the observed modulation amplitude and to contemporaneously satisfy all the several requirements of the DM signature are available. Future perspectives are also addressed.
17766827
Investigating electron interacting dark matter
Some extensions of the standard model provide dark matter candidate particles which can have a dominant coupling with the lepton sector of the ordinary matter. Thus, such dark matter candidate particles (chi(0)) can be directly detected only through their interaction with electrons in the detectors of a suitable experiment, while they are lost by experiments based on the rejection of the electromagnetic component of the experimental counting rate. These candidates can also offer a possible source of the 511 keV photons observed from the galactic bulge. In this paper this scenario is investigated. Some theoretical arguments are developed and related phenomenological aspects are discussed. Allowed intervals and regions for the characteristic phenomenological parameters of the considered model and of the possible mediator of the interaction are also derived considering the DAMA/NaI data.
119267356
Extending Higgs inflation with TeV scale new physics
Higgs inflation is among the most economical and predictive inflation models, although the original Higgs inflation requires tuning the Higgs or top mass away from its current experimental value by more than 2 sigma deviations, and generally gives a negligible tensor-to-scalar ratio r similar to 10(-3) (if away from the vicinity of critical point). In this work, we construct a minimal extension of Higgs inflation, by adding only two new weak-singlet particles at TeV scale, a vector-quark T and a real scalar S. The presence of singlets (T, S) significantly impact the renormalization group running of the Higgs boson self-coupling. With this, our model provides a wider range of the tensor-to-scalar ratio r = O(0.1) - O(10(-3)) consistent with the favored r values by either BICEP2 or Planck data, while keeping the successful prediction of the spectral index n(s) similar or equal to 0.96. It allows the Higgs and top masses to fully fit the collider measurements. We also discuss implications for searching the predicted TeV-scale vector-quark T and scalar S at the LHC and future high energy pp colliders.
119110715
GeV SCALE ASYMMETRIC DARK MATTER FROM MIRROR UNIVERSE: DIRECT DETECTION AND LHC SIGNATURES
Mirror universe is a fundamental way to restore parity symmetry in weak interactions. It naturally provides the lightest mirror nucleon as a unique GeV-scale asymmetric dark matter particle candidate. We conjecture that the mirror parity is respected by the fundamental interaction Lagrangian, and its possible soft breaking arises only from non-interaction terms in the gauge-singlet sector. We realize the spontaneous mirror parity violation by minimizing the vacuum Higgs potential, and derive the corresponding Higgs spectrum. We demonstrate that the common origin of CP violation in the visible and mirror neutrino seesaws can generate the right amount of matter and mirror dark matter via leptogenesis. We analyze the direct detections of GeV-scale mirror dark matter by TEXONO and CDEX experiments. We further study the predicted distinctive Higgs signatures at the LHC.
55815188
Probing Gravitational Dark Matter
So far all evidences of dark matter (DM) come from astrophysical and cosmological observations, due to gravitational interactions of the DM. It is possible that the true DM particle in the universe joins gravitational interactions only, but nothing else. Such a Gravitational DM (GDM) may act as a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP), which is conceptually simple and attractive. In this work, we explore this direction by constructing the simplest scalar GDM particle s . It is a Z 2 odd singlet under the standard model (SM) gauge group, and naturally joins the unique dimension-4 interaction with Ricci curvature, s 2 R , where s is the dimensionless nonminimal coupling. We demonstrate that this gravitational interaction s 2 R , together with Higgs-curvature nonminimal coupling term h H y HR , induces eective couplings between 2 and SM elds, and can account for the observed DM thermal relic abundance. We analyze the annihilation cross sections of GDM particles and derive the viable parameter space for realizing the DM thermal relic density. We further study the direct/indirect detections and the collider signatures of such a scalar GDM. These turn out to be highly predictive and testable.
119542990
Structure of cosmological CP violation via neutrino seesaw
Abstract The cosmological matter–antimatter asymmetry can originate from CP-violating interactions of seesaw Majorana neutrinos via leptogenesis in the thermal phase of the early universe. Having the cosmological CP-phase for leptogenesis requires at least two right-handed Majorana neutrinos. Using only the low energy neutrino observables, we quantitatively reconstruct a minimal neutrino seesaw. We establish a general criterion for minimal seesaw schemes in which the cosmological CP-phase is completely reconstructed from the low energy CP-phases measured by neutrino oscillation and neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. We reveal and analyze two distinct classes of such minimal schemes that are shown to be highly predictive. Extension of our reconstruction formalism to a three-heavy-neutrino seesaw is discussed.
119248851
General Sum Rules for WW Scattering in Higgsless Models: Equivalence Theorem and Deconstruction Identities
We analyze inelastic 2{yields}2 scattering amplitudes for gauge bosons and Nambu-Goldstone bosons in deconstructed Higgsless models. Using the (KK) equivalence theorem in 4D (5D), we derive a set of general sum rules among the boson masses and multiboson couplings that are valid for arbitrary deconstructed models. Taking the continuum limit, our results naturally include the 5D Higgsless model sum rules for arbitrary 5D geometry and boundary conditions; they also reduce to the elastic sum rules when applied to the special case of elastic scattering. For the case of linear deconstructed Higgsless models, we demonstrate that the sum rules can also be derived from a set of general deconstruction identities and completeness relations. We apply these sum rules to the deconstructed 3-site Higgsless model and its extensions; we show that in 5D ignoring all higher KK modes (n>1) is inconsistent once the inelastic channels become important. Finally, we discuss how our results generalize beyond the case of linear Higgsless models.