Physics & Astronomy ETDs

Publication Date

8-28-2012

Abstract

Indirect detection of gamma rays, neutrinos and charged cosmic rays from dark matter annihilation sheds light on the identity of dark matter and compliments direct detection and collider dark matter searches. By testing for the annihilation rate as well as the elastic scattering cross section of dark matter and nucleons, indirect detection can probe beyond the standard neutralino dark matter candidate. In particular, annihilation product phenomenology is a tool for the exploration of the dark matter connection to the neutrino sector. The well-motivated U(1)_{B-L} extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Model (MSSM) naturally includes the neutrino sector to explain neutrino masses and mixings. Two new B-L dark matter candidates arise: the right-handed sneutrino and a new neutralino. These each annihilate preferentially into leptons by virtue of the B-L charges. Chapters 3 and 4 show that the annihilation cross-section in either case can achieve a Sommerfeld enhancement that fits data from the PAMELA satellite showing an excess in the positron fraction but no excess in the antiproton spectrum. Chapter 5 demonstrates that the IceCube neutrino telescope can distinguish the annihilation of the right-handed sneutrino candidate into monochromatic neutrinos. In general, final states provide a distinctive signature that can discriminate among classes of dark matter models. Chapter 6 considers a model-independent study of monochromatic neutrino signals. Even with the current energy reconstruction capability, IceCube/DeepCore can detect gauge boson or tau annihilation even in the presence of monochromatic neutrino annihilation given ten years of data. Finally, tau regeneration is found to be a potential mechanism for differentiating neutrino flavor final states from one another.

Degree Name

Physics

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Physics & Astronomy

First Committee Member (Chair)

Friedland, Alexander

Second Committee Member

Fulghum, Julia

Third Committee Member

Gold, Michael

Fourth Committee Member

Loomba, Dinesh

Fifth Committee Member

Roy, Mousumi

Project Sponsors

New Mexico Space Grant, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory Grant

Language

English

Keywords

Dark matter (Astronomy)--Measurement, Annihilation reactions, Elastic cross sections, Neutrinos, Supersymmetry.

Document Type

Dissertation

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