TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploration of elastic scattering rates for supersymmetric dark matter
AU - Ellis, John
AU - Ferstl, Andrew
AU - Olive, Keith A.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - We explore the possible cross sections for the elastic scattering of neutralinos χ on nucleons p, n in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM). Universality of the soft supersymmetry-breaking scalar masses for the Higgs multiplets is not assumed, but the MSSM parameters are nevertheless required to lead consistently to an electroweak vacuum. We explore systematically the region of MSSM parameter space where CERN LEP and other accelerator constraints are respected, and the relic neutralino density lies in the range 0.1 ≤ Ωχh2 ≤ 0.3 preferred by cosmology. We also discuss models with Ωχh2 <0.1, in which case we scale the density of supersymmetric dark matter in our galactic halo by Ωχh2/0.1, allowing for the possible existence of some complementary form of cold dark matter. We restrict our attention to tanβ ≤ 10, for which reliable relic-density calculations are available, Within this range of tanβ, we find values of the cross sections that are considerably lower than the present experimental sensitivities. At low neutralino masses, mχ≤ 100 GeV, the cross sections may be somewhat higher than in the constrained MSSM with universal soft Higgs boson masses, though they are generally lower. In the case of large mχ, the cross sections we find may be considerably larger than in the constrained model, but still well below the present experimental sensitivity.
AB - We explore the possible cross sections for the elastic scattering of neutralinos χ on nucleons p, n in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM). Universality of the soft supersymmetry-breaking scalar masses for the Higgs multiplets is not assumed, but the MSSM parameters are nevertheless required to lead consistently to an electroweak vacuum. We explore systematically the region of MSSM parameter space where CERN LEP and other accelerator constraints are respected, and the relic neutralino density lies in the range 0.1 ≤ Ωχh2 ≤ 0.3 preferred by cosmology. We also discuss models with Ωχh2 <0.1, in which case we scale the density of supersymmetric dark matter in our galactic halo by Ωχh2/0.1, allowing for the possible existence of some complementary form of cold dark matter. We restrict our attention to tanβ ≤ 10, for which reliable relic-density calculations are available, Within this range of tanβ, we find values of the cross sections that are considerably lower than the present experimental sensitivities. At low neutralino masses, mχ≤ 100 GeV, the cross sections may be somewhat higher than in the constrained MSSM with universal soft Higgs boson masses, though they are generally lower. In the case of large mχ, the cross sections we find may be considerably larger than in the constrained model, but still well below the present experimental sensitivity.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevD.63.065016
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevD.63.065016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034898247
SN - 0556-2821
VL - 63
SP - 650161
EP - 6501613
JO - Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology
JF - Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology
IS - 6
M1 - 065016
ER -