Review of the theoretical and experimental status of dark matter identification with cosmic-ray antideuterons

Abstract

See paper for full list of authors - 67 pages, 20 figures; submitted to Physics ReportsInternational audienceRecent years have seen increased theoretical and experimental effort towards the first-ever detection of cosmic-ray antideuterons, in particular as an indirect signature of dark matter annihilation or decay. In contrast to indirect dark matter searches using positrons, antiprotons, or gamma-rays, which suffer from relatively high and uncertain astrophysical backgrounds, searches with antideuterons benefit from very suppressed conventional backgrounds, offering a potential breakthrough in unexplored phase space for dark matter. This article is based on the first dedicated cosmic-ray antideuteron workshop, which was held at UCLA in June 2014. It reviews broad classes of dark matter candidates that result in detectable cosmic-ray antideuteron fluxes, as well as the status and prospects of current experimental searches. The coalescence model of antideuteron production and the influence of antideuteron measurements at particle colliders are discussed. This is followed by a review of the modeling of antideuteron propagation through the magnetic fields, plasma currents, and molecular material of our Galaxy, the solar system, the Earth's geomagnetic field, and the atmosphere. Finally, the three ongoing or planned experiments that are sensitive to cosmic-ray antideuterons, BESS, AMS-02, and GAPS, are detailed. As cosmic-ray antideuteron detection is a rare event search, multiple experiments with orthogonal techniques and backgrounds are essential. Many theoretical and experimental groups have contributed to these studies over the last decade, this review aims to provide the first coherent discussion of the relevant dark matter theories that antideuterons probe, the challenges to predictions and interpretations of antideuteron signals, and the experimental efforts toward cosmic antideuteron detection

A survey of dark matter and related topics in cosmology

“…We refer to [119] for more discussions and references. An updated review on both theoretical and experimental aspects of cosmic-ray anti-deuteriums search is given in [198].…”

Production of antimatter nuclei in Galactic Cosmic rays.

“…The coefficient BĀ is defined as BĀ = . To include the production threshold effect we used the approach of Chardonnet et al [21], Ansatz (1). In comparison to previous works, however, our Eq.…”

“…Annihilation of decay products of dark matter particles in the Galaxy may generate antiprotons (p) and antineutrons (n) which, in turn, can merge into light antinuclei such as antideuteron 2 H (or d), antihelium 3 He (tout court He), or antitritium 3 H (or t), where the latter decays rapidly into He [1,2] Antiprotons have been detected since long time in CRs, and it is generally agreed that the vast majority of these particles originates from secondary production mechanisms, i.e., from collisions of high-energy protons and nuclei with the gas nuclei of the interstellar medium (ISM). The antiproton/proton (p/p) ratio CRs has been recently measured with high precision by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) from 0.5 to 450 GeV of kinetic energy [3].…”

Aspects of WIMP Dark Matter Searches at Colliders and Other Probes

“…Current limits obtained with the BESS balloon [279] on thed flux are 1 − 2 order of magnitudes above the level expected for realistic WIMP models. Searches with AMS-02 and GAPS (a specifically proposed balloon mission) are expected to have the sensitivity needed to exclude relevant parts of the parameter space [280,281].…”