Probing the Local Velocity Distribution of WIMP Dark Matter with Directional Detectors
- Creators
- Lee, Samuel K.
- Peter, Annika H. G.
Abstract
We explore the ability of directional nuclear-recoil detectors to constrain the local velocity distribution of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter by performing Bayesian parameter estimation on simulated recoil-event data sets. We discuss in detail how directional information, when combined with measurements of the recoil-energy spectrum, helps break degeneracies in the velocity-distribution parameters. We also consider the possibility that velocity structures such as cold tidal streams or a dark disk may also be present in addition to the Galactic halo. Assuming a carbon-tetrafluoride detector with a 30-kg-yr exposure, a 50-GeV WIMP mass, and a WIMP-nucleon spin-dependent cross-section of 10^(-3) pb, we show that the properties of a cold tidal stream may be well constrained. However, measurement of the parameters of a dark-disk component with a low lag speed of ~50 km/s may be challenging unless energy thresholds are improved.
Additional Information
© 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl. Received February 29, 2012; Accepted March 26, 2012; Published April 20, 2012. S.K.L. thanks Marc Kamionkowski and Jens Chluba for useful comments. This research was supported at Caltech and Johns Hopkins University by DoE DE-FG03-92-ER40701. A. H. G. P. is supported by a Gary McCue Fellowship through the Center for Cosmology at UC Irvine and NASA Grant No. NNX09AD09G.Attached Files
Submitted - 1202.5035v1.pdf
Files
Name | Size | Download all |
---|---|---|
md5:f1e5942a4c561def614a6f8c2939df57
|
2.2 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 29682
- DOI
- 10.1088/1475-7516/2012/04/029
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20120312-091913831
- Caltech
- Johns Hopkins University
- DE-FG03-92-ER40701
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- UC Irvine Center for Cosmology Gary McCue Fellowship
- NNX09AD09G
- NASA
- Created
-
2012-07-13Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2022-07-12Created from EPrint's last_modified field