Weakly Interacting Massive Particles
A hypothetical class of particles which only interact through the weak force and gravitation. WIMPs have been proposed to solve the dark matter problem.
Questions tagged [wimps]
35 questions
8
votes
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Temperature of WIMPs
As a dark matter candidate, what should be the temperature and kinetic energy (or also the speed) of the WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles) to agree with the observed distribution of dark matter and not to accumulate so much in the inner…
Arpad Horvath
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5
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2 answers
More on matter and anti-matter
Does every particle that has rest mass also have an anti-particle with which it would annihilate?
Does annihilation only occur between like particles? For example what happens if a antineutron (anti u, anti d, anti d) collides with a proton (uud)?…
Art Hays
- 103
5
votes
2 answers
Is cold dark matter made of Higgs bosons?
This paper (2010) hypothesizes that Higgs bosons might be absolutely stable, allowing them to serve as a cold dark matter candidate:
The Higgs boson is in the backbone of the standard model of electroweak interactions. It must exist in some form…
user44629
- 311
4
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2 answers
Why use xenon in the search for dark matter?
The XENON dark matter research project is an interesting long-running project that strives to detect dark matter. I understand that the basic principle of the project design is that WIMPs are expected to "flash" and "ripple" when they interact with…
user21380
4
votes
2 answers
Black dwarf stars and dark matter
Today we understand that a black dwarf star represents a hypothetical star that is the result of the complete consumption of the energy of a white dwarf which is the remnant of a star of little or half mass (1 solar mass), once all its hydrogen has…
jormansandoval
- 1,546
4
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2 answers
What formula is used to make exclusion plot in the direct detection of dark matter?
The idea of direct detection of dark matter is that a dark matter particle striking some underground target will cause the target nucleus to recoil. From the recoil, one can determine the scattering cross-section. In literature, there exists a plot…
SRS
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Spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions of the dark matter
What is meant by spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions of the dark matter with the nuclei?
How is the interaction between nucleus and DM modeled?
What can we conclude if the DM-nuclei interactions are spin-dependent and independent…
SRS
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4
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1 answer
Direct Dark Matter Detection: relative velocity between WIMPs & Nuclei
In direct dark matter detection it is said that the relative velocity between the WIMPs, which form a DM halo, and the target nuclei on earth is of order $100 \frac{\text{km}}{\text{s}}$. How does one derive this result?
F.ert
- 217
4
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1 answer
Interpretation of the WIMP annihilation cross section graph
I have some trouble in the interpretation of the WIMP cross-section annihilation versus their mass.
I understand that the lines represent a upper bound on the cross section from the observation. But what do the contours from, e.g., DAMA mean?
Anne O'Nyme
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1 answer
What determines the shape of the WIMP cross-section vs mass limit curves?
In figure 5 of arXiv:1310.8214v1, the experiments all seem to reach the lowest cross-sections when the WIMP is in the $40-100\, \mathrm{GeV}/c^2$ range. What is the physical reason for the scale of this minimum?
HoosierDaddy
- 148
3
votes
2 answers
What does the "weak scale" mean?
In dark matter research, one of the properties of WIMPs is that "Interactions only through the weak nuclear force and gravity, or possibly other interactions with cross-sections no higher than the weak scale;" from Wikipedia of WIMPs, so I'm curious…
Jack the Ranger
- 310
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1 answer
WIMPs - would they be charged?
I'm no expert in this stuff, it's just a hobby to me, but I've been reading up on the WIMP theory a bit - layman articles, not published research.
From Wiki on Dark Matter:
It also cannot interact with ordinary matter via electromagnetic forces;…
userLTK
- 5,778
2
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0 answers
Lifetime of a WIMP
I have been watching videos of WIMP's and have a simple question..
The larger the particles, the shorter their lifetime. A top quark is so massive that it cannot form a "stable" bond with any other particle to form a meson or baryon.
If WIMPS are…
Rick
- 2,764
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Axion vs. WIMP / Is Axion a WIMP?
What is the difference between an Axion and a WIMP?
A WIMP is just defined as a class of particles interacting via gravity and potentially via weak interaction (or a new force that is even weaker than that). Why is the Axion not a type of WIMP?
Welcome_Green
- 479
2
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0 answers
Can we have a FIMP (WIMP) dark matter produced via freeze-out(-in) mechanism?
In general, we study dark matter production via freeze-out or freeze-in, for instance. The former produces thermal dark matter particles which correspond to a class of particle called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The later is…
