Work

What Mass Are the Smallest Protohalos?

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: We calculate the kinetic-decoupling temperature for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in supersymmetric (SUSY) and extra dimensional models that can account for the cold-dark-matter abundance determined from cosmic microwave background measurements. Depending on the parameters of the particle-physics model, a wide variety of decoupling temperatures is possible, ranging from several MeV to a few GeV. These decoupling temperatures imply a range of masses for the smallest protohalos much larger than previously thought--ranging from 10(-6)M(+ in a circle) to 10(2)M(+ in a circle). We expect the range of protohalos masses derived here to be characteristic of most particle-physics models that can thermally accommodate the required relic abundance of WIMP dark matter, even beyond SUSY and extra dimensions.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.97.031301

Authors: Stefano Profumo, Kris Sigurdson, Marc Kamionkowski

Institutions: California Institute of Technology, Institute for Advanced Study

Language: English

Topic: Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute

Awards: BEYOND EINSTEIN: THEROY FOR SPACE BASED COSMOLOGY & FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS, G433322167, G4518818167, G58316358, G6273510985