Dark matter, constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model, and lattice QCD

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Nuclear Physics

Background:

• Lattice QCD provides precise calculations of fundamental particle properties.
• Understanding the proton's structure is crucial for particle physics and dark matter models.
• Supersymmetric models offer potential extensions to the Standard Model, including dark matter candidates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate precise lattice QCD results for quark condensates into dark matter predictions.
• To re-evaluate dark matter cross sections within constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) scenarios.
• To assess the implications of updated predictions for ongoing and future dark matter detection experiments.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing recent, accurate lattice measurements of proton quark condensates.
• Employing these measurements to constrain parameters in benchmark MSSM models.
• Calculating predicted spin-independent dark matter-nucleon scattering cross sections.

Main Results:

• The predicted spin-independent cross sections are found to be at least an order of magnitude smaller than previously estimated.
• The improved predictions offer a more refined target range for dark matter direct detection experiments.
• The study highlights the sensitivity of dark matter predictions to precise inputs from lattice QCD.

Conclusions:

• Updated dark matter predictions based on lattice data significantly reduce the expected signal strength for spin-independent interactions.
• These revised predictions have substantial implications for the interpretation of current dark matter search results and the design of future experiments.
• The interplay between lattice QCD and particle physics models is essential for advancing our understanding of dark matter.