Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

07:46
Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
Published on: November 15, 2013
Asymmetric Higgsino dark matter
Kfir Blum1, Aielet Efrati, Yuval Grossman
1Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA. kblum@ias.edu
Physical Review Letters
|September 26, 2012
Summary
In supersymmetry, Higgsinos could explain dark matter. This framework links dark matter abundance to baryon asymmetry, potentially solving why their densities are similar.
Area of Science:
- Particle Physics
- Cosmology
- Astrophysics
Background:
- The observed baryon asymmetry suggests a corresponding asymmetry in Higgsinos within supersymmetric theories.
- Dark matter remains a significant mystery in cosmology, with its abundance and properties not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Higgsino as a viable candidate for asymmetric dark matter.
- To explore if supersymmetry can simultaneously explain dark matter abundance and its relation to baryon asymmetry.
Main Methods:
- Analysis within the supersymmetric framework, focusing on the electroweak phase transition.
- Consideration of specific particle spectra where only Higgsinos are at the electroweak scale.
Main Results:
- Higgsino is found to be a viable asymmetric dark matter candidate.
- Supersymmetry can account for the observed dark matter abundance and link it to baryon asymmetry.
- The similarity between baryonic and dark matter mass densities can be explained.
Conclusions:
- A specific supersymmetric scenario, requiring heavy gauginos, squarks, and sleptons, with a low-temperature electroweak phase transition (1-10 GeV), supports Higgsino dark matter.
- This scenario necessitates extensions to the minimal supersymmetric standard model.
- While explaining dark matter and baryon asymmetry, this model does not resolve the fine-tuning problem in supersymmetry.
Related Concept Videos
Symmetry in Maxwell's Equations
Once the fields have been calculated using Maxwell's four equations, the Lorentz force equation gives the force that the fields exert on a charged particle moving with a certain velocity. The Lorentz force equation combines the force of the electric field and of the magnetic field on the moving charge. Maxwell's equations and the Lorentz force law together encompass all the laws of electricity and magnetism. The symmetry that Maxwell introduced into his mathematical framework may not be...
Detection of Black Holes
Although black holes were theoretically postulated in the 1920s, they remained outside the domain of observational astronomy until the 1970s.
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Reduced Mass Coordinates: Isolated Two-body Problem
In classical mechanics, the two-body problem is one of the fundamental problems describing the motion of two interacting bodies under gravity or any other central force. When considering the motion of two bodies, one of the most important concepts is the reduced mass coordinates, a quantity that allows the two-body problem to be solved like a single-body problem. In these circumstances, it is assumed that a single body with reduced mass revolves around another body fixed in a position with an...
Gravitation Between Spherically Symmetric Masses
The gravitational potential energy between two spherically symmetric bodies can be calculated from the masses and the distance between the bodies, assuming that the center of mass is concentrated at the respective centers of the bodies.
Gauss's Law: Planar Symmetry
A planar symmetry of charge density is obtained when charges are uniformly spread over a large flat surface. In planar symmetry, all points in a plane parallel to the plane of charge are identical with respect to the charges. Suppose the plane of the charge distribution is the xy-plane, and the electric field at a space point P with coordinates (x, y, z) is to be determined. Since the charge density is the same at all (x, y) - coordinates in the z = 0 plane, by symmetry, the electric field at P...
Symmetric Member in Bending
In the study of the mechanics of materials, analyzing the behavior of prismatic members under opposing couples is crucial for understanding internal stress distributions, which are essential for structural design. When subjected to couples, a prismatic member experiences internal forces that maintain equilibrium. A couple, characterized by two equal and opposite forces, creates a moment but no resultant force. The internal forces at any section cut of the member must balance these external...

