In most global fits of the constrained minimal supersymmetric model (CMSSM) to indirect data, the a priori likelihoods of any two points in tan beta are treated as equal, and the more fundamental mu and B Higgs potential parameters are fixed by potential minimization conditions. We find that, if instead a flat ("natural")prior measure on mu and B is placed, a strong preference exists for the focus point region from fits to particle physics and cosmological data. In particular, we find that the lightest neutralino is strongly favored to be a mixed bino-higgsino (~10% higgsino). Such mixed neutralinos have large elastic scattering cross sections with nuclei, leading to extremely promising prospects for both underground direct detection experiments and neutrino telescopes. In particular, the majority of the posterior probability distribution falls within parameter space within an order of magnitude of current direct detection constraints. Furthermore, neutralino annihilations in the sun are predicted to generate thousands of neutrino induced muon events per years at IceCube. Thus, assuming the framework of the CMSSM and using the natural prior measure, modulo caveats regarding astrophysical uncertainties, we are likely to be living in a world with good prospects for the direct and indirect detection of neutralino dark matter.
Searches for supersymmetry are among the most exciting physics goals at Run II of the Tevatron. In particular, in supersymmetric models with light charginos, neutralinos and sleptons, associated chargino--neutralino production can potentially be observed as multi-lepton events with missing energy. We discuss how, in the generic TeV-scale MSSM, the prospects for these chargino-neutralino searches are impacted by cosmological considerations, namely the neutralino relic abundance and direct detection limits. We also discuss what an observation of chargino-neutralino production at the Tevatron wou…
We investigate the prospects of indirect searches for supersymmetric neutralino dark matter. Relic neutralinos gravitationally accumulate in the Sun and their annihilations produce high energy neutrinos. Muon neutrinos of this origin can be seen in large detectors like AMANDA, IceCube and ANTARES. We evaluate the relic density and the detection rate in several models---the minimal supersymmetric model, minimal supergravity, and supergravity with non-universal Higgs boson masses at the grand unification scale. We make realistic estimates for the indirect detection rates including effects of the…
Principle of neutralino dark matter detection with neutrino telescopes and predictions are reviewed. The future Antares detector is described. Prospection in the CMSSM is exposed including comparison with experiment sensitivities of both neutrino indirect detection and direct detection experiments. Results in other frameworks are shortly surveyed. Models with a non negligible neutralino higgsino fraction are promising for neutrino telescopes detection.
In the minimal supersymmetric standard models, neutralino dark matter with mass of $m_χ\sim m_Z/2\sim 45$ GeV and $m_χ\sim m_h/2\sim 62$ GeV can have the thermal relic abundance $Ω_{χ_1}h^2\simeq 0.120$ via the $Z$- and Higgs-resonant annihilations, respectively, while avoiding all the current constraints. Phenomenology of such scenarios is determined only by three parameters, Bino mass $M_1$, Higgsino mass $μ$, and $\tanβ$, in the limit that all other supersymmetric particles and heavy Higgs bosons are decoupled. In this paper, we comprehensively study the constraints and future prospects of …
We explore the prospects for indirect detection of neutralino dark matter in supersymmetric models with an extended Higgs sector (NMSSM). We compute, for the first time, one-loop amplitudes for NMSSM neutralino pair annihilation into two photons and two gluons, and point out that extra diagrams (with respect to the MSSM), featuring a potentially light CP-odd Higgs boson exchange, can strongly enhance these radiative modes. Expected signals in neutrino telescopes due to the annihilation of relic neutralinos in the Sun and in the Earth are evaluated, as well as the prospects of detection of a ne…
I summarize some recent work on supersymmetric neutralinos as candidates for cold Dark Matter in the Universe. This includes a new scan of mSUGRA parameter space, with special emphasis on neutralinos annihilating predominantly through exchange of the light CP--even Higgs boson, and on bounds on sparticle masses. Next, prospects of testing models with TeV higgsino--like Dark Matter at colliders are discussed. Finally, I briefly comment on extensions of the mSUGRA model, and on scenarios with non--standard cosmology.
We investigate the prospects for discovering charginos and neutralinos at a future $pp$ collider with $\sqrt{s} = 100$ TeV. We focus on models where squarks and sleptons are decoupled -- as motivated by the LHC data. Our initial study is based on models where Higgsinos form the main component of the LSP and $W$-inos compose the heavier chargino states ($M_2 > μ$), though it is straightforward to consider the reverse situation also. We show that in such scenarios $W$-inos decay into $W^\pm$, $Z$ and $h$ plus neutralinos almost universally. In the $W Z$ channel we compare signal and background i…
We consider the gamma-ray spectrum from neutralino dark matter annihilations and show that internal bremsstrahlung of W pair final states gives a previously neglected source of photons at energies near the mass of the neutralino. For masses larger than about 1 TeV, and for present day detector resolutions, this results in a characteristic signal that may dominate not only over the continuous spectrum from W fragmentation, but also over the γ-γand γ-Z line signals which are known to give large rates for heavy neutralinos. Observational prospects thus seem promising.
Unlike its minimal counterpart, the Next to Minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) allows the possibility that the lightest neutralino could have a mass as small as $\sim 1 {\rm GeV}$ while still providing a significant component of relic dark matter (DM). Such a neutralino can provide an invisible decay mode to the Higgs as well. Further, the observed SM-like Higgs boson ($H_{125}$) could also have an invisible branching fraction as high as $\sim 19\%$. Led by these facts, we first delineate the region of parameter space of the NMSSM with a light neutralino ($M_{{\tildeχ}_{1}^{0}} < 62…
We analyse the phenomenology of orbifold scenarios from the heterotic superstring, and the resulting theoretical predictions for the direct detection of neutralino dark matter. In particular, we study the parameter space of these constructions, computing the low-energy spectrum and taking into account the most recent experimental and astrophysical constraints, as well as imposing the absence of dangerous charge and colour breaking minima. In the remaining allowed regions the spin-independent part of the neutralino-proton cross section is calculated and compared with the sensitivity of dark mat…
The possible solution of dark matter problem with neutralinos of supersymmetric models within the supergravity framework is reviewed. A novel correlation between the neutralino relic abundance $Ω_χ$ and the soft supersymmetry breaking patterns is demonstrated. It is explained that, this generic result together with the proton-decay constraint could significantly reduce the allowed parameter space of the minimal $SU(5)$ supergravity model, and therefore makes this model more easily testable. The prospect of obtaining further cosmological constraints from underground experiments for the minimal …
We study the indirect detection of neutralino dark matter using positrons and gamma rays from its annihilation in the galactic halo. Considering the HESS data as the spectrum constituting the gamma--ray background, we compare the prospects for the experiments GLAST and PAMELA in a general supergravity framework with non--universal scalar and gaugino masses. We show that with a boost factor of about 10, PAMELA will be competitive with GLAST for typical NFW cuspy profiles.
Dark matter candidates arising in models of particle physics incorporating weak scale supersymmetry may produce detectable signals through their annihilation into neutrinos, photons, or positrons. A large number of relevant experiments are planned or underway. The `logically possible' parameter space is unwieldy. By working in the framework of minimal supergravity, we can survey the implications of the experiments for each other, as well as for direct searches, collider searches, low-energy experiments, and naturalness in a transparent fashion. We find that a wide variety of experiments provid…
We discuss the prospects for detecting supersymmetric particles in variants of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM), in light of laboratory and cosmological constraints. We first assume that the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is the lightest neutralino chi, and present scatter plots of the masses of the two lightest visible supersymmetric particles when the input scalar and gaugino masses are constrained to be universal (CMSSM), when the input Higgs scalar masses are non-universal (NUHM), and when the squark and slepton masses are also non-universal and the…
The existence of dark matter provides strong evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Extending the Standard Model with the Peccei-Quinn symmetry and/or supersymmetry, compelling dark matter candidates appear. For the axion, the neutralino, the gravitino, and the axino, I review primordial production mechanisms, cosmological and astrophysical constraints, experimental searches, and prospects for experimental identification.
Using a simplified model framework, we assess observational limits and discovery prospects for neutralino dark matter, taken here to be a general admixture of bino, wino, and Higgsino. Experimental constraints can be weakened or even nullified in regions of parameter space near 1) purity limits, where the dark matter is mostly bino, wino, or Higgsino, or 2) blind spots, where the relevant couplings of dark matter to the $Z$ or Higgs bosons vanish identically. We analytically identify all blind spots relevant to spin-independent and spin-dependent scattering and show that they arise for diverse…
We present a complete phenomenological prospectus for thermal relic neutralinos. Including Sommerfeld enhancements to relic abundance and halo annihilation calculations, we obtain direct, indirect, and collider discovery prospects for all neutralinos with mass parameters $M_1,M_2,|μ| < 4$ TeV, that freeze out to the observed dark matter abundance, with scalar superpartners decoupled. Much of the relic neutralino sector will be uncovered by the direct detection experiments Xenon1T and LZ, as well as indirect detection with CTA. We emphasize that thermal relic higgsinos will be found by next-gen…
We present a new global fit of the 19-dimensional phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (pMSSM-19) that comply with all the latest experimental results from dark matter indirect, direct and accelerator dark matter searches. We show that the model provides a satisfactory explanation of the excess of gamma-rays from the Galactic centre observed by the Fermi~Large Area Telescope, assuming that it is produced by the annihilation of neutralinos in the Milky Way halo. We identify two regions that pass all the constraints: the first corresponds to neutralinos with a mass ~80-100 GeV …
We present the prospects of searches for neutral, long-lived particles which decay to photons using their time of arrival measured with a newly installed timing system on the electromagnetic calorimeter (EMTiming) of the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). A Monte Carlo simulation shows that EMTiming can provide separation between decay photons from particles with both a long lifetime and a low boost, and prompt photons from Standard Model backgrounds. Using a gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) $\tildeχ_{1}^{0}\toγ\tilde{G}$ model we estimate a quasi-model-independent sensitivity us…
We study SUSY signatures at the 7, 8 and 14 TeV LHC employing the 19-parameter, R-Parity conserving p(henomenological)MSSM, in the scenario with a neutralino LSP. Our results were obtained via a fast Monte Carlo simulation of the ATLAS SUSY analysis suite. The flexibility of this framework allows us to study a wide variety of SUSY phenomena simultaneously and to probe for weak spots in existing SUSY search analyses. We determine the ranges of the sparticle masses that are either disfavored or allowed after the searches with the 7 and 8 TeV data sets are combined. We find that natural SUSY mode…
In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the lightest neutralino, the gravitino, and the axino can appear as the lightest supersymmetric particle and as such provide a compelling explanation of the non-baryonic dark matter in our Universe. For each of these dark matter candidates, I review the present status of primordial production mechanisms, cosmological constraints, and prospects of experimental identification.
We review the prospects of detecting supersymmetric dark matter in the framework of the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, and compare indirect with direct detection capabilities.
Two experiments from the Fermilab, E989 and CDF II, have reported two anomalies for muon $g-2$ and $W$-boson mass that may indicate the new physics at the low energy scale. Here we examine the possibility of a common origin of these two anomalies in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. Considering various experimental and astrophysical constraints such as the Higgs mass, collider data, flavor physics, dark matter relic density, and direct detection experiments, we find that lighter electroweakinos and sleptons can generate sufficient contributions to muon $g-2$ and $m_W$. Moreove…
We examine the prospects for the detection of Higgs mediated lepton flavor violation at LHC and at a photon collider in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with large lepton flavor violating mass insertions in the $μ-τ$ sector constraining the parameter space with several experimental bounds. We find rates probably too small to be observed at future experiments if models have to accommodate for a neutralino relic density as measured by WMAP and explain the $(g-2)_μ$ anomaly: better prospects are found if these two constraints are applied only as upper bounds. The spin-independent neutral…
In this article, we explore the interplay between searches for supersymmetric particles and Higgs bosons at hadron colliders (the Tevatron and the LHC) and direct dark matter searches (such as CDMS, ZEPLIN, XENON, EDELWEISS, CRESST, WARP and others). We focus on collider searches for heavy MSSM Higgs bosons ($A$, $H$, $H^{\pm}$) and how the prospects for these searches are impacted by direct dark matter limits and vice versa. We find that the prospects of these two experimental programs are highly interrelated. A positive detection of $A$, $H$ or $H^{\pm}$ at the Tevatron would dramatically en…
We investigate the dark matter prospects of supersymmetric models with nonuniversal gaugino masses. We find that for very particular values of the ratio of soft supersymmetry-breaking gaugino masses, M2/M1, an enhanced coannihilation efficiency between the lightest chargino and the lightest neutralino occurs, allowing for scalars with masses well above the normally accepted limits for viable dark matter in the universal case. As a specific example, we investigate models of hidden sector gaugino condensation. These models exhibit high scalar masses, previously thought dangerous, and the requisi…
The minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) has a truly supersymmetric way to explain both the baryon asymmetry and cold dark matter in the present Universe, that is, ``Affleck-Dine baryo/DM-genesis.'' The associated late-time decay of Q-balls directly connects the origins of the baryon asymmetry and dark matter, and also predicts a specific nature of the LSP. In this paper, we investigate the prospects for indirect detection of these dark matter candidates observing high energy neutrino flux from the Sun, and hard positron flux from the halo. We also update the previous analysis of the d…
We extend previous analyses on the interplay between nonuniversalities in the gaugino mass sector and the thermal relic densities of LSP neutralinos, in particular to the case of moderate to large tan beta. We introduce a set of parameters that generalizes the standard unified scenario to cover the complete allowed parameter space in the gaugino mass sector. We discuss the physical significance of the cosmologically preferred degree of degeneracy between charginos and the LSP and study the effect this degree of degeneracy has on the prospects for direct detection of relic neutralinos in the ne…
In the framework of the Constrained MSSM we derive the most probable ranges of the diffuse gamma radiation flux from the direction of the Galactic center and of the positron flux from the Galactic halo due to neutralino dark matter annihilation. We find that, for a given halo model, and assuming flat priors, the 68% probability range of the integrated gamma-ray flux spans about one order of magnitude, while the 95% probability range can be much larger and extend over four orders of magnitude (even exceeding five for a tiny region at small neutralino mass). The detectability of the signal by GL…
We study the viability of the lightest neutralino as a dark matter candidate in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. Taking into account accelerator constraints as well as bounds on low-energy observables, and imposing consistency with present bounds on the neutralino relic density, we address the prospects for the direct detection of neutralino dark matter. We find regions of the allowed parameter space where the neutralino detection cross section is within the reach of dark matter detectors, essentially owing to the presence of very light singlet-like Higgses, and to either sin…
Possible indirect detection of neutralino, through its gamma-ray annihilation product, by the forthcoming GLAST satellite from our galactic halo, M31, M87 and the dwarf galaxies Draco and Sagittarius is studied. Gamma-ray fluxes are evaluated for the two representative energy thresholds, 0.1 GeV and 1.0 GeV, at which the spatial resolution of GLAST varies considerably. Apart from dwarfs which are described either by a modified Plummer profile or by a tidally-truncated King profiles, fluxes are compared for halos with central cusps and cores. It is demonstrated that substructures, irrespective …
We propose a search for direct production and decay of the lightest supersymmetric Higgs boson to two neutralinos in gauge mediated models at the Fermilab Tevatron. We focus on the final state where each neutralino decays to photon and light gravitino with a lifetime of order O(ns). In the detector this will show up as a photon with a time-delayed signature and missing E_T. We estimate that using the photon timing system at CDF, and the full 10/fb data sample, that the sensitivity can be within a factor of three in some regions of parameter space for direct production of the Higgs.
We compute the neutralino direct detection rate in non-standard cosmological scenarios where neutralinos account for the dark matter of the Universe. Significant differences are found when such rates are compared with those predicted by the standard cosmological model. For bino-like neutralinos, the main feature is the presence of additional light ($m_χ\lesssim 40\gev$) and heavy ($m_χ\gtrsim 600\gev$) neutralinos with detection rates within the sensitivity of future dark matter experiments. For higgsino- and wino-like neutralinos lighter than $m_χ\sim 1\tev$, enhancements of more than two ord…
We analyze the prospects for light neutralino dark matter in the minimal supersymmetric model extended by a $U(1)$ gauge group. We allow the neutralino to be an arbitrary admixture of singlet and doublet higgsinos, as well as of the three gauginos, and we require agreement with the data from the direct and indirect dark matter detection experiments, while maintaining consistency of the model with the relic density and with the recent Higgs data from the LHC. The constraints have implications for the structure of the lightest neutralino as a dark matter candidate, indicating that it is largely …
The addition of non-renormalizable terms involving the Higgs fields to the MSSM ameliorates the little hierarchy problem of the MSSM. For neutralino dark matter, new regions for which the relic abundance of the LSP is consistent with WMAP (as the bulk region and the stop coannihilation region) are now permitted. In this framework, we analyze in detail first the direct dark matter detection prospects in a XENON-like experiment; then we study the capability of detecting gamma-rays produced in the annihilation of neutralino LSPs in the FERMI satellite.
We consider supersymmetric scenarios, compatible with all cosmological and phenomenological requirements, where the lightest SUSY particles (LSPs) are the neutralino and a quasi degenerate gluino. We study the neutralino relic abundance, focusing on gluino (co-)annihilation effects. In case the neutralino is bino-like, in a wide mass window the relic abundance is naturally driven in the correct range for the LSP to be the main cold dark matter constituent. We show that the gluino is the strongest possible coannihilating partner of a bino-like neutralino in the general MSSM. Moreover, contrary …
We describe a novel way to measure the mass of heavy, long-lived neutral particles that decay to photons using collider experiments. We focus on a Light Neutralino and Gravitino model in a Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking scenario where the neutralino has a long-lifetime (O(ns)) as it is not excluded by current experiments. To illustrate our method and give sensitivity estimates we use recent CDF results and a production mechanism where sparticles are produced via $ϕ_{i} \rightarrow \widetildeχ^{1}_{0} \widetildeχ^{1}_{0} \rightarrow (γ\widetilde{G})(γ\widetilde{G})$ in which $ϕ_{i}$ indi…
We study the implications for electroweak baryogenesis (EWB) within the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) of present and future searches for the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron, for neutralino dark matter, and for supersymmetric particles at high energy colliders. We show that there exist regions of the MSSM parameter space that are consistent with both present two-loop EDM limits and the relic density and that allow for successful EWB through resonant chargino and neutralino processes at the electroweak phase transition. We also show that under certain condit…
I consider the prospect to use the outer layer of the Moon as a detector volume for ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrino fluxes and the flux of the lightest neutralino which I assume is the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). For this purpose, I calculate the event rates of these fluxes for top-down scenarios. I show that a suitable experiment for the detection of radio waves might be able to detect sufficient event rates after a measurement period of one year.
We study supersymmetric scenarios where the dark matter is the gaugino of an unbroken hidden U(1) which interacts with the visible world only via a small kinetic mixing with the hypercharge. Strong constraints on the parameter space can be derived from avoiding overclosure of the Universe and from requiring successful Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and structure formation. We find that for typical values of the mixing parameter, scenarios with neutralino NLSP are excluded, while scenarios with slepton NLSP are allowed when the mixing parameter lies in the range chi~O(10^(-13) - 10^(-10)). We also sh…
We examine prospects for detecting the neutral Higgs bosons of minimal supersymmetric models (MSSM) when their decays into neutralino pairs are kinematically allowed. The best signature appears to be $H_h,H_p\to\tz_2\tz_2\to 4\ell +\eslt$. We argue that Standard Model contributions to this signature are negligible, and examine regions of MSSM parameter space where the four lepton mode should be observable at the Large Hadron Collider. The same signal can also come from continuum neutralino pair production. We propose a set of cuts to illustrate that the neutralino decay mode of the Higgs boson…
I address the question of whether supersymmetry provides a viable candidate for the dark matter in the Universe. I review the properties of the lightest neutralino as a candidate for solving the dark matter problem. I discuss the neutralino's phenomenological and cosmological properties, and constraints from present and future experiments. In the minimal supersymmetric model, the neutralino mass has been experimentally excluded below some $20$ GeV, and is not expected to be significantly larger than about $150$ GeV. I identify a gaugino-like neutralino as the most natural dark matter candidate…
We consider the minimal supersymmetric standard model within a scenario of large $\tanβ$ and heavy squarks and gluinos, with masses of the heavy neutral Higgs bosons below the TeV scale. We allow for the presence of a large, model independent, source of lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the slepton mass matrix in the $τ-μ$ sector by the mass insertion approximation. We constrain the parameter space using the $τ$ LFV decays together with the $B$-mesons physics observables, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and the dark matter relic density. We further impose the exclusion limit on spin-i…
The constraints on neutralino dark matter χobtained from accelerator searches at LEP, the Fermilab Tevatron and elsewhere are reviewed, with particular emphasis on results from LEP 1.5. These imply within the context of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model that m_χ\ge 21.4 GeV if universality is assumed, and yield for large tanβa significantly stronger bound than is obtained indirectly from Tevatron limits on the gluino mass. We update this analysis with preliminary results from the first LEP 2W run, and also preview the prospects for future sparticle searches at the LHC.
We investigate neutralino dark matter in the framework of NMSSM performing a scan over its parameter space and calculating neutralino capture and annihilation rates in the Sun. We discuss the prospects of searches for neutralino dark matter in neutrino experiments depending on neutralino content and its main annihilation channel. We recalculate the upper limits on neutralino-proton elastic cross sections directly from neutrino telescopes upper bounds on annihilation rates in the Sun. This procedure has advantages as compared with corresponding recalcalations from the limits on muon flux, namel…
We address the problem of a search at the LHC for a neutralino whose mass is around 10 GeV, i.e. in the range of interest for present data of direct search for dark matter particles in the galactic halo. This light neutralino is here implemented in an effective Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model at the electroweak scale without requirement of a gaugino-mass unification at a grand unification scale. Within this model we select a representative benchmark and determine its prospects of reconstructing the main features of the model at different stages of the LHC runs.
We have analyzed the prospect of probing a non-universal gaugino mass model of mixed bino-higgsino dark matter at the current 7 TeV run of LHC. It provides cosmologically compatible dark matter relic density over two broad bands of parameters, corresponding to $m_{\gl} < m_{\sq}$ and $m_{\gl} \sim m_{\sq}$. The SUSY spectrum of this model has two distinctive features : (i) an approximate degeneracy among the lighter chargino and neutralino masses, and (ii) an inverted mass hierarchy of squark masses. We find that these features can be exploited to obtain a viable signal upto $m_{\gl} \sim$ 800…
We discuss ILC measurements for a specific MSSM scenario with CP phases, where the lightest neutralino is a good candidate for dark matter, annihilating efficiently through t-channel exchange of light staus. These prospective (CP-even) ILC measurements are then used to fit the underlying model parameters. A collider prediction of the relic density of the neutralino from this fit gives 0.116<Omega h^2<0.19 at 95% CL. CP-odd observables, while being a direct signal of CP violation, do not help in further constraining Omega h^2. The interplay with (in)direct detection of dark matter and with meas…
We study the phenomenology of neutralino dark matter (DM) in mirage mediation scenario of supersymmetry breaking which results from the moduli stabilization in some string/brane models. Depending upon the model parameters, especially the anomaly to modulus mediation ratio determined by the moduli stabilization mechanism, the nature of the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) changes from Bino-like neutralino to Higgsino-like one via Bino-Higgsino mixing region. For the Bino-like LSP, the standard thermal production mechanism can give a right amount of relic DM density through the stop/stau-n…
We briefly review the motivations and features of focus point supersymmetry and in particular the focus point region of the CMSSM. Applying the constraint that the neutralino is a thermal relic, we examine current and projected collider and dark matter constraints on the focus point region. We demonstrate that the focus point region is currently constrained by multiple dark matter experiments, and future sensitivy on multiple fronts will probe large portions of the parameter space.
We consider the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with varying amounts of non-universality in the soft supersymmetry-breaking contributions to the Higgs scalar masses. In addition to the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) in which these are universal with the soft supersymmetry-breaking contributions to the squark and slepton masses at the input GUT scale, we consider scenarios in which both the Higgs masses are non-universal by the same amount (NUHM1), and scenarios in which they are independently non-universal (NUHM2). As the lightest neutralino is a dark matter candidate, we demand that th…
We address the question of how light can be the lightest supersymmetric particle neutralino to be a reliable cold dark matter (CDM) particle candidate. To this end we have performed a combined analysis of the parameter space of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) taking into account cosmological and accelerator constraints including those from the radiative $b\rightarrow sγ$ decay. Appropriate grand unification (GUT) scenarios were considered. We have found that the relaxation of gaugino mass unification is sufficient to obtain a phenomenologically and cosmologically viable soluti…
Complete one-loop results, supplemented by two-loop Higgs propagator-type corrections, are obtained for the class of processes chi^0_i->chi^0_j h_a in the MSSM with CP-violating phases for parameters entering the process beyond lowest order. The parameter region of the CPX benchmark scenario where a very light Higgs boson is unexcluded by present data is analysed in detail. We find that the decay chi^0_2->chi^0_1 h_1 may offer good prospects to detect such a light Higgs boson.
We study neutralino dark matter (DM) with large singlino fractions in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). We perform a detailed analysis of the parameter space regions of the model that give rise to such singlino-dominated neutralinos while satisfying the constraints from Higgs boson searches at the Large Electron Positron (LEP) collider and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as well as from b-physics experiments. We find that this DM can yield a thermal relic density consistent with the Planck measurement in mass regions where the lightest neutralino of the minimal supers…
We investigate the bounds on the mass of the lightest neutralino from rare meson decays within the MSSM with and without minimal flavor violation. We present explicit formulae for the two-body decays of mesons into light neutralinos and perform the first complete calculation of the loop-induced decays of kaons to pions and light neutralinos and B mesons to kaons and light neutralinos. We find that the supersymmetric branching ratios are strongly suppressed within the MSSM with minimal flavor violation, and that no bounds on the neutralino mass can be inferred from experimental data, i.e. a mas…
Motivated by recent claims of lines in the Fermi gamma-ray spectrum, we critically examine means of enhancing neutralino annihilation into neutral gauge bosons. The signal can be boosted while remaining consistent with continuum photon constraints if a new singlet-like pseudoscalar is present. We consider singlet extensions of the MSSM, focusing on the NMSSM, where a `well-tempered' neutralino can explain the lines while remaining consistent with current constraints. We adopt a complementary numerical and analytic approach throughout in order to gain intuition for the underlying physics. The s…
We study the muon $(g-2)_μ$ anomaly in light of neutralino dark matter and the LHC. We scan the MSSM parameters relevant to $(g-2)_μ$ and focus on three distinct cases with different neutralino compositions. We find that the 2$σ$ range of $(g-2)_μ$ requires the smuon ($\tildeμ_1$) to be lighter than $\sim$ 500 (1000) GeV for $\tan β=10\,(50)$. Correspondingly the two lightest neutralinos, $\tildeχ_{1}^0, \tildeχ_{2}^0$, have to be lighter than $\sim$ 300 (650) GeV and 900 (1000) GeV respectively. We explore the prospects of searching the light smuon and neutralinos at the LHC, in conjunction w…
The supersymmetric extension to the Standard Model offers a promising cold dark matter candidate, the lightest neutralino. I will review the prospects for the detection of this candidate in both accelerator and direct detection searches.
