Rob Gallagher - Detecting Dark Matter

1

Detecting Dark
Matter
Introduction

Hypothesized within astronomy
and cosmology, dark matter is a form of
matter which accounts for missing mass
within the universe. It cannot be
observed directly using a telescope, as it
is hypothesized to be non-reactant to
electromagnetic radiation
[1]
. Based on
the standard cosmological model and
according to the Planck mission, dark
matter constitutes 84.5% of matter
within the universe
[2]
.

First postulated to account for
orbital velocities of stars
[3]
and missing
mass in the orbital velocities of galaxies
in clusters
[4,5]
, dark matter has since had
many other observations which indicate
its presence within the universe. These
include anisotropies within the Cosmic
Microwave Background
[6]
, gravitational
lensing
[7]
and the rotational speeds of
galaxies
[8]
. It is widely accepted that
dark matter is composed of a currently
uncharacterized type of subatomic
particle.


Figure 1: The Bullet Cluster: Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) Image. In blue is the total
projected mass distribution from strong and weak
gravitational lensing. Shown in red, observed by
the Chandra telescope, is the x-ray emitting hot
gas. From [9]
Evidence for Dark Matter

As many galaxies appear to have
uniform motion, the virial theorem may
be applied, under the assumption that
the total gravitational binding energy
should be twice the total kinetic energy.
In 1933 Zwicky applied the virial
theorem (below) to the Coma cluster of
galaxies.

Equation 1: The virial theorem. The first term (top
left) is the basic form. The second term (top right)
is the full virial theorem for multiple bodies. The
final term (bottom) was the form used by Zwicky.
From [10]

Zwicky found the first evidence of
unseen mass, with initial estimates
being 400 times more mass than could
be accounted for. This lead Zwicky to
conclude a form of non-visible mass
must be present, as visible matter alone
cannot explain galactic rotation
curves
[4,5]
.



Figure 2: An example gravitational rotation curve,
showing the predicted velocity from Keplerian
methods against observational data. From around
10kpc from the centre, the two curves begin to
deviate. From [11]


Rob Gallagher - Detecting Dark Matter
2

Weakly Interacting Massive
Particles (WIMPs)

Weakly Interacting Massive
Particles (WIMPs) are hypothetical
particles which serve as one possible
solution to the dark matter problem
[12]
.
These particles interact through weak
force and gravitational forces
[13]
, and
hence cannot be detected by
conventional means as they dont
interact with electromagnetic radiation,
and they dont interact through the
strong force with atomic nuclei. The can
however interact with other WIMPs;
gamma-rays are emitted upon
interaction between WIMPs
[14]
.

As they only interact through
weak and gravitational forces, they are
incredibly difficult to detect. Many
experiments are currently underway to
detect WIMPs, both directly and
indirectly. One method is cryogenic
detection, wherein layers of metal are
used to detect a WIMP passing through
very cold crystals. Another method
attempts to prove the existence of
WIMPs utilizing the predicted
directionality of the WIMP signal.
Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS)

The Cryogenic Dark Matter
Search detector looks for vibrations in a
crystal matrix generated by an atom
from a collision with a WIMP
[15]
. The
crystals are formed of germanium or
silicon and are cooled to 50mK. A layer
of aluminium and tungsten at the
surface is used to detect the vibrations.
The tungsten transition edge sensors are
held in a superconducting state. Large
crystal vibrations generate heat in the
metal which are detectable due to the
change in the metal's resistance.



Figure 4: The CDMS detectors are kept at around
50mK temperatures. Phonons produced by the
WIMP collision travel through the crystal and raise
the temperature of the metal sheets, raising their
temperature and hence their resistance. Wires
carry information to computers outside the
detectors.
Directional Recoil Identification From
Tracks (DRIFT)

Directional Recoil Identification
From Tracks (DRIFT) attempts to prove
the existence of WIMPs through the
predicted directionality of the WIMP
signal. If WIMPs exist they would form a
halo around the galactic centre. As the
solar system orbits the galactic centre,
we would pass through these WIMPs,
giving them a directionality.


Figure 5: The hypothesized directionality of the
WIMP signal arising from the orbit of the solar
system around the galactic centre, through the
dark matter halo that would form. This is usually
referred to as WIMP wind


Rob Gallagher - Detecting Dark Matter
3

A 1m
3
volume of low pressure
gas is used as a target material. The use
of a low pressure gas ensures that a
WIMP colliding with an atom in the gas
will cause recoil of several millimetres,
leaving a track of charged particles. The
charged particles drift away from the
central cathode through veto wires,
which choose which results to keep and
which to reject based on their energy, to
a detector
[16]
.


Figure 6: The DRIFT detector schematics. The
central cathode forces charged particles to drift
through the gas, through the veto wires and onto a
detector. The tracks left behind can be
reconstructed to deduce the original direction of
the WIMP.
Axions

Axions are hypothetical
elementary particles which could serve
as an alternate solution to the dark
matter problem. Postulated to resolve
problems within Quantum-
Chromodynamics (a theory of strong
force interactions), theories state if they
have a sufficiently low mass the
Universe would be filled with a Bose-
Einstein condensate of primordial
(existing since the Big-Bang) axions.
Hence, depending upon their mass,
axions could solve the problem of dark
matter. Observational studies are
currently being conducted, although they
are currently not sufficiently sensitive to
probe mass regions where axions would
be expected to exist
[17]
.

PVLAS (Polarizzazione del Vuoto con
LASer, Polarization of Vacuum with
Laser)

The PVLAS experiment detects
the small flattening acquired by a
linearly polarised laser beam upon
passing through a vacuum where a
magnetic field has been applied. In the
presence of a dark matter particle that
interacts with photons, such as axions,
virtual dark matter particles will be
created, preferentially by photons with
polarization parallel to the external
magnetic field. The virtual particles
travel slower than the speed of light, so
the effective speed of photons with
parallel polarization is reduced, and the
laser beam becomes flattened. The
vacuum is thus birefringent, as the
refractive index depends on the
polarization of the laser
[18]
.



Figure 7: Schematic explaining flattening; a circle
of radius a compressed to an ellipse, with the
flattening factor, f, given as above
Results

As of 2013, results show that
WIMPs are the most likely candidate for
the nature of dark matter. The CDMS
collaboration announced that WIMP
interactions had been detected to a 3
certainty, though this is not conclusive
evidence
[19]
. DRIFT-IIa in the U.K is also
currently underway and showing
promise to proving WIMP existence.
Rob Gallagher - Detecting Dark Matter
4

Conversely, results from PVLAS in
2006 seemed to show that axions may
also exist, though these claims were
later refuted by the same team as
equipment error
[20,21]
. Although the
search for axions continues, it seems
WIMPs are presently the strongest
contender for dark matter.
References

1. Trimble, V. (1987). "Existence
and nature of dark matter in the
universe". ARA&A. 25, pp. 425-
472
2. Ade, P. A. R. "Planck 2013
results. I. Overview of products
and scientific results Table 9".
A&A. 1303: 5062
3. Oort, J. H. " The force exerted by
the stellar system in the direction
perpendicular to the galactic
plane and some related
problems". Bull. Astron. Inst.
Netherlands. 6, pp. 249
4. Zwicky, F. (1933). "Die
Rotverschiebung von
extragalaktischen Nebeln".
Helvetica Physica Acta. 6, pp.
110127
5. Zwicky, F. (1937). "On the
Masses of Nebulae and of
Clusters of Nebulae". ApJ. 86, pp.
217
6. Penzias, A.A. et al. "A
Measurement of Excess Antenna
Temperature at 4080 Mc/s". ApJ.
142, pp. 419
7. Walsh, D. et al. "0957 + 561 A,
B: twin quasistellar objects or
gravitational lens?" Nature. 279,
pp. 381-384
8. Burbidge, E. M. et al. The
Rotation and Mass of NGC 6503,
ApJ. 139, pp. 539-44
9. http://www.nasa.gov/vision/univ
erse/starsgalaxies/dark_matter_p
roven.html
10. http://large.stanford.edu/courses
/2007/ph210/sugarbaker2/
11. http://large.stanford.edu/courses
/2007/ph210/sugarbaker2/
12. Carroll, S. "Dark Matter, Dark
Energy: The Dark Side of the
Universe, Guidebook Part 2". The
Teaching Company. pp. 61
13. Kamionkowski, M. "WIMP and
Axion Dark Matter". ArXiv:
hep-ph/9710467
14. Daylan, T. et al. "The
Characterization of the Gamma-
Ray Signal from the Central Milky
Way: A Compelling Case for
Annihilating Dark Matter".
ArXiv:1402.6703
15. http://cdms.berkeley.edu/experi
ment.htmla
16. http://www.hep.shef.ac.uk/resea
rch/dm/drift.php
17. Peccie, R. D. "The Strong CP
Problem and Axions". Lecture
Notes in Physics Volume 741. pp.
3-17
18. http://pvlas.ts.infn.it/physics.htm
l
19. CDMS Collaboration. "Dark Matter
Search Results Using the Silicon
Detectors of CDMS II".
ArXiv:1304.4279
20. PVLAS collaboration. "Limits on
Low Energy Photon-Photon
Scattering from an Experiment on
Magnetic Vacuum Birefringence".
ArXiv. 0805.3036
21. PVLAS collaboration. "New PVLAS
results and limits on magnetically
induced optical rotation and
ellipticity in vacuum". ArXiv
0706.3419























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