Dark Matter searches using gravitational wave bar detectors: quark nuggets and newtorites

Abstract

Many experiments have searched for supersymmetric WIMP dark matter, with null results. This may suggest to look for more exotic possibilities, for example compact ultra-dense quark nuggets, widely discussed in literature with several different names. Nuclearites are an example of candidate compact objects with atomic size cross section. After a short discussion on nuclearites, the result of a nuclearite search with the gravitational wave bar detectors Nautilus and Explorer is reported. The geometrical acceptance of the bar detectors is 19.5 ${\mathrm{m}}^2$ sr, that is smaller than that of other detectors used for similar searches. However, the detection mechanism is completely different and is more straightforward than in other detectors. The experimental limits we obtain are of interest because, for nuclearites of mass less than $10^{-5}$ g, we find a flux smaller than that one predicted considering nuclearites as dark matter candidates. Particles with gravitational only interactions (newtorites) are another example. In this case the sensitivity is quite poor and a short discussion is reported on possible improvements.

published on Astroparticle Physics Sept 25th 2016 replaced fig 15

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• Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Towards Closing the Window on Strongly Interacting Dark Matter: Far-Reaching Constraints from Earth's Heat Flow
• Results of the Search for Strange Quark Matter and Q-balls with the SLIM Experiment
• Placing direct limits on the mass of earth-bound dark matter
• Quark Matter Induced Extensive Air Showers
• Resonant bar detector constraints on macro dark matter
• Detection of high energy cosmic rays with the resonant gravitational wave detector NAUTILUS and EXPLORER

Cited by in corpus (5)

• A balance for Dark Matter bound states
• Mass distribution of magnetized quark-nugget dark matter and comparison with observations
• Radio frequency emissions from dark-matter-candidate magnetized quark nuggets interacting with matter
• Limits on Magnetized Quark-Nugget Dark Matter from Episodic Natural Events
• Models of ultra-heavy dark matter visible to macroscopic mechanical sensing arrays