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DOE OSTI2024

Light Dark Matter Analysis Using NO$\nu$A Near Detector

Dark matter (DM) is believed to account for 85$\%$ of the matter content of the Universe. The leading dark matter candidate is the WIMP (weakly interacting massive particles). Light dark matter (LDM) refers to WIMP candidates with a mass of less than 1 GeV. The concept of LDM has been developed in order to explain the 511 keV $\gamma$-rays from the galactic bulge, as observed by the INTEGRAL satellite. There are a lot of candidates for light DM, and these candidates span a wide range of potential masses and couplings to the visible sector. Probing the vast parameter space of light-dark matter requires a correspondingly broad experimental program that can include neutrino fixed target experiments. NOvA is a high luminosity long-baseline fixed-target accelerator neutrino experiment at Fermilab that can provide a potentially interesting probe in searching for signatures of DM scattering with electrons in its near detectors. We aim to search for the MeV-scale dark matter particles that might be generated within the NuMI beam and produce detectable electron scattering signals in NOvA Near Detector. In this talk, we present our analysis of the single electron events using a simulated sample and show the sensitivity of the NOvA experiment.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Harnessing the Population Statistics of Subhalos to Search for Annihilating Dark Matter

The Milky Way's dark matter halo is expected to host numerous low-mass subhalos with no detectable associated stellar component. Such subhalos are invisible unless their dark matter annihilates to visible states such as photons. One of the established methods for identifying candidate subhalos is to search for individual unassociated gamma-ray sources with properties consistent with the dark matter expectation. However, robustly ruling out an astrophysical origin for any such candidate is challenging. In this work, we present a complementary approach that harnesses information about the entire population of subhalos—such as their spatial and mass distribution in the Galaxy—to search for a signal of annihilating dark matter. Using simulated data, we show that the collective emission from subhalos can imprint itself in a unique way on the statistics of observed photons, even when individual subhalos may be too dim to be resolved on their own. Additionally, we demonstrate that, for the models we consider, the signal can be identified even in the face of unresolved astrophysical point-source emission of extragalactic and Galactic origin. Furthermore, this establishes a new search technique for subhalos that is complementary to established methods, and that could have important ramifications for gamma-ray dark matter searches using observatories such as the Fermi Large Area Telescope and the Cerenkov Telescope Array.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Impact of Dark Photon Emission on Massive Star Evolution and Pre-supernova Neutrino Signal

Abstract We study the effects of additional cooling due to the emission of a dark matter candidate particle, the dark photon, on the final phases of the evolution of a 15 M ⊙ star and resulting modifications of the pre-supernova neutrino signal. For a substantial portion of the dark photon parameter space the extra cooling speeds up Si burning, which results in a reduced number of neutrinos emitted during the last day before core collapse. This reduction can be described by a systematic acceleration of the relevant timescales and the results can be estimated semi-analytically in good agreement with the numerical simulations. Outside the semi-analytic regime we find more complicated effects. In a narrow parameter range, low-mass dark photons lead to an increase in the number of emitted neutrinos because of additional shell-burning episodes that delay core collapse. Furthermore, relatively strong couplings produce a thermonuclear runaway during O burning, which could result in a complete disruption of the star but requires more detailed simulations to determine the outcome. Our results show that pre-supernova neutrino signals are a potential probe of the dark photon parameter space.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Dark Siren Measurement of the Hubble Constant with the LIGO/Virgo Gravitational Wave Event GW190412 and DESI Galaxies

Abstract We present a measurement of the Hubble Constant H 0 using the gravitational wave event GW190412, an asymmetric binary black hole merger detected by LIGO/Virgo, as a dark standard siren. This event does not have an electromagnetic counterpart, so we use the statistical standard siren method and marginalize over potential host galaxies from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. GW190412 is well-localized to 12 deg 2 (90% credible interval), so it is promising for a dark siren analysis. The dark siren value for H 0 = 85.4 − 33.9 + 29.1 km s −1 Mpc −1 , with a posterior shape that is consistent with redshift overdensities. When combined with the bright standard siren measurement from GW170817 we recover H 0 = 77.96 − 5.03 + 23.0 km s −1 Mpc −1 , consistent with both early and late-time Universe measurements of H 0 . This work represents the first standard siren analysis performed with DESI data, and includes the most complete spectroscopic sample used in a dark siren analysis to date.

Ballard, W.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Towards UV-Models of Kinetic Mixing and Portal Matter VII: A Light Dark Photon in the 3c3L1A1B Model

The kinetic mixing (KM) portal, by which the Standard Model (SM) photon mixes with a light dark photon arising from a new U(1)DU(1)D gauge group, allows for the possibility of viable scenarios of sub-GeV thermal dark matter (DM) with appropriately suppressed couplings to the SM. This KM can only occur if particles having both SM and dark quantum numbers, here termed portal matter (PM), also exist. The presence of such types of states and the strong suggestion of a need to embed U(1)DU(1)D into a non-abelian gauge structure not too far above the TeV scale based on the RGE running of the U(1)DU(1)D gauge coupling is potentially indicative of an enlarged group linking together the visible and dark sectors. The gauge group G=SU(3)c×SU(3)L×U(1)A×U(1)B=3c3L1A1BG=SU(3)c×SU(3)L×U(1)A×U(1)B=3c3L1A1B is perhaps the simplest setup wherein the SM and dark interactions are partially unified in a non-abelian fashion that is not a simple product group of the form G=GSM×GDG=GSM×GD encountered frequently in earlier work. The present paper describes the implications and phenomenology of this type of setup.

Rizzo, Thomas G. [SLAC National Accelerator Labora↗

NASA NTRS1973

Photogeology of the dark material in the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon

Regional relations and characteristics of the dark material as observed on photographs of the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon are reviewed to provide a background for interpretations of its nature and origin. The dark material seems to be a surficial deposit that covers mare and highland areas near the southeastern edge of the Serenitatis Basin. The age of the dark material, as deduced from photogeologic analysis, is ambiguous: contact relations near its western edge suggest that it is older than the central light basalts of Mare Serenitatis; evidence elsewhere indicates that it may be younger. The origin of the dark material is also uncertain, and the following alternate hypotheses are briefly considered: (1) thick regolith, (2) dark impact ejecta, (3) pyroclastic blanket, or (4) a material of different origin in different places.

Lucchitta, B. K.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Monte Carlo calculations of the surface brightness profiles of spherical dark nebulae

Theoretical surface brightness profiles of spherical dark nebulae of both uniform density and a density proportional to 1/r squared are being discussed. The albedo and asymmetry factor of the dust grains and the optical radius measured from the cloud center were the variable parameters in this study, which further assumed an isotropically incident radiation field. The occurrence of dark cores in the surface brightness profiles is examined, and their frequent existence in galactic dark nebulae is interpreted as resulting from a strongly forward scattering phase function and a high optical depth of the associated objects. The shape and depth of the profiles of the dark cores is closely related to the internal density distribution of the clouds, and it is suggested that detailed observations of the surface brightness profiles of dark nebulae will reveal important information on the type of their internal density distribution and, thus, their evolutionary status.

Witt, A. N.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Transient circadian internal desynchronization after light-dark phase shift in monkeys

In four conscious chair-acclimatized squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) studied with lights on (600 lx) from 0800 to 2000 hr daily, prominent 24-hr rhythms in feeding, drinking, activity, body temperature, and urinary potassium, sodium, and water excretion were seen. When the monkeys were subjected to 36 hr of darkness followed by 36 hr of light, each variable demonstrated a circadian rhythm which was not passively dependent on the light-dark cycle. After the 24-hr light-dark cycle was abruptly phase-delayed by 8 hr, all the rhythms resynchronized with the new light-dark cycle phase, demonstrating that light-dark cycles are an effective zeitgeber. However, the resynchronization of the rhythms of feeding, drinking, activity, and body temperature was 90% complete within approximately 2 days while the 90% resynchronization of the urinary rhythms took approximately 5 days. These results suggest that the circadian timing system in S. sciureus may consist of several spontaneously oscillating units which can become transiently uncoupled during perturbations of environmental time cues.

Moore-Ede, M. C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The composition of the Martian dark regions: Observations and analysis

Near infrared telescopic spectrophotometry for dark regions is present and interpreted using laboratory studies of iron bearing mineral mixtures and terrestrial oxidized and unoxidized basalts. Upon closer inspection (by spacecraft) the telescopic dark regions were found to consist of large scale intermixtures of bright soil (aeolian dust) and dark materials. The dark materials themselves consist of an intimate physical association of very fine grained ferric oxide bearing material with relatively high near infrared reflectance and darker, relatively unoxidized rocks or rock fragments. While these two components could exist finely intermixed in a soil, a number of lines of evidence indicate that the usual occurrence is probably a thin coating of physically bound oxidized material. The coated rocks are dark and generally clinopyroxene bearing. The shallow band depths and low overall reflectances indicate that opaque minerals such as magnetite are probably abundant.

Singer, R. B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

The composition and origin of the Iapetus dark material

In order to investigate the composition of the Iapetus dark material and the reasons for its peculiar distribution, telescopic observations, laboratory simulations, and photogeological studies are conducted. New telescopic spectra of superior accuracy and wavelength coverage for leading and trailing hemispheres are obtained over the range 0.3-2.6 microns. A mixing model is used to correct the leading-hemisphere spectra for the presence of polarcaps. It is shown that the spectral curve of pure Iapetus dark material is highly reddened in the visible, but gradually flattens near 2.0 microns. Structures along the bright-dark boundary, visible in Voyager 2 images, are inconsistent with an eruptive origin for the dark material; this zone is probably the region of grazing impacts of dust spiraling from Phoebe and the dark material is probably a minor component of the ice-dominated surface concentrated in the upper regolith produced by Phoebe-dust bombardment. An Iapetus-like bombardment regime may account for the hemispheric dichotomy of regolith properties on Callisto.

Bell, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Photoconversion from the light-adapted to the dark-adapted state of bacteriorhodopsin

The dark and light adaptation of the bR(trans)570 (bacteriorhodopsin) and bR(cis)550 isomers is analyzed. The equilibrium between the two bR isomers in light-adapted purple membrane films is studied in terms of the wavelength of actinic light and hydration levels. Absorption spectra observed after light adaptations with red and yellow light reveal that red light is less efficient in converting bR(cis)550 to bR(trans)570 than yellow light and the amount of bR(cis)550 in a light-adapted sample increases with decreasing hydration. The rate constants of dark and light adaptation are evaluated; the rate constant of dark adaptation is independent of the hydration level and the rate constant of light adaptation increases with hydration. The acceleration of a dark adaptation by red light is investigated; the dependence of the accelerated dark adaptation on the light intensity is discussed. The action spectrum of light adaptation in a purple membrane suspension is compared with the absorption spectrum of bR(cis)550; correlation between the spectra reveals that cis-to-transconversion is due to excitation of bR(cis)550 and the mechanism of cis-to-trans conversion in film is not affected by humidity levels. It is noted that the light-driven trans-to-cis conversion is a single photon process. The branching at M410 from the all-trans into the 13-cis photocycle is examined.

Kouyama, T.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Dark matter and cosmological nucleosynthesis

Existing dark matter problems, i.e., dynamics, galaxy formation and inflation, are considered, along with a model which proposes dark baryons as the bulk of missing matter in a fractal universe. It is shown that no combination of dark, nonbaryonic matter can either provide a cosmological density parameter value near unity or, as in the case of high energy neutrinos, allow formation of condensed matter at epochs when quasars already existed. The possibility that correlations among galactic clusters are scale-free is discussed. Such a distribution of matter would yield a fractal of 1.2, close to a one-dimensional universe. Biasing, cosmic superstrings, and percolated explosions and hot dark matter are theoretical approaches that would satisfy the D = 1.2 fractal model of the large-scale structure of the universe and which would also allow sufficient dark matter in halos to close the universe.

Schramm, D. N.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Galaxies and gas in a cold dark matter universe

We use a combined gravity/hydrodynamics code to simulate the formation of structure in a random 22 Mpc cube of a cold dark matter universe. Adiabatic compression and shocks heat much of the gas to temperatures of 10 exp 6 - 10 exp 7 K, but a fraction of the gas cools radiatively to about 10 exp 4 K and condenses into discrete, highly overdense lumps. We identify these lumps with galaxies. The high-mass end of their baryonic mass function fits the form of the observed galaxy luminosity function. They retain independent identities after their dark halos merge, so gravitational clustering produces groups of galaxies embedded in relatively smooth envelopes of hot gas and dark matter. The galaxy correlation function is approximately an r exp -2.1 power law from separations of 35 kpc to 7 Mpc. Galaxy fluctuations are biased relative to dark matter fluctuations by a factor b about 1.5. We find no significant 'velocity bias' between galaxies and dark matter particles. However, virial analysis of the simulation's richest group leads to an estimated Omega of about 0.3, even though the simulation adopts Omega = 1.

Katz, Neal↗

NASA NTRS1992

Dark focus of accommodation as dependent and independent variables in visual display technology

When independent stimuli are available for accommodation, as in the dark or under low contrast conditions, the lens seeks its resting position. Individual differences in resting positions are reliable, under autonomic control, and can change with visual task demands. We hypothesized that motion sickness in a flight simulator might result in dark focus changes. Method: Subjects received training flights in three different Navy flight simulators. Two were helicopter simulators entailed CRT presentation using infinity optics, one involved a dome presentation of a computer graphic visual projection system. Results: In all three experiments there were significant differences between dark focus activity before and after simulator exposure when comparisons were made between sick and not-sick pilot subjects. In two of these experiments, the average shift in dark focus for the sick subjects was toward increased myopia when each subject was compared to his own baseline. In the third experiment, the group showed an average shift outward of small amount and the subjects who were sick showed significantly less outward movement than those who were symptom free. Conclusions: Although the relationship is not a simple one, dark focus changes in simulator sickness imply parasympathetic activity. Because changes can occur in relation to endogenous and exogenous events, such measurement may have useful applications as dependent measures in studies of visually coupled systems, virtual reality systems, and space adaptation syndrome.

Jones, Sherrie↗

NASA NTRS1995

Using dark current data to estimate AVIRIS noise covariance and improve spectral analyses

Starting in 1994, all AVIRIS data distributions include a new product useful for quantification and modeling of the noise in the reported radiance data. The 'postcal' file contains approximately 100 lines of dark current data collected at the end of each data acquisition run. In essence this is a regular spectral-image cube, with 614 samples, 100 lines and 224 channels, collected with a closed shutter. Since there is no incident radiance signal, the recorded DN measure only the DC signal level and the noise in the system. Similar dark current measurements, made at the end of each line are used, with a 100 line moving average, to remove the DC signal offset. Therefore, the pixel-by-pixel fluctuations about the mean of this dark current image provide an excellent model for the additive noise that is present in AVIRIS reported radiance data. The 61,400 dark current spectra can be used to calculate the noise levels in each channel and the noise covariance matrix. Both of these noise parameters should be used to improve spectral processing techniques. Some processing techniques, such as spectral curve fitting, will benefit from a robust estimate of the channel-dependent noise levels. Other techniques, such as automated unmixing and classification, will be improved by the stable and scene-independence noise covariance estimate. Future imaging spectrometry systems should have a similar ability to record dark current data, permitting this noise characterization and modeling.

Boardman, Joseph W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Baryonic dark clusters in galactic halos and their observable consequences

We consider the possibility that approximately 10% of the mass of a typical galaxy halo is in the form of massive (approximately 10(exp 7) solar masses), compact (escape speeds approximately 100 km/s) baryonic clusters made of neutron stars (approximately 10% by mass), black holes (less than or approximately equal to 1%) and brown dwarfs, asteroids, and other low-mass debris (approximately 90%). These general properties are consistent with several different observational and phenomenological constraints on cluster properties subject to the condition that neutron stars comprise approximately 1% of the total halo mass. Such compact, dark clusters could be the sites of a variety of collisional phenomena involving neutron stars. We find that integrated out to the Hubble distance approximately one neutron star-neutron star or neutron star-black hole collision occurs daily. Of order 0.1-1 asteroid-neutron star collisions may also happen daily in the halo of the Milky Way if there is roughly equal cluster mass per logarithmic particle mass interval between asteroids and brown dwarfs. These event rates are comparable to the frequency of gamma-ray burst detections by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Observatory, implying that if dark halo clusters are the sites of most gamma-ray bursts, perhaps approximately 90% of all bursts are extragalactic, but approximately 10% are galactic. It is possible that dark clusters of the kind discussed here could be detected directly by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) or Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). If the clusters considered in this paper exist, they should produce spatially correlated gravitational microlensing of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). If 10% of the halo is in the form of dark baryonic clusters, and the remaining 90% is in brown dwarfs and other dark objects which are either unclustered or collected into low-mass clusters, then we expect that two events within approximately 1 min of one another are likely to be seen after a total of order 20-30 microlenses have been detected.

Wasserman, Ira↗

NASA NTRS2005

How Special Are Dark Gamma-Ray Burst: A Diagnostic Tool

We present here a comprehensive study of the optical/near-infrared (IR) upper limits for gamma-ray bursts that have an X-ray afterglow. We have extrapolated the X-ray afterglows to optical wavelengths based on the physics of the fireball blast wave model and compared these results with optical upper limits for a large sample of bursts. We find a small set of only three bursts out of a sample of 20 for which the upper limits are not compatible with their X-ray afterglow properties within the context of any blast wave model. This sparse sample does not allow us to conclusively determine the cause of this optical/near-IR deficit. Extinction in the host galaxy is a likely cause, but high redshifts and different afterglow mechanisms might also explain the deficit in some cases. We note that the three bursts appear to have higher than average gamma-my peak fluxes. In a magnitude versus time diagram the bursts are separated from the majority of bursts with a detected optical/near-IR afterglow. However, two gamma- ray bursts with an optical afterglow (one of which is highly reddened) also fall in this region with dark bursts, making it likely that dark bursts are at the faint end of the set of optically detected bursts, and therefore the dark bursts likely form a continuum with the bursts with a detected optical afterglow. Our work provides a useful diagnostic tool for follow-up observations for potentially dark bursts; applied to the events detected with the Swift satellite, it will significantly increase our sample of truly dark bursts and shed light upon their nature. Subject headings: dust, extinction - gamma rays: bursts Online material: machine-readable tables

Rod, Evert↗

NASA NTRS2004

Stellar, Remnant, Planetary, and Dark-Object Masses from Astrometric Microlensing

The primary goal of our project is to make a complete census of the stellar population of the Galaxy. We are broadening the term stellar here to include both ordinary stars and dark stars. Ordinary stars, burning their nuclear fuel and shining, can perhaps best be studied with traditional astronomical techniques, but dark stars, by which we include old brown dwarfs, black holes, old white dwarfs, neutron stars, and perhaps exotic objects such as mirror matter stars or primordial black holes, can only be studied by their gravitational effects. Traditionally, these objects have been probed in binaries, and thus selected in a way that may or may not be representative of their respective field populations. The only way to examine the field population of these stars is through microlensing, the deflection of light from a visible star in the background by an object (dark or not) in the foreground. When lensed, there are two images of the background star. Although these images cannot be resolved when the lens has a stellar mass, the lensing effect can be detected in two ways: photometrically, i.e. by measuring the magnification of the source by the lens, and astrometrically, i.e. by measuring the shift in the centroid of the two images. Photometric microlensing experiments have detected hundreds of microlensing events over the past decade. Despite its successes, photometric microlensing has so far been somewhat frustrating because these events are difficult to interpret. Almost nothing is known about the masses of individual lenses and very little is known about the statistical properties of the lenses treated as a whole, such as their average mass. Although probably over 100 of the lenses are in fact dark objects, we can't determine which they are, let alone investigate finer details such as what their masses are, and where they are in the Galaxy. With SIM, we will break the microlensing degeneracy, and allow detailed interpretation of individual microlensing events. We will thus develop a detailed census of the dark and luminous stellar population of the Galaxy.

Gould, Andrew P.↗