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Journal article
First search for dark matter annihilations in the Earth with the IceCube detector
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields, v 77(2)
2017
Abstract
We present the results of the first IceCube search for dark matter annihilation in the center of the Earth. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), candidates for dark matter, can scatter off nuclei inside the Earth and fall below its escape velocity. Over time the captured WIMPs will be accumulated and may eventually self-annihilate. Among the annihilation products only neutrinos can escape from the center of the Earth. Large-scale neutrino telescopes, such as the cubic kilometer IceCube Neutrino Observatory located at the South Pole, can be used to search for such neutrino fluxes. Data from 327 days of detector livetime during 2011/2012 were analyzed. No excess beyond the expected background from atmospheric neutrinos was detected. The derived upper limits on the annihilation rate of WIMPs in the Earth (Gamma(A) = 1.12 x 10(14) s(-1) for WIMP masses of 50 GeV annihilating into tau leptons) and the resulting muon flux are an order of magnitude stronger than the limits of the last analysis performed with data from IceCube's predecessor AMANDA. The limits can be translated in terms of a spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. For a WIMP mass of 50GeV this analysis results in the most restrictive limits achieved with IceCube data.
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Details
- Title
- First search for dark matter annihilations in the Earth with the IceCube detector
- Creators
- Maryon Ahrens - Oskar Klein-centrum för kosmopartikelfysik (OKC)Christian Bohm - Stockholm UniversityJonathan P. Dumm - Stockholm UniversityChad Finley - Stockholm UniversitySamuel Flis - Stockholm UniversityKlas Hultqvist - Stockholm UniversityChristian Walck - Stockholm UniversityMartin Wolf - Oskar Klein-centrum för kosmopartikelfysik (OKC)Marcel Zoll - Stockholm UniversityIceCube Collaboration
- Publication Details
- The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields, v 77(2)
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000400004800004
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85012226063
- Other Identifier
- 991019169909204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Physics, Particles & Fields