Dark matter annihilation and relic density calculation: Recent developments
by
Björn Herrmann(LAPTh / Université de Savoie)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FA32
FA32
Description
Knowing the annihilation cross-section of a dark matter candidate, it is
possible to predict its relic abundance in our universe. This provides an
interesting method to constrain the parameter space of scenarios beyond the
standard model, in particular Supersymmetry. This cosmological constraints
is complementary to collider, low-energy and electroweak precision data.
After the launch of the PLANCK satellite, the current observational limits
on the relic density - today mainly based on WMAP data - will become more
precise in a near future. In consequence, it is necessary to achieve more
accurate theoretical predictions in order to keep up with the experimental
improvements.
After an introduction to the calculation of the dark matter relic
abundance, I will give a brief overview on the uncertainties that affect
this kind of calculation. The main part of the seminar will then focus on
the neutralino, which is the dark matter candidate in wide ranges of the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). I will discuss in detail its
annihilation and present recent results including radiative corrections to
the annihilation cross-section increasing the theoretical accuracy.
Finally, I will illustrate their numerical impact on the predicted relic
density for a few examples.
