R-parity preserving super-WIMP decays

Maxim Pospelov, Michael Trott

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

We point out that when the decay of one electroweak scale super-WIMP state to another occurs at second order in a super-weak coupling constant, this can naturally lead to decay lifetimes that are much larger than the age of the Universe, and create observable consequences for the indirect detection of dark matter. We demonstrate this in a supersymmetric model with Dirac neutrinos, where the right-handed scalar neutrinos are the lightest and next-to-lightest supersymmetric partners. We show that this model produces a super-WIMP decay rate scaling as m ν 4/(weakscale) 3, and may significantly enhance the fraction of energetic electrons and positrons over anti-protons in the decay products. Such a signature is consistent with the observations recently reported by the PAMELA experiment.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number044
JournalJournal of High Energy Physics
Volume2009
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Beyond standard model
  • Cosmology of theories beyond the SM
  • Supersymmetric effective theories

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'R-parity preserving super-WIMP decays'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this