ISAPP 2024: Particle Candidates for Dark Matter

25 Jun 2024, 08:30 → 4 Jul 2024, 18:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Magna (Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori (SGGS))

Francesco D'Eramo (University of Padua)

The International School on AstroParticle Physics 2024 aims to expose young researchers to the broad theoretical landscape of dark matter particle candidates. Topics will include motivated candidates from the top-down, early universe scenarios for dark matter genesis, and detection strategies. 

The school will take place at the Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori (SGSS) - University of Padua.

 

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED!

 

CONFIRMED LECTURERS

• Laura Baudis (University of Zurich): Direct Detection
• Francesca Calore (LAPTH Annecy): Indirect Detection
• Laura Covi (University of Gottingen): WIMPs
• Joshua Foster (MIT): Statistical Tools for Dark Matter Experiments
• Igor Irastorza (Zaragoza University): Axion Experiments
• Joerg Jaeckel (Heidelberg University): Axion Theory
• Massimo Pietroni (University of Parma): Introduction to Cosmology
• Marko Simonovic (University of Florence): Large Scale Structures

 

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Francesco D'Eramo (University of Padua & INFN Padua), Luca Di Luzio (INFN Padua), Antonio Masiero (University of Padua & INFN Padua), Marco Peloso (University of Padua & INFN Padua),  Ennio Salvioni (University of Sussex), Luca Vecchi (INFN Padua), Edoardo Vitagliano (University of Padua & INFN Padua)

 

SECRETARIAT: Pina Salente (INFN Padua), Silvana Schiavo (University of Padua), Paola Zenere (University of Padua)

ISAPP2024_Padua.pdf

Tuesday 25 June

08:30 → 09:30 Registration and Welcome: Welcome to ISAPP 2024

Convener: Francesco D'Eramo

WelcomeISAPP2024.pdf

08:30 Registration

09:15 Welcome from the University of Padua

Speaker: Marco Ferrante

09:20 Welcome from the Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori

Speaker: Gianguido Dall'Agata

09:25 Welcome from INFN

Speaker: Roberto Carlin

09:30 → 10:45 Introduction to Cosmology: Lecture 1/3

Convener: Massimo Pietroni (University of Parma)

Pietroni1.pdf

Pietroni2.pdf

Pietroni3.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 WIMPs: Lecture 1/4

Convener: Laura Covi (University of Gottingen)

Covi.pdf

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Large Scale Structures: Lecture 1/4

Convener: Marko Simonovic (University of Florence)

Simonovic1.pdf

Simonovic3.pdf

Simonovic4.pdf

16:00 → 17:30 Student Gong Show

17:30 → 19:30 Social Activities: Welcome Reception

Wednesday 26 June

09:30 → 10:45 Introduction to Cosmology: Lecture 2/3

Convener: Massimo Pietroni (University of Parma)

Pietroni1.pdf

Pietroni2.pdf

Pietroni3.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 WIMPs: Lecture 2/4

Convener: Laura Covi (University of Gottingen)

Covi.pdf

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Introduction to Cosmology: Lecture 3/3

Convener: Massimo Pietroni (University of Parma)

Pietroni1.pdf

Pietroni2.pdf

Pietroni3.pdf

15:45 → 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 → 17:30 Large Scale Structures: Lecture 2/4

Convener: Marko Simonovic (University of Florence)

Simonovic1.pdf

Simonovic3.pdf

Simonovic4.pdf

17:30 → 18:30 Flash Talks by Students: Session 1/2

17:30 BSM Physics Opportunities with Far-Forward Experiments at a 100 TeV Proton Collider

Hadron-hadron collisions at energy-frontier facilities, such as the Future Circular Collider (FCC-hh), aiming for center-of-mass energies of approximately 100 TeV, can prospectively yield a prolific flux of high-energy feebly interacting particles predominantly in the forward direction. This presents a nice opportunity for probing physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Far-forward experiments at FCC will give access to rare and displaced BSM signal events that would otherwise miss detection. In the talk, I will discuss examples of BSM scenarios that could be probed in various far-forward detectors at the FCC (FPF@FCC).

Speaker: Jyotismita Adhikary (National Centre for Nuclear research, Poland)

Adhikary.pdf

17:40 Sensitivities for DM search in the Galactic Center with KM3NeT/ORCA-6

The method of indirect detection of dark matter (DM) particles in neutrino tele- scopes involves the observation of Cherenkov signals left by their annihilation or decay products. An excess of neutrinos produced by these processes is searched in nearby astrophysical targets such as the Galactic Centre or the Sun, where large amounts of DM are believed to be accumulated. The KM3NeT infras- tructure, located in abyssal sites of the Mediterranean Sea, is composed of two undersea Cherenkov neutrino telescopes: ORCA, a dense detector optimised for the measurement of low energy neutrinos, and ARCA, a cubic kilometer detec- tor, intended for low fluxes of astrophysical neutrinos. The energy range covered by ORCA allows the study of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in the 1 GeV/c2 to 10 TeV/c2 mass range and ARCA allows to study 500 GeV/c2 to 100 TeV/c2 DM masses; the analysis is extended to lower masses with respect to other water-based neutrino experiments such as ANTARES and IceCube. In this contribution we present an analysis with an unbinned likelihood method looking for WIMP-like DM annihilations occurring at the Galactic Centre using a partial detector configuration with 6 lines (ORCA-6).

Speaker: Adriana Bariego Quintana (CSIC-UV)

Bariego-Quintana.pdf

17:50 Axion paradigm with "coloured" neutrino masses

I will discuss our recent paper Phys.Rev.Lett. 132 (2024) 5, 051801, where we propose a generalized KSVZ-type axion framework in which coloured fermions and scalars act as two-loop Majorana neutrino-mass mediators. The global Peccei-Quinn symmetry under which exotic fermions are charged solves the strong CP problem. Within our general proposal, various setups can be distinguished by probing the axion-to-photon coupling at helioscopes and haloscopes. We also comment on axion dark-matter production in the early Universe.

Speaker: Aditya Batra (CFTP-IST, Lisbon)

Batra.pdf

18:00 Introduction to the CRESST experiment

CRESST (Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers) is a dark matter search that uses (mainly) scintillating crystals equipped with Transition Edge Sensors (TESs) operated as cryogenics calorimeters (temperature O(mK)). The experiment is located at the underground laboratory of Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy, and its objective is to directly search for dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range. The extremely low threshold and high energy resolution achieved confirm CRESST as one of the world's leading sub-GeV dark matter experiments. The detectors are produced and tested at Max-Planck-Institut-für-Physik in Munich, Germany. In this talk, an overview of the experiment is given, mainly focusing on the Max Planck facilities and the detectors’ production. In addition, the successful installation of the new detectors at LNGS is presented.

Speaker: Eleonora Rebecca Cipelli (Max Planck Institut für Physik)

Cipelli.pdf

18:10 Listening for ultra-heavy dark matter with underwater acoustic detectors

Macroscopic Dark Matter (or Macros) are a general class of dark matter models with Planck-scale or larger masses and near geometric cross sections. Due to their very low number density, the range of macro cross sections is relatively unconstrained by conventional DM detectors, and instead require novel detection methods with high exposure. Here we consider the constraining power of proposed acoustic neutrino experiments to macroscopic dark matter.

Speaker: Damon Cleaver (King's College London)

Cleaver.pdf

18:20 Global Fits of sub-GeV Dark Matter

Sub-GeV dark matter (DM) has been gaining significant interest in recent years, since it can account for the thermal relic abundance while evading nuclear recoil direct detection constraints. However, sub-GeV DM is still subject to a number of constraints from laboratory experiments, and from astrophysical and cosmological observations. In this work, we compare these observations with the predictions of two sub-GeV DM models (Dirac fermion and scalar DM) within frequentist and Bayesian global analyses using the Global And Modular BSM Inference Tool (GAMBIT). We infer the regions in parameter space preferred by current data, and compare with projections of near-future experiments.

Speaker: Taylor Gray (Chalmers University)

Gray.pdf

Thursday 27 June

09:30 → 10:45 WIMPs: Lecture 3/4

Convener: Laura Covi (University of Gottingen)

Covi.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 Axion Theory: Lecture 1/4

Convener: Joerg Jaeckel (Heidelberg University)

Jaeckel.pdf

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Large Scale Structures: Lecture 3/4

Convener: Marko Simonovic (University of Florence)

Simonovic1.pdf

Simonovic3.pdf

Simonovic4.pdf

15:45 → 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 → 17:30 Axion Theory: Lecture 2/4

Convener: Joerg Jaeckel (Heidelberg University)

Jaeckel.pdf

20:00 → 23:00 Social Activities: Social Dinner

Friday 28 June

09:30 → 10:45 Axion Theory: Lecture 3/4

Convener: Joerg Jaeckel (Heidelberg University)

Jaeckel.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 WIMPs: Lecture 4/4

Convener: Laura Covi (University of Gottingen)

Covi.pdf

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Axion Theory: Lecture 4/4

Convener: Joerg Jaeckel (Heidelberg University)

Jaeckel.pdf

15:45 → 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 → 17:30 Large Scale Structures: Lecture 4/4

Convener: Marko Simonovic (University of Florence)

Simonovic1.pdf

Simonovic3.pdf

Simonovic4.pdf

Monday 1 July

09:30 → 10:45 Indirect Detection: Lecture 1/3

Convener: Francesca Calore (LAPTH Annecy)

Calore.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 Flash Talks by Students: Session 2/2

11:15 The Inner Dark Matter Distribution in Hydrodynamic Simulations

Understanding the dark matter distribution within a few kpc of the galactic center of the Milky Way is essential in estimating the dark matter content of the galaxy for indirect detection experiments, as well as understanding the particle nature of dark matter through the density profile in the Milky Way’s core. Although it is difficult to accurately measure the inner stellar distribution in order to infer the dark matter distribution close to the galactic center, we can gain insight from cosmological simulations. However, the implementation of the baryonic physics in cosmological simulations varies between suites, making it more challenging to draw conclusions about our own Galaxy. In particular, these implementations are quite opaque at best, and for some simulation suites not publicly available. In this talk, I will discuss how we characterized the dark matter density profile in FIRE-2, Auriga, Vintergatan, and Illustris TNG50 using the adiabatic contraction algorithm from [1] to predict the dark matter density profile in the hydrodynamic simulations. I will show that Auriga, Vintergatan, and Illustris TNG50 can be well described by adiabatic contraction, while the stellar feedback in FIRE-2 dominates over the effects of the baryonic contraction. I will close by showing the dark matter annihilation/decay rates in simulations as well as predictions for the Milky Way’s inner dark matter density profile and annihilation flux using observations of the stellar density profile.

Speaker: Abd El Aziz Hussein (MIT)

Hussein.pdf

11:25 Axion-Photon Sensitivity with NuSTAR Observations of M82 and M87

Ultra-light axions with weak couplings to photons are motivated extensions of the Standard Model. We perform one of the most sensitive searches to-date for the existence of these particles with the NuSTAR telescope by searching for axion production in stars in the M82 starburst galaxy and the M87 central galaxy of the Virgo cluster. This involves a sum over the full stellar populations in these galaxies when computing the axion luminosity, as well as accounting for the conversion of axions to hard X-rays via magnetic field profiles from simulated IllustrisTNG analogue galaxies. We find no evidence for axions, and instead set robust constraints on the axion-photon coupling at the level of $|g_{a\gamma\gamma}| \lesssim 6.4 \times 10^{-13}$ GeV$^{-1}$ for $m_a \lesssim 10^{-10}$ eV at 95% confidence.

Speaker: Orion Ning (University of California, Berkeley)

Ning.pdf

11:35 ALPs searches on galactic sources using the HAWC Observatory

Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) are pseudo-scalar bosons that generalize the concept of QCD Axion and arise from models Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Under certain conditions ALPs can mix with photons in regions with magnetic fields. Photons from very high energy (VHE) galactic sources can mix with ALPs, which would produce an attenuation in the spectrum of the source. In this work we study the VHE source 3HWC J1908+03 and the hypothetical anomalies on its spectrum due to photon-ALP conversions. We obtained an exclusion region of ALPs using the HAWC data.

Speaker: Alvaro Pratts (Instituto de Física, UNAM)

Pratts.pdf

11:45 Slow Stable Hybrid Stars

Exploring the interplay of different baryons and the quark matter, we emphasize the effects of a slow phase transition at the hadron-quark interface. We observe that the maximum mass is attained before the fundamental mode's frequency diminishes for slow phase transitions. This observation implies the stability of stellar configurations with higher central densities than the maximum mass, called Slow Stable Hybrid Stars (SSHSs), even under small radial perturbations. The length of these SSHS branch depends upon the energy density jump between two phases and the stiffness of the quark EoS.

Speaker: Ishfaq Ahmad Rather (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

Rather.pdf

11:55 Minimal U(1) two-Higgs-doublet models for quark and lepton flavour

In this talk I will describe the minimal 2HDM with U(1) flavour symmetries which accounts for the observed pattern of quark and lepton masses and mixings. The corresponding phenomenology related to flavour processes in both sectors will also be investigated, as well as the constraints imposed in the parameter space.

Speaker: José Rocha (CFTP-IST)

Rocha.pdf

12:05 A high Quality factor dielectric Fabry-Perot cavity for detecting dark matter axions

The axion is a type of pseudoscalar (spin-0, odd parity) particle initially proposed as a solution to strong CP problem as well as being a theoretically well-motivated dark matter candidate. One part of the Quantum enhanced Particle Astrophysics (QuEPA) project at Imperial College focuses on developing a Fabry-Perot cavity as a dark matter haloscope to convert axions in the 125-250 μeV mass range into microwave photons. According to axion-modified electrodynamics [2], axions can be converted to microwave photons between 30-60 GHz when this cavity is placed in a strong, homogeneous magnetic field. Compared to other haloscope geometries operating at this frequency, the Fabry Perot cavity is relatively compact, it has a large effective mode volume, it can be easily tuned, with the right choice of materials it can reach Q > 100,000, and its performance should not be degraded when placed in a strong magnetic field.

Speaker: Jiacheng Shi (Physics department, Imperial College London)

Shi.pdf

12:15 R&D of dark matter cryogenic detectors: study of impact of an aluminium layer as a shield against magnetic fields

The CRESST experiment uses Transition Edge Sensors as super-sensitive cryogenic thermometers to measure a temperature variation in a target crystal as a result of the interaction of dark matter particles within it. The stability and the performance of these superconducting sensors is strongly affected by changes in the external magnetic fields. In this talk, I will talk about a first attempt to shield one sensor by adding an aluminium layer to it. I will also describe the results of a comparison between the performance of the shielded sensor and an unshielded one.

Speaker: Marco Zanirato (Max Planck Institut für Physik)

Zanirato.pdf

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Indirect Detection: Lecture 2/3

Convener: Francesca Calore (LAPTH Annecy)

Calore.pdf

15:45 → 16:15 Coffee Break

Tuesday 2 July

09:30 → 10:45 Indirect Detection: Lecture 3/3

Convener: Francesca Calore (LAPTH Annecy)

Calore.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 Axion Experiments: Lecture 1/4

Convener: Igor Irastorza (Zaragoza University)

Irastorza.pptx

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Direct Detection: Lecture 1/3

Convener: Laura Baudis (University of Zurich)

Baudis1.pdf

Baudis2.pdf

Baudis3.pdf

15:45 → 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 → 17:30 Axion Experiments: Lecture 2/4

Convener: Igor Irastorza (Zaragoza University)

Irastorza.pptx

Wednesday 3 July

09:30 → 10:45 Direct Detection: Lecture 2/3

Convener: Laura Baudis (University of Zurich)

Baudis1.pdf

Baudis2.pdf

Baudis3.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 Axion Experiments: Lecture 3/4

Convener: Igor Irastorza (Zaragoza University)

Irastorza.pptx

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:45 Statistical Tools for Dark Matter Experiments: Lecture 1/3

Convener: Joshua Foster (MIT)

15:45 → 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 → 17:30 Axion Experiments: Lecture 4/4

Convener: Igor Irastorza (Zaragoza University)

Irastorza.pptx

18:15 → 19:30 Social Activities: Visit to Palazzo Bo

20:00 → 23:00 Social Activities: Social Dinner

Thursday 4 July

09:30 → 10:45 Statistical Tools for Dark Matter Experiments: Lecture 2/3

Convener: Joshua Foster (MIT)

10:45 → 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 → 12:30 Direct Detection: Lecture 3/3

Convener: Laura Baudis (University of Zurich)

Baudis1.pdf

Baudis2.pdf

Baudis3.pdf

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 16:15 Statistical Tools for Dark Matter Experiments: Lecture 3/3

Convener: Joshua Foster (MIT)

16:15 → 16:45 Coffee Break