Indirect Dark Matter Search with GAPS Antiproton and Antideuteron

by Tsuguo Aramaki (Columbia University)

Monday 30 Jun 2014, 12:30 → 13:30 US/Pacific

Kavli Meeting Room - room 305 (SLAC)

The general antiparticle spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is a proposed indirect dark matter search focusing on antiparticles produced by WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) annihilation and decay in the Galactic halo. Since antideuteron signals at low energy are free of background, GAPS has a strong capability to observe dark matter signatures through an optimized antideuteron search. In particular, GAPS will be able to detect light neutralino dark matter (m ~ 30 GeV) as has been suggested by recent Fermi Galactic Center results. Along with excellent antideuteron sensitivity, GAPS will be able to measure antiprotons at ultra-low energies (E < 0.25 GeV), a region previously inaccessible to any experiments, and thus uniquely search for dark matter and primordial black holes. Both GAPS antiproton and antideuteron searches will provide stringent constraints on light dark matter models, where strong tension exists between the positive and negative results by the recent direct dark matter searches. The GAPS prototype flight was successfully launched in 2012 and the GAPS science flight is proposed to fly from Antarctica in the austral summer of 2018-2019.

Slides presentation