Bonn 2020 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 99: Dark Matter IV

T 99.6: Talk

Friday, April 3, 2020, 12:15–12:30, H-HS XIV

Signatures of Q-balls in IceCube* — •Sarah Pieper for the IceCube collaboration — Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Deutschland

Supersymmetric generalisations of the Standard Model predict the existence of extended objects that are coherent states of squarks, sleptons and the Higgs fields. Those objects, called Q-balls, are comparable to other Standard Model particles, as they have mass, a finite shape in space and can travel through the universe with a constant velocity. Produced in the early universe, Q-balls are possible dark matter candidates. Additionally, their existence could yield an explanation for the observed baryon asymmetry.

Q-balls can interact with ordinary matter, resulting in the decay of nucleons or the production of luminescence light. Light produced in those processes can be detected by various experiments, including the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

In order to enable a first search for Q-balls with IceCube, signatures of Q-balls in the detector have been investigated by transfering theoretical models into simulations of event signatures. This has been done for different parameters, including zero and non-zero electric charge. An overview over the analysis, as well as the calculated detector sensitivity will be presented.

* Gefördert durch die BMBF-Verbundforschung Astroteilchenphysik