Descrizione del progetto
La materia oscura e l’asimmetria materia-antimateria su scala di teraelettronvolt
Gran parte della materia dell’universo è composta da alcune particelle ancora sconosciute, note come materia oscura. Inoltre, delle specie di particelle conosciute, il nostro universo contiene solo particelle e nessuna antiparticella. L’origine di questo eccesso di materia ordinaria rispetto all’antimateria e la natura della materia oscura sono tra le questioni più fondamentali della fisica. Attualmente, gli esperimenti stanno sondando l’esistenza di particelle con masse multi-TeV. Tali particelle pesanti possono costituire la materia oscura, o possono aver partecipato alla generazione dell’asimmetria materia-antimateria. Si prevede che le loro interazioni comportino importanti effetti non perturbativi, in particolare la formazione di stati legati. Il progetto CosmoChart, finanziato dall’UE, approfondirà questi effetti sul disaccoppiamento termico della materia oscura e sulla generazione di asimmetria materia-antimateria nell’Universo primordiale.
Obiettivo
The origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe and the nature of dark matter are among the most fundamental and challenging questions in physics. Their undeniable importance has placed them in the forefront of the experimental and theoretical research in particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics. Our experimental probes are now at the outset of exploring the multi-TeV energy scale. To fully exploit the experimental effort, to design effective search strategies and correctly interpret the experimental results, we must develop reliable theoretical understanding of the plausible dynamics at this scale.
The TeV scale is a new threshold. In this regime, the interactions hypothesised in a variety of well-motivated theories manifest as long-range. This is true for the most widely studied particle-physics scenario for dark matter, particles coupled to the Weak interactions of the Standard Model, as well as many other models. Moreover, many theories of matter-antimatter asymmetry generation invoke heavy particles that couple to lighter force mediators.
Long-range interactions imply very different dynamics than the contact-type interactions most commonly considered in the past. They give rise to non-perturbative effects, with the most prominent being the existence of bound states. Such effects can change the experimental signatures very significantly. CosmoChart will comprehensively investigate the implications of long-range interactions along two directions:
I. The dark matter thermal decoupling in the early universe and indirect detection.
II. The particle-antiparticle asymmetry generation and washout.
The results will have implications for most experimental probes. As the long-range dynamics becomes increasingly more important at higher scales, the investigations of CosmoChart will chart particle cosmology at the TeV scale and beyond.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantIstituzione ospitante
75006 Paris
Francia