Weakly interacting massive particle: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:35, 30 January 2023

Revision as of 06:49, 4 April 2023

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'''Weakly interacting massive particles''' ('''WIMPs''') are hypothetical particles that are one of the proposed candidates for [[dark matter]].

There exists no formal definition of a WIMP, but broadly, a WIMPit is a new [[elementary particle]] which interacts via [[gravity]] and any other force (or forces), potentially not part of the [[Standard Model]] itself, which is as weak as or weaker than the [[weak nuclear force]], but also non-vanishing in its strength. Many WIMP candidates are expected to have been produced thermally in the early Universe, similarly to the particles of the [[Standard Model]]<ref>{{cite journal | last = Garrett | first = Katherine | title = Dark matter: A primer | year = 2010 | journal = Advances in Astronomy | volume = 2011 | issue = 968283 | pages = 1–22 | doi = 10.1155/2011/968283| doi-access = free }}</ref> according to [[Big Bang]] cosmology, and usually will constitute [[cold dark matter]].

Obtaining the correct abundance of dark matter today via [[thermal production]] requires a self-[[annihilation]] [[Cross section (physics)|cross section]] of <math>\langle \sigma v \rangle \simeq 3 \times 10^{-26} \mathrm{cm}^{3} \;\mathrm{s}^{-1}</math>, which is roughly what is expected for a new particle in the 100&nbsp;[[GeV]] mass range that interacts via the [[electroweak force]].