Strongly interacting massive particle

Strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) are hypothetical particles that interact strongly with ordinary matter, but could form the inferred dark matter despite this.^[1]

Strongly interacting massive particles have been proposed as a solution for the ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray problem^[2][3] and the absence of cooling flows.^[4][5] Various experiments and observations have set constraints on SIMP dark matter from 1990 onward.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

SIMPs annhilations would produce significant heat. DAMA set limits with NaITl crystals.^[12]

Measurements of Uranus's heat excess exclude SIMPS from 150 MeV to 10⁴ GeV. Earth's heat flow significantly constrains any cross section.^[13]

See also

• Weakly interacting massive particles
• Self-interacting dark matter

References

1. B. D. Wandelt, R. Dave, G. R. Farrar, P. C. McGuire, D. N. Spergel and P. J. Steinhardt, Self-Interacting Dark Matter, Marina del Rey 2000, Sources and detection of dark matter and dark energy in the universe, 263 (2000), preprint.
2. D. Chung, G. R. Farrar and E. W. Kolb, Are ultrahigh energy cosmic rays signals of supersymmetry?, Phys. Rev. D 57, 4606 (1998) preprint.
3. I. F. M. Albuquerque, G. R. Farrar and E. W. Kolb, Exotic massive hadrons and ultra-high energy cosmic rays, Phys. Rev. D 59, 015021 (1999) preprint.
4. B. Qin and X. P. Wu, Constraints on the Interaction between Dark Matter and Baryons from Cooling Flow Clusters, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 061301 (2001) preprint.
5. L. Chuzhoy and A. Nusser, A limit on the dark matter and baryons interaction cross-section in galaxy clusters, preprint.
6. G. D. Starkman, A. Gould, R. Esmailzadeh, and S. Dimopoulos, Opening the window on strongly interacting dark matter, Phys. Rev. D 41, 3594 (1990).
7. R. H. Cyburt, B. D. Fields, V. Pavlidou and B. D. Wandelt, Constraining Strong Baryon-Dark Matter Interactions with Primordial Nucleosynthesis and Cosmic Rays, Phys. Rev. D 65, 123503 (2002) preprint.
8. G. Zaharijas and G. R. Farrar, Window in the dark matter exclusion limits, Phys. Rev. D 72, 083502 (2005) preprint.
9. C. Bacci, P.Belli, R. Bernabei, C.J. Dai, W. Di Nicolantonio, L.K. Ding, E. Gaillard, G. Gerbier, Y. Giraud-Heraud, H.H. Kuang, A. Incicchitti, V. Landoni, J. Mallet, L. Mosca, D. Prosperi, C. Tao, Improved limits on strongly interacting massive particles with NaI(Tl) scintillators, Astroparticle Physics 4(1996)195.
10. P. C. McGuire and P. J. Steinhardt, Cracking Open the Window for Strongly Interacting Massive Particles as the Halo Dark Matter, Proceedings of the International Cosmic Ray Conference, Hamburg, Germany, 1566 (2001), preprint.
11. D. Javorsek II, E. Fischbach and V. Teplitz, New experimental bounds on the contributions to the cosmological density parameter $\Omega$ from strongly interacting massive particles, ApJ 568, 1 (2002).
12. S. Mitra, Uranus's anomalously low excess heat constrains strongly interacting dark matter, Phys. Rev. D 70, 103517 (2004) preprint.
13. G. D. Mack, J. F. Beacom and G. Bertone, Towards Closing the Window on Strongly Interacting Dark Matter: Far-Reaching Constraints from Earth's Heat Flow, Phys. Rev. D 76, 043523 (2007) preprint.

Further reading

• Bertone, Gianfranco (2010). Particle Dark Matter: Observations, Models and Searches. Cambridge University Press. p. 762. ISBN 978-0-521-76368-4.