Dark Matter Search Results from the CDMS II Experiment
News from the Dark Side? Dark matter is thought to represent 85% of all matter in the universe and to have been responsible for the formation of structure in the early universe, but its nature is still a mystery. Ahmed et al. (p. 1619, published online 11 February; see the Perspective by Lang) describe the results from the completed Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment, which searched for dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP). Two candidate signals were observed, whereas only one background event was expected. The probability of having two or more events from the background would have been 23%. The results of this analysis cannot be interpreted with confidence as evidence for WIMP interactions, but, at the same time, neither event can be ruled out as representing signal. Details of possible, but unlikely, detection events produced by dark matter are reported. Astrophysical observations indicate that dark matter constitutes most of the mass in our universe, but its nature remains unknown. Over the past decade, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment has provided world-leading sensitivity for the direct detection of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. The final exposure of our low-temperature germanium particle detectors at the Soudan Underground Laboratory yielded two candidate events, with an expected background of 0.9 ± 0.2 events. This is not statistically significant evidence for a WIMP signal. The combined CDMS II data place the strongest constraints on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent scattering cross section for a wide range of WIMP masses and exclude new parameter space in inelastic dark matter models.

title: Search for inelastic dark matter with the CDMS II experiment
abstract: Results are presented from a reanalysis of the entire five-tower data set acquired with the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, with an exposure of 969 kg-days. The analysis window was extended to a recoil energy of 150 keV, and an improved surface-event background-rejection cut was defined to increase the sensitivity of the experiment to the inelastic dark matter (iDM) model. Three dark matter candidates were found between 25 keV and 150 keV. The probability to observe three or more background events in this energy range is 11%. Because of the occurrence of these events, the constraints on the iDM parameter space are slightly less stringent than those from our previous analysis, which used an energy window of 10-100 keV.

title: Combined limits on WIMPs from the CDMS and EDELWEISS experiments
abstract: The CDMS and EDELWEISS collaborations have combined the results of their direct searches for dark matter using cryogenic germanium detectors. The total data set represents 614  kg·days equivalent exposure. A straightforward method of combination was chosen for its simplicity before data were exchanged between experiments. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on spin-independent weakly interacting, massive particle (WIMP)-nucleon cross section. For a WIMP mass of 90  GeV/c^2, where this analysis is most sensitive, a cross section of 3.3×10^(-44)  cm^2 is excluded at 90% C.L. At higher WIMP masses, the combination improves the individual limits, by a factor 1.6 above 700  GeV/c^2. Alternative methods of combining the data provide stronger constraints for some ranges of WIMP masses and weaker constraints for others.

title: Limit on the flux of cosmic-ray magnetic monopoles from operation of an eight-loop superconducting detector.
abstract: An eight-loop superconducting magnetic monopole detector has been in continuous operation for 547 days, starting 4 March 1987. Its sensing area is 1.1 m{sup 2} for double-coincident events. The data, which contain no candidate events, set an upper limit of 7.2{times}10{sup {minus}13} cm{sup  s{sup {minus}1} sr{sup {minus}1} (90% confidence level) on the flux of monopoles of any mass and at any velocity passing through the Earth's surface.

title: Low-threshold analysis of CDMS shallow-site data
abstract: Data taken during the final shallow-site run of the first tower of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) detectors have been reanalyzed with improved sensitivity to small energy depositions. Four {approx}224 g germanium and two {approx}105 g silicon detectors were operated at the Stanford Underground Facility (SUF) between December 2001 and June 2002, yielding 118 live days of raw exposure. Three of the germanium and both silicon detectors were analyzed with a new low-threshold technique, making it possible to lower the germanium and silicon analysis thresholds down to the actual trigger thresholds of {approx}1 and  Limits on the spin-independent cross section for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) to elastically scatter from nuclei based on these data exclude interesting parameter space for WIMPs with masses below 9 GeV/c{sup 2}. Under standard halo assumptions, these data partially exclude parameter space favored by interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT experiments data as WIMP signals, and exclude new parameter space for WIMP masses between 3 and 4 GeV/c{sup 2}.

title: Report on Stanford Superconductive Monopole Detectors
abstract: Since January, 1983 we have been operating a three loop superconducting detector with a signal to noise ratio of 100 for the direct detection of Dirac magnetic  Its sensing area averaged over solid angle is nearly 500 cm2 for double coincidence events. To date, the data contain no candidate events and set an upper flux limit of 2 × 10−11 cm−2 s−1 sr−1 at 90% C.L., 70 times lower than that suggested by the single candidate event2 seen on the prototype single loop detector. If supermassive magnetic monopoles exist they are rare and the need for cost-efficient larger area superconductive detectors is evident if we are to push forward a definitive search in the cosmic rays. Superconducting loop detectors can be constructed with 1 to 10 m2 planar areas coupled to a single SQUID while achieving a signal to noise ratio of 10 for the detection of a Dirac magnetic charge. A 100 m2 sensing area array of such detectors, which would reach the Parker flux bound in one year of operation, can be built at a cost comparable to that of typical high energy experiments. It remains quite possible that a monopole particle flux significantly higher than the Parker bound exists within our galaxy. In this paper the most recent results from low noise operation of the three loop detector are presented. Also discussed are our plans to build a larger fixed loop detector with a sensing area of 1.5 m2. It is designed as a prototype for a future yet larger 100 m2 array.

title: From unphysical gluon and ghost propagators to physical glueball propagators (in the Gribov-Zwanziger picture): a not so trivial task?
abstract: During recent years, a good agreement was found between the analytical derivation and the numerical simulation of the Landau gauge gluon and ghost propagators. We mention the Schwinger-Dyson and Gribov-Zwanziger formalism for the analytical work. Although the agreement between several approaches is nice, these propagators do not correspond to the relevant physical degrees of freedom. In the case of pure gauge theories, one should start to study the glueball correlators. We shall try to explain why it looks like a hard challenge to go from the unphysical to the physical propagators in the case of the Gribov-Zwanziger theory (but similar conclusions might hold for other approaches giving similar propagators).

title: Ultraluminous supernovae as a new probe of the interstellar medium in distant galaxies
abstract: We present the Pan-STARRS1 discovery and light curves, and follow-up MMT and Gemini spectroscopy of an ultra-luminous supernova (ULSN; dubbed PS1-11bam) at a redshift of z = 1.566 with a peak brightness of MUV ≈ -22.3 mag. PS1-11bam is one of the highest redshift spectroscopically-confirmed SNe known to date. The spectrum is characterized by broad absorption features typical of previous ULSNe (e.g., C II, Si III), and by strong and narrow Mg II and Fe II absorption lines from the interstellar medium (ISM) of the host galaxy, confirmed by an [O II]�3727 emission line at the same redshift. The equivalent widths of the Fe II�2600 and Mg II�2803 lines are in the top quartile of the quasar intervening a bsorption system distribution, but are weaker than those of gamma-ray burst intrinsic absorbers (i.e., GR B host galaxies). We also detect the host galaxy in pre-explosion Pan-STARRS1 data and find that its UV spectral energy distribution is best fit with a young stellar population age of �∗ ≈ 15 - 45 Myr and a stellar mass of M∗ ≈ (1.1 - 2.6)× 10 9 M⊙ (for Z = 0.05 - 1 Z⊙). The star formation rate inferred from the UV continuum and [O II]�3727 emission line is ≈ 10 M⊙ yr -1 , higher than in any previous ULSN host. PS1-11bam provides the first direct demonstration that ULSNe can serve as probes of the interstellar medium in distant galaxi es. At the present, the depth and red sensitivity of PS1 are uniquely suited to finding such events at cosmologica lly interesting redshifts ( z ∼ 1 - 2); the future combination of LSST and 30-m class telescopes promises to extend this technique to z ∼ 4.

title: Pion production in nuclear collisions
abstract: The production of pions in nuclear collisions is analyzed in terms of a microscopic reaction model, where the free energy of the entrance channel is transferred to the final channel through the coupling of the relative motion to the internal excitation of N*-resonances. Such a model allows quite naturally for a consistent analysis of the exclusive and the inclusive production of pions. It turns out that the pionic fusion cross section is determined predominantly by the spectroscopic parentage between the initial target projectile combination and the final nucleus, whereas the inclusive part is dominated by the energy dependence of the phase space factor, i.e. by the number of the degrees of freedom which are relevant in a given kinematical situation. This model is applied to the analysis of available experimental data from threshold to the Δ(1232)-region. A consistent analysis of both the inclusive and the exclusive part of the pion spectrum is presented.

title: Pion-deuteron scattering in a D∗ model
abstract: Pion-deuteron scattering at medium energies is formulated in a model which treats the nucleon and the isolar Δ(1236) on equal footing. Following the absorption of the pion which excites (ΔN) states with different multipolarity these D∗ states of the excited deuteron are mixed and split up by the strong isobar-nucleon interaction. Those with low multipolarity dominate the differential cross section, which turns out to be in qualitative agreement with the data. As the characteristic features of the D∗ spectrum are closely related to the ΔN interaction, they should show up more or less directly in all medium energy scattering processes on the deuteron.

title: Infrared singularities in Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory
abstract: We present a more detailed picture of the infrared regime of Landau-gauge Yang-Mills theory. This is done within a novel framework that allows one to take into account the influence of finite scales within an infrared power counting analysis. We find that there are two qualitatively different infrared fixed points of the full system of Dyson-Schwinger equations. The first extends the known scaling solution, where the ghost dynamics is dominant and gluon propagation is strongly suppressed. It features in addition to the strong divergences of gluonic vertex functions in the previously considered uniform scaling limit, when all external momenta tend to zero, also weaker kinematic divergences, when only some of the external momenta vanish. The second solution represents the recently proposed decoupling scenario where the gluons become massive and the ghosts remain bare. In this case we find that none of the vertex functions is enhanced, so that the infrared dynamics is entirely suppressed. Our analysis also provides a strict argument why the Landau-gauge gluon dressing function cannot be infrared divergent.