The gaps experiment: Hunting for dark matter with antideuterons

Kerstin Perez, Tsuguo Aramaki, Nobutaka Bando, Steven Boggs, Philip Von Doetinchem, Hideyuki Fuke, Florian Gahbauer, Charles Hailey, Jason Koglin, Norm Madden, S. A.Isaac Mognet, Kaya Mori, Shun Okazaki, Rene Ong, Gordon Tajiri, Tetsuya Yoshida, Jeffrey Zweerink

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is an indirect dark matter search that aims to detect low-energy antideuterons resulting from dark matter annihilations in the galactic halo. This signature, which has negligible conventional astrophysical background, is predicted by many models of both supersymmetry and extra-dimensional theories. Until now, an optimized low-energy search experiment has been lacking. In this contribution, the scientific and experimental case for GAPS will be reviewed, and its complementarity with existing indirect and direct search experiments will be discussed. We will describe the design of GAPS, which consists of a time-of-flight system and layers of Si(Li) detectors in a tracking geometry designed specifically for low-energy antideuteron detection. The results of our successful prototype balloon flight (pGAPS), which flew from Japan in June 2012 and met 100% of its mission goals, as well as the path forward to a science flight of GAPS from Antarctica, will be presented.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
PublisherSociedade Brasileira de Fisica
ISBN (Electronic)9788589064293
StatePublished - 2013
Event33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Duration: Jul 2 2013Jul 9 2013

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
Volume2013-October

Other

Other33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
Country/TerritoryBrazil
CityRio de Janeiro
Period7/2/137/9/13

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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