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First search for dark matter annihilations in the Earth with the IceCube detector: IceCube Collaboration

  • M. G. Aartsen
  • , K. Abraham
  • , M. Ackermann
  • , J. Adams
  • , J. A. Aguilar
  • , M. Ahlers
  • , M. Ahrens
  • , D. Altmann
  • , K. Andeen
  • , T. Anderson
  • , I. Ansseau
  • , G. Anton
  • , M. Archinger
  • , C. Argüelles
  • , J. Auffenberg
  • , S. Axani
  • , X. Bai
  • , S. W. Barwick
  • , V. Baum
  • , R. Bay
  • J. J. Beatty, J. Becker Tjus, K. H. Becker, S. BenZvi, D. Berley, E. Bernardini, A. Bernhard, D. Z. Besson, G. Binder, D. Bindig, M. Bissok, E. Blaufuss, S. Blot, C. Bohm, M. Börner, F. Bos, D. Bose, S. Böser, O. Botner, J. Braun, L. Brayeur, H. P. Bretz, S. Bron, A. Burgman, T. Carver, M. Casier, E. Cheung, D. Chirkin, A. Christov, K. Clark, L. Classen, S. Coenders, G. H. Collin, J. M. Conrad, D. F. Cowen, R. Cross, M. Day, J. P.A.M. de André, C. De Clercq, E. del Pino Rosendo, H. Dembinski, S. De Ridder, P. Desiati, K. D. de Vries, G. de Wasseige, M. de With, T. DeYoung, J. C. Díaz-Vélez, V. di Lorenzo, H. Dujmovic, J. P. Dumm, M. Dunkman, B. Eberhardt, T. Ehrhardt, B. Eichmann, P. Eller, S. Euler, P. A. Evenson, S. Fahey, A. R. Fazely, J. Feintzeig, J. Felde, K. Filimonov, C. Finley, S. Flis, C. C. Fösig, A. Franckowiak, E. Friedman, T. Fuchs, T. K. Gaisser, J. Gallagher, L. Gerhardt, K. Ghorbani, W. Giang, L. Gladstone, M. Glagla, T. Glauch, T. Glüsenkamp, A. Goldschmidt, G. Golup, J. G. Gonzalez, D. Grant, Z. Griffith, C. Haack, A. Haj Ismail, A. Hallgren, F. Halzen, E. Hansen, B. Hansmann, T. Hansmann, K. Hanson, D. Hebecker, D. Heereman, K. Helbing, R. Hellauer, S. Hickford, J. Hignight, G. C. Hill, K. D. Hoffman, R. Hoffmann, K. Holzapfel, K. Hoshina, F. Huang, M. Huber, K. Hultqvist, S. In, A. Ishihara, E. Jacobi, G. S. Japaridze, M. Jeong, K. Jero, B. J.P. Jones, M. Jurkovic, A. Kappes, T. Karg, A. Karle, U. Katz, M. Kauer, A. Keivani, J. L. Kelley, J. Kemp, A. Kheirandish, M. Kim, T. Kintscher, J. Kiryluk, T. Kittler, S. R. Klein, G. Kohnen, R. Koirala, H. Kolanoski, R. Konietz, L. Köpke, C. Kopper, S. Kopper, D. J. Koskinen, M. Kowalski, K. Krings, M. Kroll, G. Krückl, C. Krüger, J. Kunnen, S. Kunwar, N. Kurahashi, T. Kuwabara, M. Labare, J. L. Lanfranchi, M. J. Larson, F. Lauber, D. Lennarz, M. Lesiak-Bzdak, M. Leuermann, J. Leuner, L. Lu, J. Lünemann, J. Madsen, G. Maggi, K. B.M. Mahn, S. Mancina, M. Mandelartz, R. Maruyama, K. Mase, R. Maunu, F. McNally, K. Meagher, M. Medici, M. Meier, A. Meli, T. Menne, G. Merino, T. Meures, S. Miarecki, L. Mohrmann, T. Montaruli, M. Moulai, R. Nahnhauer, U. Naumann, G. Neer, H. Niederhausen, S. C. Nowicki, D. R. Nygren, A. Obertacke Pollmann, A. Olivas, A. O’Murchadha, T. Palczewski, H. Pandya, D. V. Pankova, P. Peiffer, Penek, J. A. Pepper, C. Pérez de los Heros, D. Pieloth, E. Pinat, P. B. Price, G. T. Przybylski, M. Quinnan, C. Raab, L. Rädel, M. Rameez, K. Rawlins, R. Reimann, B. Relethford, M. Relich, E. Resconi, W. Rhode, M. Richman, B. Riedel, S. Robertson, M. Rongen, C. Rott, T. Ruhe, D. Ryckbosch, D. Rysewyk, L. Sabbatini, S. E. Sanchez Herrera, A. Sandrock, J. Sandroos, S. Sarkar, K. Satalecka, M. Schimp, P. Schlunder, T. Schmidt, S. Schoenen, S. Schöneberg, L. Schumacher, D. Seckel, S. Seunarine, D. Soldin, M. Song, G. M. Spiczak, C. Spiering, M. Stahlberg, T. Stanev, A. Stasik, J. Stettner, A. Steuer, T. Stezelberger, R. G. Stokstad, A. Stößl, R. Ström, N. L. Strotjohann, G. W. Sullivan, M. Sutherland, H. Taavola, I. Taboada, J. Tatar, F. Tenholt, S. Ter-Antonyan, A. Terliuk, G. Tešić, S. Tilav, P. A. Toale, M. N. Tobin, S. Toscano, D. Tosi, M. Tselengidou, A. Turcati, E. Unger, M. Usner, J. Vandenbroucke, N. van Eijndhoven, S. Vanheule, M. van Rossem, J. van Santen, J. Veenkamp, M. Vehring, M. Voge, E. Vogel, M. Vraeghe, C. Walck, A. Wallace, M. Wallraff, N. Wandkowsky, Ch Weaver, M. J. Weiss, C. Wendt, S. Westerhoff, B. J. Whelan, S. Wickmann, K. Wiebe, C. H. Wiebusch, L. Wille, D. R. Williams, L. Wills, M. Wolf, T. R. Wood, E. Woolsey, K. Woschnagg, D. L. Xu, X. W. Xu, Y. Xu, J. P. Yanez, G. Yodh, S. Yoshida, M. Zoll
  • University of Adelaide
  • Technical University of Munich
  • German Electron Synchrotron
  • University of Canterbury
  • Université libre de Bruxelles
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Stockholm University
  • Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Marquette University
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • RWTH Aachen University
  • South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
  • University of California at Irvine
  • University of California at Berkeley
  • Ohio State University
  • Ruhr University Bochum
  • University of Wuppertal
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Kansas
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • TU Dortmund University
  • Sungkyunkwan University
  • Uppsala University
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel
  • University of Geneva
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Münster
  • Michigan State University
  • University of Delaware
  • Ghent University
  • Humboldt University of Berlin
  • Southern University and A&M College
  • University of Alberta
  • University of Copenhagen
  • The University of Tokyo
  • Chiba University
  • Clark Atlanta University
  • Stony Brook University
  • Universite de Mons
  • Drexel University
  • University of Wisconsin-River Falls
  • Yale University
  • Department of Physics and Astronomy
  • University of Alaska Anchorage
  • University of Oxford
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • University of Bonn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present the results of the first IceCube search for dark matter annihilation in the center of the Earth. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), candidates for dark matter, can scatter off nuclei inside the Earth and fall below its escape velocity. Over time the captured WIMPs will be accumulated and may eventually self-annihilate. Among the annihilation products only neutrinos can escape from the center of the Earth. Large-scale neutrino telescopes, such as the cubic kilometer IceCube Neutrino Observatory located at the South Pole, can be used to search for such neutrino fluxes. Data from 327 days of detector livetime during 2011/2012 were analyzed. No excess beyond the expected background from atmospheric neutrinos was detected. The derived upper limits on the annihilation rate of WIMPs in the Earth and the resulting muon flux are an order of magnitude stronger than the limits of the last analysis performed with data from IceCube’s predecessor AMANDA. The limits can be translated in terms of a spin-independent WIMP–nucleon cross section. For a WIMP mass of 50 GeV this analysis results in the most restrictive limits achieved with IceCube data.

Original languageEnglish
Article number82
JournalEuropean Physical Journal C
Volume77
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Feb 2017
Externally publishedYes

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