Neutralino
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In
supersymmetry Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...
, the neutralino is a hypothetical particle. In the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model The Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is an extension to the Standard Model that realizes supersymmetry. MSSM is the minimal supersymmetrical model as it considers only "the inimumnumber of new particle states and new interactions ...
(MSSM), a popular model of realization of supersymmetry at a low energy, there are four neutralinos that are
fermion In particle physics, a fermion is a subatomic particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions have a half-integer spin (spin 1/2, spin , Spin (physics)#Higher spins, spin , etc.) and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. These particles i ...
s and are electrically neutral, the lightest of which is stable in an R-parity conserved scenario of MSSM. They are typically labeled (the lightest), , and (the heaviest) although sometimes \tilde_1^0, \ldots, \tilde_4^0 is also used when \tilde_i^\pm is used to refer to charginos. : These four states are composites of the bino and the neutral wino (which are the neutral electroweak gauginos), and the neutral higgsinos. As the neutralinos are Majorana fermions, each of them is identical to its
antiparticle In particle physics, every type of particle of "ordinary" matter (as opposed to antimatter) is associated with an antiparticle with the same mass but with opposite physical charges (such as electric charge). For example, the antiparticle of the ...
.


Expected behavior

If they exist, these particles would only interact with the weak vector bosons, so they would not be directly produced at hadron colliders in copious numbers. They would primarily appear as particles in cascade decays (decays that happen in multiple steps) of heavier particles usually originating from
colored ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow era to refer to an African American. In many places, it may be considered a slur. Dictionary definitions The word ''colored'' wa ...
supersymmetric particles such as squarks or gluinos. In R-parity conserving models, the lightest neutralino is stable and all supersymmetric cascade-decays end up decaying into this particle which leaves the detector unseen and its existence can only be inferred by looking for unbalanced momentum in a detector. The heavier neutralinos typically decay through a neutral Z boson to a lighter neutralino or through a charged
W boson In particle physics, the W and Z bosons are vector bosons that are together known as the weak bosons or more generally as the intermediate vector bosons. These elementary particles mediate the weak interaction; the respective symbols are , , an ...
to a light chargino: : The mass splittings between the different neutralinos will dictate which patterns of decays are allowed. Up to present, neutralinos have never been observed or detected in an experiment.


Origins in supersymmetric theories

In supersymmetry models, all
Standard Model The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
particles have partner particles with the same
quantum number In quantum physics and chemistry, quantum numbers are quantities that characterize the possible states of the system. To fully specify the state of the electron in a hydrogen atom, four quantum numbers are needed. The traditional set of quantu ...
s except for the quantum number spin, which differs by from its partner particle. Since the superpartners of the Z boson ( zino), the
photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless particles that can ...
( photino) and the neutral higgs ( higgsino) have the same quantum numbers, they can mix to form four
eigenstate In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that embodies the knowledge of a quantum system. Quantum mechanics specifies the construction, evolution, and measurement of a quantum state. The result is a prediction for the system re ...
s of the mass operator called "neutralinos". In many models the lightest of the four neutralinos turns out to be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), though other particles may also take on this role.


Phenomenology

The exact properties of each neutralino will depend on the details of the mixing (e.g. whether they are more higgsino-like or gaugino-like), but they tend to have masses at the weak scale (100 GeV ~ 1 TeV) and couple to other particles with strengths characteristic of the
weak interaction In nuclear physics and particle physics, the weak interaction, weak force or the weak nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and gravitation. It is th ...
. In this way, except for mass, they are phenomenologically similar to
neutrinos A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that it ...
, and so are not directly observable in particle detectors at accelerators. In models in which R-parity is conserved and the lightest of the four neutralinos is the LSP, the lightest neutralino is stable and is eventually produced in the decay chain of all other superpartners. In such cases supersymmetric processes at accelerators are characterized by the expectation of a large discrepancy in energy and momentum between the visible initial and final state particles, with this energy being carried off by a neutralino which departs the detector unnoticed. This is an important signature to discriminate supersymmetry from Standard Model backgrounds.


Relationship to dark matter

As a heavy, stable particle, the lightest neutralino is an excellent candidate to form the universe's
cold dark matter In cosmology and physics, cold dark matter (CDM) is a hypothetical type of dark matter. According to the current standard model of cosmology, Lambda-CDM model, approximately 27% of the universe is dark matter and 68% is dark energy, with only a sm ...
. In many models the lightest neutralino can be produced thermally in the hot early universe and leave approximately the right relic abundance to account for the observed
dark matter In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...
. A lightest neutralino of roughly is the leading
weakly interacting massive particle 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, it is an elementary particle which interacts via gravity an ...
(WIMP) dark matter candidate. Neutralino dark matter could be observed experimentally in nature either indirectly or directly. For indirect observation,
gamma ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists o ...
and neutrino telescopes look for evidence of neutralino annihilation in regions of high dark matter density such as the galactic or solar centre. For direct observation, special purpose experiments such as the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) seek to detect the rare impacts of WIMPs in terrestrial detectors. These experiments have begun to probe interesting supersymmetric parameter space, excluding some models for neutralino dark matter, and upgraded experiments with greater sensitivity are under development.


See also

* List of hypothetical particles * * * Weakly interacting slender particle


References

{{Authority control Dark matter Fermions Supersymmetric quantum field theory Hypothetical elementary particles