New Constraints on Macroscopic Dark Matter Using Radar Meteor Detectors
Pawan Dhakal, Steven Prohira, Christopher V. Cappiello, John F. Beacom, Scott Palo, John Marino
Physical Review D 107, 043026 · 2023
Macroscopic dark matter candidates — hypothetical massive particles that interact with ordinary matter — would leave ionisation trails in Earth's upper atmosphere similar to the trails left by meteors. This paper shows that radar systems designed to detect meteors can also search for these dark matter candidates. It is a novel application of existing observational infrastructure, directly relevant to HICS's meteor radar programme.
This paper developed a new method for searching for macroscopic dark matter candidates using radar systems that track meteors in Earth's atmosphere. By analysing what signatures a dark matter particle would leave in meteor radar data, we established the first observational constraints of this kind. The atmospheric detection physics and signal analysis techniques inform HICS's cosmic ray and meteor instrumentation programme.
Pawan Dhakal, Steven Prohira, Christopher V. Cappiello, John F. Beacom, Scott Palo, John Marino (2023). New Constraints on Macroscopic Dark Matter Using Radar Meteor Detectors. Physical Review D 107, 043026. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.107.043026
@article{Dhakal2023,
title = {New Constraints on Macroscopic Dark Matter Using Radar Meteor Detectors},
author = {Pawan Dhakal, Steven Prohira, Christopher V. Cappiello, John F. Beacom, Scott Palo, John Marino},
journal = {Physical Review D 107, 043026},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevD.107.043026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.107.043026},
note = {Himalayan Institute for Contextual Sciences (HICS)},
}