Essential Question: Why is finding supersymmetric particles and important task for physicists to undertake?
Answer: The lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP,) if stable, is a very good candidate for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) or dark matter.
1. Supersymmetric neutralinos (gravitinos, axinos, singlinos, higgsinos, binos, winos, photinos, etc.) can be thermally produced in the early universe and leave exactly the right relic density to constitute the Cold Dark Matter of the universe.
2. Detecting supersymmetric dark matter may be the best way to find SUSY particles. SUSY particles are expected to be extremely heavy (reaching into the multi-TeV range) and thus are likely out of reach of collider physics. However, dark matter detection experiments (such as Ice Cube in Antarctica) can be specifically calibrated to find neutralinos.
3. There can be multiple possible models of SUSY dark matter, as different SUSY models yield different LSPs. For example, the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model yields an LSP called the singlino, which is a good candidate for dark matter should the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model become too constrained. In addition, it is possible for neutralino dark matter to be non thermally produced, as well as in a "mixed" state such as with axions.
I plan on taking my science project on neutralino dark matter to the science fair. I am interested in hearing feedback on it as well as what others think the most likely neutralino dark matter model is.
Jedamzik, Karsten and Maxim Pospelov. "Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Particle Dark Matter." Cornell University Library, 11 Jun. 2009. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
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