R-parity - Dark Matter Candidate

Dark Matter Candidate

With R-parity being preserved, the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) cannot decay. This lightest particle (if it exists) may therefore account for the observed missing mass of the universe that is generally called dark matter. In order to fit observations, it is assumed that this particle has a mass of 100 GeV to 1 TeV, is neutral and only interacts through weak interactions and gravitational interactions. It is often called a Weakly interacting massive particle or WIMP.

Typically the dark matter candidate of the MSSM is an admixture of the electroweak gauginos and Higgsinos and is called a neutralino. In extensions to the MSSM it is possible to have a sneutrino be the dark matter candidate. Another possibility is the gravitino, which only interacts via gravitational interactions and does not require strict R-parity.

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