Cracking Open the Window for Strongly Interacting Massive Particles as the Halo Dark Matter

TL;DR

This paper reviews the evolving constraints on strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) as potential dark matter candidates, highlighting their viability in the Galactic halo amid the limitations of WIMPs.

Contribution

It provides an updated summary of the current status of SIMP parameter space and discusses their significance as dark matter candidates.

Findings

Some SIMP parameter windows remain unconstrained.

Certain SIMP mass and cross-section ranges are still viable for dark matter.

The importance of SIMPs is emphasized given issues with WIMP models.

Abstract

In the early 1990's, an analysis was completed by several theorists of the available mass/cross-section parameter space for unusual particle candidates to solve the dark matter problem, e.g. strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs). This analysis found several unconstrained windows, such that for SIMP masses and cross-sections within these windows, SIMPs could still be the dominant dark matter in our Galactic halo. Since the early 1990's, some of these windows have been narrowed or closed, and some of these windows have been widened further by more careful analysis. We summarize the present state of the SIMP parameter space, and point to the cosmological salience of SIMPs as dark matter, given some of the present inadequacies of the WIMP solution to the dark matter problem.