Variations of the Neutralino Elastic Cross-Section with CP Violating Phases

TL;DR

This paper investigates how CP-violating phases in the MSSM affect the neutralino-nucleus elastic cross-section, revealing potential suppressions and modest enhancements within experimentally constrained parameter regions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the impact of CP-violating phases on neutralino cross-sections, considering experimental electric dipole moment constraints.

Findings

Cross-section variations due to CP phases can be up to a factor of two suppression.

Enhancements in cross-sections are generally limited to about 10%.

Certain parameter regions remain consistent with experimental constraints.

Abstract

We analyze the neutralino-nucleus elastic cross-section in the MSSM, including contributions from CP-violating phases, using the four-fermi neutralino-quark interaction. Over a wide range of the MSSM parameter space we show the variations in the cross-sections due to these phases. We further concentrate on the regions which are consistent with constraints from the electric dipole moment of the electron, neutron and mercury atom. In the regions we examine in detail, we find suppressions by up to a factor of two, while enhancements in the cross-sections are no greater than $\sim$ 10%.