Dark Matter Search with the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

Abstract

Neutrino telescopes are a promising tool for Astroparticle Physics. Neutrinos are neutral, stable and weakly interacting, so these telescopes will open a new window to observe astrophysical objects like AGNs, GRBs or micro-quasars and will allow to look for new Physics, such as dark matter candidates. WIMPs, weakly interacting massive particles, are a possible constituent of dark matter. WIMPs can scatter and become gravitationally trapped in massive objects like the Sun, the Earth or the Galactic Center. Supersymmetry offers several candidates for WIMPs. In the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), the lightest supersymmetric particle is stable in most scenarios because of R-parity conservation. In many MSSM models, the favorite candidate is the lightest neutralino. Their annihilation could give rise to detectable rates of high energy neutrinos. Other possible WIMPs, like the lightest Kaluza-Klein (LKK) particle occuring in scenarios with extra-dimensions, can also be investigated. Neutrino telescopes have complementary potential with respect to direct searches, particularly in the range of large neutralino masses. In this paper we will discuss the prospects for dark matter searches with the ANTARES neutrino telescope that is presently under construction in the Mediterranean Sea.