Status of the DIMS project for macroscopic dark matter search using ultra-high sensitivity CMOS cameras at the Telescope Array UHECR observatory

Le résumé fourni par la source

The nature of dark matter has been the subject of ongoing investigation in fields such as particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. One hypothetical form of dark matter is nuggets of strange quark matter, also known as nuclearites. They are characterized by a macroscopic mass with a high quark density. These nuclearites are believed to be bound to our galaxy and move at a similar speed of approximately 250 km s −1 , which is comparable to the galactic rotation near the Solar System. More commonly, such particles are now referred to as “macros”. They can potentially be observed optically when they traverse the atmosphere, emitting light similar to a meteor. In the DIMS (Dark matter and Interstellar Meteoroid Study) project, our goal is to search for these dark matter particles by monitoring the night sky. We have employed ultra-high sensitivity CMOS cameras at the Telescope Array ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatory site. After conducting pilot observations in Japan, we began regular operations with two cameras at the TA site in August 2022. In March 2023, we relocated additional two cameras. The data is acquired using the UFOCapture software, widely used by meteor astronomers. The cameras have proven their functionality by detecting a large number of meteors. In this study, we present the current status of the DIMS operation at the TA site, preliminary analysis and the prospect for the analysis aiming to macro search.

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