Results of the search for strange quark matter and Q-balls with the SLIM experiment

S. Cecchini; M. Cozzi; D. Di Ferdinando; M. Errico; F. Fabbri; G. Giacomelli; R. Giacomelli; M. Giorgini; A. Kumar; J. McDonald; G. Mandrioli; S. Manzoor; A. Margiotta; E. Medinaceli; L. Patrizii; J. Pinfold; V. Popa; I. E. Qureshi; O. Saavedra; Z. Sahnoun; G. Sirri; M. Spurio; V. Togo; C. Valieri; A. Velarde; A. Zanini

doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-008-0747-7

EPJ

Results of the search for strange quark matter and Q-balls with the SLIM experiment

S. Cecchini¹^,2, M. Cozzi¹^,3, D. Di Ferdinando³, M. Errico¹^,3, F. Fabbri³, G. Giacomelli¹^,3, R. Giacomelli³, M. Giorgini¹^,3, A. Kumar¹^,4, J. McDonald⁵, G. Mandrioli³, S. Manzoor¹^,6, A. Margiotta¹^,3, E. Medinaceli¹^,7, L. Patrizii³, J. Pinfold⁵, V. Popa³^,8, I. E. Qureshi⁶, O. Saavedra¹⁰^,9, Z. Sahnoun¹¹^,3^*, G. Sirri³, M. Spurio¹^,3, V. Togo³, C. Valieri³, A. Velarde⁷ and A. Zanini¹⁰

¹ Dip. Fisica dell’Universitá di Bologna, 40127, Bologna, Italy
² INAF/IASF Sez. Bologna, 40129, Bologna, Italy
³ INFN Sez. Bologna, 40127, Bologna, Italy
⁴ Physics Dept., Sant Longowal Institute of Eng. & Tech., Longowal, 148 106, India
⁵ Centre for Subatomic Research, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2N4, Canada
⁶ PD, PINSTECH, P.O. Nilore, and COMSATS-CIIT, No. 30, H-8/1, Islamabad, Pakistan
⁷ Laboratorio de Física Cósmica de Chacaltaya, UMSA, La Paz, Bolivia
⁸ Institute for Space Sciences, 077125, Bucharest-Măgurele, Romania
⁹ Dip. Fisica Sperimentale e Generale, Universitá di Torino, 10125, Torino, Italy
¹⁰ INFN Sez. Torino, 10125, Torino, Italy
¹¹ Astrophysics Dept., CRAAG, BP 63 Bouzareah, 16340, Algiers, Algeria

Received: 13 May 2008
Revised: 25 August 2008
Published online: 3 October 2008

Abstract

The SLIM experiment at the Chacaltaya high altitude laboratory was sensitive to nuclearites and Q-balls which could be present in the cosmic radiation as possible Dark Matter components. It was sensitive also to strangelets, i.e. small lumps of Strange Quark Matter predicted at such altitudes by various phenomenological models. The analysis of 427 m² of Nuclear Track Detectors exposed for 4.22 years showed no candidate event. New upper limits on the flux of downgoing nuclearites and Q-balls at the 90% C.L. were established. The null result also restricts models for strangelets propagation through the Earth atmosphere.

PACS: 14.80.-j – / 21.65.-f – / 29.40 –

Winter Workshop on Complex Systems
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EPJ

Results of the search for strange quark matter and Q-balls with the SLIM experiment

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