2019/07/15 by Jagjit Singh Sidhu, Robert J. Scherrer, Robert J Scherrer +2 · 3 voices · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2020.135300
openalex publication_date 2020/02/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Macroscopic dark matter (macros) refers to a class of dark matter candidates that scatter elastically off of ordinary matter with a large geometric cross-section. A wide range of macro masses MX and cross-sections σX remain unprobed. We show that over a wide region within the unexplored parameter space, collisions of a macro with a human body would result in serious injury or death. We use the absence of such unexplained impacts with a well-monitored subset of the human population to exclude a region bounded by σX>10−8−10−7 cm2 and MX<50 kg. Our results open a new window on dark matter: the human body as a dark matter detector.