Crypton (particle)

For the biological cell component, see mitosome.

In particle physics, the crypton is a hypothetical superheavy particle, thought to exist in a hidden sector of string theory. It has been proposed as a candidate particle to explain the dark matter content of the universe. Cryptons arising in the hidden sector of a superstring-derived flipped SU(5) GUT model have been shown to be metastable with a lifetime exceeding the age of the universe. Their slow decays may provide a source for the Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR).

References

• John Ellis, Jorge L. Lopez, D.V. Nanopoulos (1990). "Confinement of fractional charges yields integer-charged relics in string models". Physics Letters B. 247: 257–264. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(90)90893-B.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Karim Benakli, John Ellis, D.V. Nanopoulos (1999). "Natural Candidates for Superheavy Dark Matter in String and M Theory". Physical Review D. 59: 047301. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.59.047301.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• John Ellis, V.E. Mayes, D.V. Nanopoulos (2004). "Flipped Cryptons and the Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays". Physical Review D. 70: 075015. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.70.075015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• John Ellis, V.E. Mayes, D.V. Nanopoulos (2006). "Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Particle Spectra from Crypton Decays". Physical Review D. 74: 115003. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.74.115003.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)