What are the properties and characteristics of charginos?

[jerich1000]

I understand that some lighter variants of the theoretical chargino are charged, with 1/2 spin, are possibly stable, are fermion-like, and are possible candidates for dark matter. Is a chargino an elementary particle?

(I thought that dark matter had to have no charge, else it could be detected by how it affects the electromagentic spectrum.)

What's hard about trying to learn about these particles is that there are 1000's of articles that talk "about" chaginos and neutralinos as if the reader already knows what they are. But I cannot find one that tells me what one "is." If I had enough of them would they form a solid? Do they annihilate when they come in contact with normal matter? These kinds of questions are ignored by articles I've found on the I-net. Is this because no one knows their answers?

Thanks

 

[Kevin_Axion]

The Dark Matter Supersymmetric candidates are neutralino dark matter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightest_Supersymmetric_Particle) , this consists of binos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bino), neutral wino (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaugino) and a neutral Higgsino (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgsino) neutralinos are electrically neutral. These are good sources for information about Supersymmetric particles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimal_Supersymmetric_Standard_Model, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutralino#Relationship_to_dark_matter

 

[jerich1000]

Therefore Chargino's cannot be a dark matter candidate, given that they have charge?

 

[Kevin_Axion]

Assumingly, yes, but my opinion is as considerable as everyone else's, especially since I'm relying on the validity of Wikipedia.

 

[jerich1000]

Thanks! Wikipedia still knows more than I (notice the correct English), so for a time I'll continue to admire is awesomeness.

 

[Navir]

Charginos are mixtures of charged higgsinos and winos. There are two charginos, called light and heavy. Their mass is higher than 103 GeV (LEP limit) but in many scenarios their masses are usually much higher than that. Now, about your questions. Charginos are not stable, they are heavy so they decay promptly. Due to R-parity they decay to susy particles + SM particles (never to SM particles only). Only lightest susy particle is stable and scenarios in which charginos are lightest susy particles are not acceptable phenomenologically. Also, they cannot annihilate with SM particles, because that would violate R-parity (but there are many other reasons).