Detection of and Experimental Constraints on WIMPs

The indirect evidence for the existence of nonbaryonic cold dark matter is significant and varied. However, it is critical to demonstrate directly the existence of a specific species of nonbaryonic cold dark matter by observing it in some direct way and measuring its properties. In this chapter, I discuss various techniques used to search for WIMP dark matter, which fall under the categories of indirect and direct detection. In particular, I discuss the expected signal characteristics and concentrate on how these aspects determine the sensitivity of various detection methods. I focus on WIMPs in the context of the MSSM, though parts of the discussion are more generally applicable.