MCTP-10-01 On the Correlation Between the Spin-Independent and Spin-Dependent Direct Detection of Dark Matter Timothy Cohen, Daniel J. Phalen and Aaron Pierce Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics (MCTP) Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (Dated: October 28, 2018) We study the correlation between spin-independent and spin-dependent scattering in the context of MSSM neutralino dark matter for both thermal and non-thermal histories. We explore the generality of this relationship with reference to other models. We discuss why either fine-tuning or numerical coincidences are necessary for the correlation to break down. We derive upper bounds on spin-dependent scattering mediated by a Z 0 boson. 1 arXiv:1001.3408v2 [hep-ph] 31 May 2010 Abstract