An Introduction To Particle Dark Matter

What is the dark matter that fills the Universe and binds together galaxies? How was it produced? What are its interactions and particle properties?The paradigm of dark matter is one of the key developments at the interface of cosmology and elementary particle physics. It is also one of the foundations of the standard cosmological model. This book presents the state of the art in building and testing particle models for dark matter. Each chapter gives an analysis of questions, research directions, and methods within the field. More than 200 problems are included to challenge and stimulate the reader's knowledge and provide guidance in the practical implementation of the numerous 'tools of the trade' presented. Appendices summarize the basics of cosmology and particle physics needed for any quantitative understanding of particle models for dark matter.This interdisciplinary textbook is essential reading for anyone interested in the microscopic nature of dark matter as it manifests itself in particle physics experiments, cosmological observations, and high-energy astrophysical phenomena: from graduate students and advanced undergraduates to cosmologists and astrophysicists interested in particle models for dark matter and particle physicists interested in early-universe cosmology and high-energy astrophysics.

Particle dark matter: the name of the game -- The thermal relic paradigm: zeroth-order lessons from cosmology -- The thermal relic paradigm: a closer look -- The art of WIMP direct detection -- Indirect dark matter searches -- Searching for dark matter with particle colliders -- Axions and axion-like particles as dark matter -- Sterile neutrinos as dark matter particles -- Bestiarium: a short, biased compendium of notable dark matter particle candidates and models

Describes the dark matter problem in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology for graduate students and researchers.

Dark matter is a frequently discussed topic in contemporary particle physics. Written strictly in the language of particle physics and quantum field theory, these course-based lecture notes focus on a set of standard calculations that students need in order to understand weakly interacting dark matter candidates. After introducing some general features of these dark matter agents and their main competitors, the Higgs portal scalar and supersymmetric neutralinos are introduced as our default models. In turn, this serves as a basis for exploring four experimental aspects: the dark matter relic density extracted from the cosmic microwave background; indirect detection including the Fermi galactic center excess; direct detection; and collider searches. Alternative approaches, like an effective theory of dark matter and simplified models, naturally follow from the discussions of these four experimental directions.

Dark Matter: An Introduction tackles the rather recent but fast-growing subject of astroparticle physics, encompassing three main areas of fundamental physics: cosmology, particle physics, and astrophysics. Accordingly, the book discusses symmetries, conservation laws, relativity, and cosmological parameters and measurements, as well as the astrophysical behaviors of galaxies and galaxy clusters that indicate the presence of dark matter and the possible nature of dark matter distribution. This succinct yet comprehensive volume: Addresses all aspects essential to the study of dark matter Explores particle candidates for cold dark matter beyond the theory of the standard model, providing examples of basic extensions and introducing theories such as supersymmetry and extra dimensions Explains—in simple text and mathematical formulations—calculation of the freeze-out temperature of a dark matter species and its relic density Provides theoretical background for dark matter scattering off a target, event rate calculation, and dark matter annihilation essential to study direct and indirect detection of dark matter Complete with a detailed review of the latest dark matter experiments and techniques, Dark Matter: An Introduction is an ideal text for beginning researchers in the field as well as for general readers with an inquisitive mind, as the important topic of astroparticle physics is treated both pedagogically and with deeper insight.

This book introduces the basic concepts of particle cosmology and covers all the main aspects of the Big Bang Model (expansion of the Universe, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, Cosmic Microwave Background, large scale structures) and the search for new physics (inflation, baryogenesis, dark matter, dark energy). It also includes the majority of recent discoveries, such as the precise determination of cosmological parameters using experiments like WMAP and Planck, the discovery of the Higgs boson at LHC, the non-discovery to date of supersymmetric particles, and the search for the imprint of gravitational waves on the CMB polarization by Planck and BICEP. This textbook is based on the authors’ courses on Cosmology, and aims at introducing Particle Cosmology to senior undergraduate and graduate students. It has been especially written to be accessible even for those students who do not have a strong background in General Relativity and quantum field theory. The content of this book is organized in an easy-to-use style and students will find it a helpful research guide.

This book brings together reviews from leading international authorities on the developments in the study of dark matter and dark energy, as seen from both their cosmological and particle physics side. Studying the physical and astrophysical properties of the dark components of our Universe is a crucial step towards the ultimate goal of unveiling their nature. The work developed from a doctoral school sponsored by the Italian Society of General Relativity and Gravitation. The book starts with a concise introduction to the standard cosmological model, as well as with a presentation of the theory of linear perturbations around a homogeneous and isotropic background. It covers the particle physics and cosmological aspects of dark matter and (dynamical) dark energy, including a discussion of how modified theories of gravity could provide a possible candidate for dark energy. A detailed presentation is also given of the possible ways of testing the theory in terms of cosmic microwave background, galaxy redshift surveys and weak gravitational lensing observations. Included is a chapter reviewing extensively the direct and indirect methods of detection of the hypothetical dark matter particles. Also included is a self-contained introduction to the techniques and most important results of numerical (e.g. N-body) simulations in cosmology. " This volume will be useful to researchers, PhD and graduate students in Astrophysics, Cosmology Physics and Mathematics, who are interested in cosmology, dark matter and dark energy.

This book provides a comprehensive and instructive coverage of particle physics in the early universe, in a logical way. It starts from the thermal history of the universe by investigating some of the main arguments such as Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the inflation, before treating in details the direct and indirect detection of dark matter and then some aspects of the physics of neutrino. Following, it describes possible candidates for dark matter and its interactions. The book is targeted at theoretical physicists who deal with particle physics in the universe, dark matter detection and astrophysical constraints, and at particle physicists who are interested in models of inflation or reheating. This book offers also material for astrophysicists who work with quantum field theory computations. All that is useful to compute any physical process is included: mathematical tables, all the needed functions for the thermodynamics of early universe and Feynman rules. In light of this, this book acts as a crossroad between astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology.

This book is a new look at one of the hottest topics in contemporary science, Dark Matter. It is the pioneering text dedicated to sterile neutrinos as candidate particles for Dark Matter, challenging some of the standard assumptions which may be true for some Dark Matter candidates but not for all. So, this can be seen either as an introduction to a specialized topic or an out-of-the-box introduction to the field of Dark Matter in general. No matter if you are a theoretical particle physicist, an observational astronomer, or a ground based experimentalist, no matter if you are a grad student or an active researcher, you can benefit from this text, for a simple reason: a non-standard candidate for Dark Matter can teach you a lot about what we truly know about our standard picture of how the Universe works.