Advances in the exploration of particle dark matter signals
Nicolao Fornengo
Torino University
Mercredi 27/05/2009, 14:15
Salle Claude Itzykson, Bât. 774, Orme des Merisiers
The particle physics interpretation of the missing-mass, or dark-matter, problem of cosmological and astrophysical nature is going to be posed under strong scrutiny in the next years. From the particle physics side, the LHC will deeply test theoretical ideas of new physics beyond the Standard Model, where a particle physics candidate to dark matter is often naturally obtained. From the astrophysical side, many probes are already providing a great deal of independent information on the signals which can be produced by the galactic or extra-galactic dark matter.
The new-generation experimental efforts are therefore going to pose under deep scrutiny the theoretical determinations of the relevant detection signals. The ultimate hope is in fact to be able to disentangle a dark matter signal from the various sources of backgrounds. In this review I will discuss recent advancements in the theoretical studies of the dark matter detection signals and backgrounds, including the study of the origin and the size of the main sources of uncertainty. I will then confront the current and foreseen experimental capabilities with theoretical predictions which arise in supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics.
Contact : mcirelli