Related papers: Detecting the Milky Way's Dark Disk
We present a detailed analysis of the effect of an observationally determined dark matter (DM) velocity distribution function (VDF) of the Milky Way (MW) on DM direct detection rates. We go beyond local kinematic tracers and use rotation…
The infall of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) into the Milky Way's halo impacts the distribution of stars and dark matter in our Galaxy. Mapping the observational consequences of this encounter can inform us about the properties of both…
Although highly successful on cosmological scales, Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models predict unobserved over-dense `cusps' in dwarf galaxies and overestimate their formation rate. We consider an ultra-light axion-like scalar boson which…
The recent WMAP data have confirmed that exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant) dominate in the flat Universe. Modern particle theories naturally provide viable cold dark matter candidates with masses in…
Numerical simulations of Milky-Way size Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos predict a steeply rising mass function of small dark matter subhalos and a substructure count that greatly outnumbers the observed satellites of the Milky Way. Several…
We consider the direct detection of WIMPs reaching the Earth from outside the Milky Way. If these WIMPs form a distinct population they will, although of much lower flux than typical galactic halo WIMPs, have a number of features which…
Directional detection can provide unambiguous observation of Dark Matter interactions even in presence of insidious backgrounds. The DM-TPC collaboration is developing a detector with the goal of measuring the direction and sense of nuclear…
A light scalar WIMP is studied in view of the recent results of the DAMA collaboration. In a scenario where both the WIMP's annihilation and its elastic scattering on nuclei occur dominantly through Higgs exchange, a one-to-one relation…
The cold dark matter (CDM) model faces persistent challenges on small scales. In particular, taken at face value, the model significantly overestimates the number of satellite galaxies around the Milky Way. Attempts to solve this problem…
Warm dark matter (WDM) can potentially explain small-scale observations that currently challenge the cold dark matter (CDM) model, as warm particles suppress structure formation due to free-streaming effects. Observing small-scale matter…
We test the luminosity function of Milky Way satellites as a constraint for the nature of Dark Matter particles. We perform dissipationless high-resolution N-body simulations of the evolution of Galaxy-sized halo in the standard Cold Dark…
Direct detection experiments searching for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter typically use a simplified model of the Galactic halo to derive parameter constraints. However, there is strong evidence that this Standard…
The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) experiment uses CF_4 gas at low pressure (0.1 atm) to search for the directional signature of Galactic WIMP dark matter. We describe the DMTPC apparatus and summarize recent results from a…
We explore the possible signatures of dark matter (DM) pair annihilations in the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxy Draco. After investigating the mass models for Draco in the light of available observational data, we carefully model the DM…
Direct detection experiments are poised to detect dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The signals expected in these experiments depend on the ultra-local WIMP density and velocity distribution. Firstly…
The magnetic inelastic dark matter (MiDM) model, in which dark matter inelastically scatters off nuclei through a magnetic dipole interaction, has previously been shown to reconcile the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signal with null results…
We investigate the effects of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) on the tidal stripping and evaporation of satellite galaxies in a Milky Way-like host. We use a suite of five zoom-in, dark-matter-only simulations, two with…
Cold Dark Matter (CDM) theory, a pillar of modern cosmology and astrophysics, predicts the existence of a large number of starless dark matter halos surrounding the Milky Way (MW). However, clear observational evidence of these "dark"…
Joint analyses of small-scale cosmological structure probes are relatively unexplored and promise to advance measurements of microphysical dark matter properties using heterogeneous data. Here, we present a multidimensional analysis of dark…
A critical challenge to the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm is that there are fewer satellites observed around the Milky Way than found in simulations of dark matter substructure. We show that there is a match between the observed satellite…