Related papers: The Physics Case for Axions, WIMPs, WISPs and Othe…
"Light-shining-through-a-wall" experiments search for Weakly Interacting Sub-eV Particles (WISPs). The necessity and status of such enterprises as well as their future potential are sketched.
The recent WMAP data have confirmed that exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant) dominate in the flat Universe. The nature of the dark matter constituents cannot be determined till they are directly…
In these proceedings we illustrate that light, very weakly interacting particles can arise naturally from physics which is fundamentally connected to very high energy scales. Searching for them therefore may give us interesting new insights…
More and more claims of having detected WIMP dark matter are being put forward. Some are discussed here, stressing the importance of exploiting distinctive signatures to ascertain their WIMP origin. The best signals for WIMP discovery are…
This is the mini-review on Dark Matter in the 2012 edition of the Particle Data Group's Review of Particle Properties. After briefly summarizing the arguments in favor of the existence of Dark Matter, we list possible candidates, ranging in…
We have strong evidence on all cosmic scales, from galaxies to the largest structures ever observed, that there is more matter in the universe than we can see. Galaxies and clusters would fly apart unless they would be held together by…
The axion is a light pseudoscalar particle postulated to solve issues with the Standard Model, including the strong CP problem and the origin of dark matter. In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in the physics of axions in…
For many working in particle physics and cosmology successful discovery and characterisation of the new particles that most likely explain the non-baryonic cold dark matter, known to comprise the majority of matter in the Universe, would be…
The status and prospects of the experimental efforts in the detection of Particle Dark Matter is reviewed. Emphasis is put in the direct searches for WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), outlining the various strategies and…
This write--up gives a rather elementary introduction into particle physics aspects of the cosmological Dark Matter puzzle. A fairly comprehensive list of possible candidates is given; in each case the production mechanism and possible ways…
Experimental searches for axions or axion-like particles rely on semiclassical phenomena resulting from the postulated coupling of the axion to two photons. Sensitive probes of the extremely small coupling constant can be made by exploiting…
After a short review of the arguments for the existence of Particle Dark Matter in the Universe, I list the most plausible candidates provided by particle physics, i.e. neutrinos, axions, and WIMPs. In each case I briefly describe how to…
Multiple astrophysical and cosmological observations show that the majority of the matter in the universe is non-luminous. It is not made of known particles, and it is called dark matter. This is one of the few pieces of concrete…
Despite the undeniable success of the Standard Model of particle physics (SM) there are some phenomena (neutrino oscillations, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, dark matter, etc.) that SM cannot explain. These phenomena indicate that the SM…
Shining light through walls? At first glance this sounds crazy. However, very feeble gravitational and electroweak effects allow for this exotic possibility. Unfortunately, with present and near future technologies the opportunity to…
Once weakly-interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are unambiguously detected in direct-detection experiments, the challenge will be to determine what one may infer from the data. Here, I examine the prospects for reconstructing the local…
We review several current aspects of dark matter theory and experiment. We overview the present experimental status, which includes current bounds and recent claims and hints of a possible signal in a wide range of experiments: direct…
The existence of dark matter as evidenced by numerous indirect observations is one of the most important indications that there must be physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. This article reviews the concepts of direct…
This document is based on lectures delivered at a recent COSMIC WISPers COST Action training school in Annecy in September 2025. They examine detection of weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs), specifically axions and high-frequency…
Several ideas for new physics beyond the standard model may provide particle candidates for the dark matter in the Galactic halo. The two leading candidates are an axion and a weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP), such as the…