Related papers: Does Physics Need 'Dark Matter'?
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…
Dark matter in the universe seems to be one of the most important puzzles science has to face in this moment. In this essay we point out that dark matter could be a spin-0 fundamental interaction of Nature rather than a simple particle.…
The existence of dark matter was suggested, using simple gravitational arguments, seventy years ago. Although we are now convinced that most of the mass in the Universe is indeed some non-luminous matter, we still do not know its…
The astronomical dark matter is an essential component of the Universe and yet its nature is still unresolved. It could be made of neutral and massive elementary particles which are their own antimatter partners. These dark matter species…
Dark Matter is one of the most intriguing riddles of modern astrophysics. The Standard Cosmological Model implies that only 4.5% of the mass-energy of the Universe is baryonic matter and the remaining 95% is unknown. Of this remainder, 22%…
In this work we review some of the theoretical efforts and experimental evidences related to Dark matter and Dark energy problems in the universe. These dilemmas show us how incomplete our knowledge of gravity is, and how our concepts about…
The majority of the matter in the universe is still unidentified and under investigation by both direct and indirect means. Many experiments searching for the recoil of dark-matter particles off target nuclei in underground laboratories…
Dark matter is one of the main puzzles in fundamental physics and the goal of a diverse, multi-pronged research program. Underground and astrophysical searches search for dark matter particles in the cosmos, either by interacting directly…
For physicists, recent developments in astrophysics and cosmology present exciting challenges. We are conducting "experiments" in energy regimes some of which will be probed by accelerators in the near future, and others which are…
Over the past decade, a consensus picture has emerged in which roughly a quarter of the universe consists of dark matter. The observational evidence for the existence of dark matter is reviewed: rotation curves of galaxies, weak lensing…
This is a brief introduction to branon physics and its role in the dark matter problem. We pay special attention to the phenomenological consequences, both in high-energy particle physics experiments and in astrophysical and cosmological…
Rotation curve measurements provided the first strong indication that a significant fraction of matter in the Universe is non-baryonic. Since then, a tremendous amount of progress has been made on both the theoretical and experimental…
The Standard Model is in good shape, apart possibly from g_\mu - 2 and some niggling doubts about the electroweak data. Something like a Higgs boson is required to provide particle masses, but theorists are actively considering…
Without a doubt many problems in physics arise as a consequence of our philosophical conception of the world. In this contribution however we endeavor to alleviate this scenario by putting forward a philosophical approach under which some…
The search for dark matter is a very wide and active field of research. Many potential hints of dark matter have appeared recently which led to a burst of theoretical activity and model building. I necessarily concentrate here only in some…
This paper presents a brief review of the evidence for dark matter in the Universe on the scales of galaxies. In the interests of critically and objectively testing the dark matter paradigm on these scales, this evidence is weighed against…
Numerous observations point towards the existence of an unknown elementary particle with no electromagnetic interactions, a large population of which was presumably produced in the early stages of the history of the Universe. This so-called…
It is a puzzle why the densities of dark matter and dark energy are nearly equal today when they scale so differently during the expansion of the universe. This conundrum may be solved if there is a coupling between the two dark sectors. In…
The high-quality cosmological data, which became available in the last decade, have thrusted upon us a rather preposterous composition for the universe which poses one of the greatest challenges theoretical physics has ever faced: the…
The pervasive presence in space of a flux of high-speed, electrically uncharged dark matter particles is examined here for potential consequences. Dark matter interactions with ordinary matter are considered, and a model of the dark matter…