Related papers: Bend it like dark matter!
I show that a very simple model in the context of Newtonian physics promoted to a first approximation of general relativity can mimic Dark matter and explain most of its intriguing properties. Namely: i) Dark matter is a halo associated to…
This paper reviews statistical methods recently developed to reconstruct and analyze dark matter mass maps from weak lensing observations. The field of weak lensing is motivated by the observations made in the last decades showing that the…
The nature of dark matter is one of the most pressing questions in particle physics. Yet all our present knowledge of the dark sector to date comes from its gravitational interactions with astrophysical systems. Moreover, astronomical…
To teach the topic of Dark Matter in Galaxies to undergraduate and PhD students is not easy, one reason being that the scientific community has not converged yet to a generally shared knowledge. We argue that the teaching of this topic and…
Well known scaling laws among the structural properties of the dark and the luminous matter in disc systems are too complex to be arisen by two inert components that just share the same gravitational field. This brings us to critically…
Dark matter represents currently an outstanding problem in both cosmology and particle physics. In this review we discuss the possible explanations for dark matter and the experimental observables which can eventually lead to the discovery…
The problem of the dark matter in the universe is reviewed. A short history of the subject is given, and several of the most obvious particle candidates for dark matter are identified. Particular focus is given to weakly interacting,…
The observational evidence for dark matter on progressively larger cosmic scales is reviewed in a rather pedagogical fashion. Although the emphasis is on dark matter in galaxies and in clusters of galaxies, its cosmological evidence as well…
After exactly a century since the formulation of the general theory of relativity, the phenomenon of gravitational lensing is still an extremely powerful method for investigating in astrophysics and cosmology. Indeed, it is adopted to study…
These are the lecture notes for an introductory course on black holes and some aspects of their interaction with the classical and quantum world. The focus is on phenomena of "fundamental physics" in the immediate surroundings of the black…
Dark matter is one of the pillars of the current standard model of structure formation: it is assumed to constitute most of the matter in the Universe. However, it can so far only be probed indirectly through its gravitational effects, and…
In this pedestrian approach I give my personal point of view on the various problems posed by dark matter in the universe. After a brief historical overview I discuss the various solutions stemming from high energy particle physics, and the…
Dark matter structures within strong gravitational lens galaxies and along their line of sight leave a gravitational imprint on the multiple images of lensed sources. Strong gravitational lensing provides, therefore, a key test of different…
Well known scaling laws among the structural properties of the dark and the luminous matter in disc systems are too complex to be arisen by two inert components that just share the same gravitational field. This brings us to critically…
The distortion of the spacetime structure in the surroundings of black holes affects the trajectories of light rays. As a consequence, black holes can act as gravitational lenses. Observations of type Ia supernovas, show that our Universe…
While dark matter (DM) makes up roughly 80% of the total matter in the Universe, its microscopic properties remain one of the biggest questions in Cosmology today. Fortunately, those properties dictate the distribution and form of…
Dark matter (DM) is a new type of invisible matter introduced to explain various features of recent astrophysical observations, including galaxy rotation curves and other fundamental characteristics of our universe. DM may couple to…
To fully understand the present position concerning so-called dark matter, it is necessary to examine the historical background since, only by following this approach, do all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Here an attempt is made…
Strong gravitational lensing is a key probe to trace dark matter. It assumes that mass curves spacetime so that light from a background source is deflected on its way to the observer. If dark matter contributes the major part to a massive…
Dark matter is the name assigned to one of the most important contemporary challenges that fundamental physics research is facing. In recent years, the hypothesis that dark matter might be "light" is gaining interest. Following this idea,…