Related papers: Scattering meets absorption in dark matter detecti…
In this thesis, we present a comprehensive and pedagogical overview of dark matter (DM). Chapter 1 discusses the main evidences for its existence, its properties, and potential candidates. We then explore major detection strategies, with…
We present a new technique for sub-GeV dark matter (DM) searches and a new use of neutrino observatories. DM-electron scattering in an observatory can excite or ionize target molecules, which then produce light that can be detected by the…
Dark matter and neutrinos provide the two most compelling pieces of evidence for new physics beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics but they are often treated as two different sectors. The aim of this paper is to determine whether…
Much like ordinary matter, dark matter might consist of elementary particles, and weakly interacting massive particles are one of the prime suspects. During the past decade, the sensitivity of experiments trying to directly detect them has…
We propose a dark matter model in which the signal in direct detection experiments arises from electromagnetic, not nuclear, energy deposition. This can provide a novel explanation for DAMA while avoiding many direct detection constraints.…
The presence of dark matter has been ascertained through a wealth of astrophysical and cosmological phenomena and its nature is a central puzzle in modern science. Elementary particles stand as the most compelling explanation. They have…
We analyze the sensitivity of searches for dark matter in the jets and missing energy channel in the case where the particle mediating interactions between hadronic matter and DM is collider accessible. We consider all tree level UV…
We present new observational constraints on the elastic scattering of dark matter with electrons for dark matter masses between 10 keV and 1 TeV. We consider scenarios in which the momentum-transfer cross section has a power-law dependence…
We study direct detection bounds on cosmic ray-upscattered dark matter in simplified models including light mediators. We find that the energy dependence in the scattering cross section is significant, and produces stronger bounds than…
Inelastic dark matter (IDM) models feature an energy threshold for scattering with Standard Model particles, which enables their consistency with the increasingly stringent limits placed by direct detection experiments. In a typical…
We propose a novel direct detection concept to search for dark matter with 100~keV to 100~MeV masses. Such dark matter can scatter off molecules in a gas and transfer an $\mathcal{O}(1)$ fraction of its kinetic energy to excite a…
We present prospects for discovering dark matter scattering in gravitational wave detectors. The focus of this work is on light, particle dark matter with masses below 1 GeV/c$^{2}$. We investigate how a potential signal compares to typical…
We perform the first high-throughput search and evaluation of materials that can serve as excellent low-mass dark matter detectors. Using properties of close to one thousand materials from the Materials Project database, we project the…
Dark matter is typically assumed not to couple to the photon at tree level. While annihilation to photons through quark loops is often considered in indirect detection searches, such loop-level effects are usually neglected in direct…
We take into account a generic form of a Dirac fermionic dark matter (DM), which communicates with the Standard Model quarks via a scalar mediator, in a model-independent way. Four special interaction scenarios are investigated, where one…
We examine in greater detail the recent proposal of using superconductors for detecting dark matter as light as the warm dark matter limit of O(keV). Detection of such light dark matter is possible if the entire kinetic energy of the dark…
Non-baryonic, or "dark," matter is believed to be a major component of the total mass budget of the universe. We review the candidates for particle dark matter and discuss the prospects for direct detection (via interaction of dark matter…
Direct detection of light dark matter can be significantly enhanced by up-scattering of dark matter with energetic particles in the cosmic ambient. This boosted dark matter flux can reach kinetic energies up to tens of MeV, while the…
If dark matter has a sizable scattering cross section with nucleons, it can efficiently be captured by a neutron star. Its energy is then transferred to the neutron star as heat through the scattering and annihilation inside the star. This…
Compact stellar objects are promising cosmic laboratories to test the nature of dark matter (DM). DM captured by the strong gravitational field of these stellar remnants transfers kinetic energy to the star during the collision. This can…