Bound state effects in dark matter genesis - pushing the boundaries of higher excitations

by Jan Heisig (Aachen University)

Friday 20 Oct 2023, 14:00 → 15:30 Europe/Warsaw

4402 (IFJ)

The nature of dark matter in our Universe poses one of the most pressing questions in fundamental physics today. While weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) have been the leading candidate for dark matter in the past decades, alternative explanations have gained more and more attention due to a growing number of null-results in experimental WIMP searches. Here, we go beyond the WIMP paradigm by considering scenarios containing strongly interacting particles. As a phenomenological application, we consider a simplified dark matter model featuring a t-channel mediator charged under SU(3)_c (SM QCD). The model allows for dark matter genesis via so-called conversion-driven freeze-out or superWIMP production. Tests at the LHC as well as cosmological probes of the small scale structure are also discussed.

Heisig_Krakow.pdf