New directions in secluded dark matter searches

by Torsten Bringmann (University of Oslo)

Tuesday 14 Apr 2026, 15:00 → 16:30 Europe/Zurich

On-line only (CERN)

Less than 20% of the total matter content of the universe consists of known forms of matter. After decades of experimental efforts, the leading hypothesis for the missing part - namely a new type of weakly interacting massive particle - is starting to become seriously pressured. As a result, the true nature of dark matter is more elusive now than ever.
I will start with a pedagogic reminder of the most convincing pieces of evidence that we have for the existence of dark matter. I will then highlight new model building avenues that may explain why traditional searches have, so far, failed to see any signals. In fact, I will argue that it might well be generally impossible to directly detect or produce any dark matter particles in the laboratory - but that cosmological and astrophysical observations still have the potential to conclusively pinpoint some of their microscopic properties.

Colloquium_Bringmann_EUCAPT.pdf

Recording