I will discuss dark matter candidates that are thermal relics of the early universe. In the first part of the talk, I will present a roadmap for exploring various theories including the WIMP, dark sectors and more, using the observed relic density as guidance. In the second part, I will focus on a class of thermal relics that decouple relativistically early on and require a dilution mechanism...
The content of the universe is well known from astrophysical observations, from which we conclude that about 27% of the universe consists of cold dark matter. Current theories of what a particle physics candidate for dark matter might behave like, provide several avenues for detection of this missing component of our universe. I will discuss the experimental efforts to detect dark matter...
We explore the possibility of using superfluid helium for direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter (DM). We discuss the relevant phenomenology resulting from the scattering of an incident dark matter particle on a Helium nucleus. Rather than directly exciting quasi-particles, DM in this mass range will interact with a single He atom, triggering an atomic cascade which eventually also includes...
A compelling solution to the Dark Matter question is that DM particles are part of a “dark sector” with fields uncharged under the SM gauge group. On the other hand, conformal field theories are ubiquitous and appear as fixed points of gauge theories. CFTs are scale-invariant and UV complete. In this work, we consider dark sectors described by conformal field theories and couple to the SM via...
We derive purely gravitational constraints on dark matter and cosmic neutrino profiles in the solar system using asteroid (101955) Bennu. We focus on Bennu because of its extensive tracking data and high-fidelity trajectory modeling resulting from the OSIRIS-REx mission. We find that the local density of dark matter is bound by $\rho_{\rm DM} < 3.3\times 10^{-15}\;\rm kg/m^3 \simeq...
In this talk, I will describe my efforts to understand the nature of the mysterious dark matter, using the assumption that dark matter is comprised of ultralight axions. From the optical to the X-ray and gamma-ray universe, astrophysics has a role to play in understanding the details of this major problem in particle physics. I will give some insight into how I am using a range of tools to get...
The detection of gravitational wave radiation by LIGO in 2015 opened a new window onto the cosmos, and we are just now beginning to peer out into the unknown. Since this radiation can propagate unhindered through even an optically-thick medium, gravitational waves will prove to be a powerful probe of the early universe, which currently remains shrouded behind the photon’s surface of last...
For the last few decades, High Energy Physics has been a victim of its own early success. Despite numerous theoretical arguments why it cannot be the final explanation for the interactions of fundamental particles, the Standard Model of particle physics continues to withstand intense scrutiny of the most determined experimental physicists. One promising way to search for signs of new physics...
High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe Standard...
We will present the status of the of milliQan Run 3 Detector that has been installed in PX56 at CERN LHC P5. The Run 3 detector is expected to enhance the sensitivity to the search of milli-charged particles [1], comparing to that from the milliQan demonstrator which had been taking data during year 2018 of the LHC Run 2 [2].
[1] Phys. Rev. D 104, 032002
[2] Phys. Rev. D 102, 032002
Recently, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has observed the first image of the supermassive black hole
(Sgr A$^*$) at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. EHT observations also give some information
about the spin of Sgr A$^*$. They found that the dimensionless spin parameters (a$^*$) 0.5 and 0.94
have passed all their tests. These observations can be used to study the Ultra light...
Abstract: I will give a high-level overview of recent advances om machine learning for high energy physics, including developments in neural network architectures (e.g., graphs, transformers, and equivariant networks), generative modeling, anomaly detection, and fast inference.
CURTAINs is a fully data driven technique for creating background templates for use in searches for new physics processes. We employ invertible neural networks to learn the transformation to map any data point from its value of the resonant variable (e.g., invariant mass) to another chosen value. This conditional transformation allows us to create a template in the signal window, by mapping...
In this work, the invisible Higgs sector was investigated, where Higgs bosons are produced via the vector boson fusion (VBF) process and subsequently decay into invisible particles. The hypothesis under consideration is that the Higgs boson might decay into a pair of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are candidates for dark matter. The observed number of events are found to...
This paper presents the search for a new spin-1 boson in a four-lepton final state through the channel $H\rightarrow Z_dZ_d\rightarrow 4l$ where $Z_d$ is the new spin-1 boson, and $4\ell$ could be 4e 4$\mu$ or 2e2$\mu$. This analysis' mass range of the $Z_d$ probed lies between 15 - 60 GeV. We conducted this search using $pp$ collision data from the ATLAS detector corresponding to an...
Galaxy mergers are a standard aspect of galaxy formation and evolution, and most (likely all) large galaxies contain supermassive black holes. As part of the merging process, the supermassive black holes should in-spiral together and eventually merge, generating a background of gravitational radiation in the nanohertz to microhertz regime. An array of precisely timed pulsars spread across the...
In this presentation, I will review the current status of searches for connections between dark matter and neutrinos. Neutrinos can be a gateway to the dark sector as, e.g., they allow for the tree-level decay or annihilation of dark matter into neutrinos. I will describe the constraints on dark matter annihilation, decay, and scattering to neutrinos. Finally, I will provide an outlook for...
We will discuss a novel strategy to search for dark matter (DM)-electron scattering. DM interacting with electrons may get captured inside the Sun. These captured DM may annihilate to produce different Standard Models (SM) particles. Neutrinos produced from these SM states can be observed in IceCube and DeepCore. Although there is no excess of neutrinos from the Solar direction, we find that...
