Increasingly accurate astronomical and cosmological observations reveal that most of the matter in the Universe is non luminous, and made of an unknown substance called dark matter (DM). The nature of DM remains a mystery, but indirect evidence points towards a new hypothetical particle as the prime candidate. Although the DM particle has so far escaped detection, a new generation of experiments is or will soon start operating, reaching the sensitivity required by the state-of-the-art theories to discover the first non-gravitational signals of DM.
The aim of this conference is to deliver optimised strategies for DM particle identification. This aim will be pursued by bringing together theoretical and experimental physicists in order to direct efforts jointly and wisely.
Topics to be covered in the conference include:
- Status report on the experimental search for DM.
- DM phenomenology.
- DM theory.
- Complementarity of different DM detection strategies and global statistical analyses.
- Astrophysical and nuclear physics inputs.
