Dark Matter

The current challenge for the field is to understand what exactly dark matter is. Since it cannot be one of the known particles, there must be physics beyond the Standard Model. This doesn’t mean the Standard Model is wrong, just incomplete. Theorists have devised several ways to extend the Standard Model self-consistently, preserving the parts that work and making predictions that include a stable particle (or more than one) interacting with ordinary matter through gravity. We are currently testing these theories with various probes: from colliders like the LHC, where we try to produce dark matter by smashing ordinary particles at high energies, to underground experiments where we expect dark matter particles to leave signals when colliding with the material in the experiment. We’re also examining exotic signals in astrophysical environments that can’t be explained by known astrophysics and could indicate physics beyond the Standard Model.

I have worked in several areas of the Dark Matter searches field: from how some dark matter candidates may have affected the birth, life and death of stars, including the first ones in the Universe, to understanding which is the imprint that annihilation of dark matter would leave in the CMB, to the latest studies on the actual presence and distribution of dark matter in our own Galaxy, the Milky Way. We are also using the latest generation of high energy observatories like the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) to get indications of possible Dark Matter related physics in astrophysical systems.

You can find the actual papers pointed out in my Publication list, and of course contact me directly for more details if you want.