Methods of setting dark matter relic abundance

Isabel Sands, TAPIR / Caltech

The nature of dark matter remains one of the great outstanding mysteries in the fields of astrophysics, cosmology, and particle physics. Observations have determined the amount of dark matter in the universe, but how that exact amount came into being is an active topic of theoretical work. In this blackboard talk, I will give a brief overview of the primary mechanisms commonly invoked to set the dark matter relic abundance in the universe: freeze-out, freeze-in, and the axion misalignment mechanism (if time permits).

Host: Rui

Files: