DEPARTMENT COLLOQUIUM | In Search of Dark Matter: Theoretical Models and Their Experimental Signatures Speaker: Kathryn Zurek (U-M Physics)

The nature of dark matter is one of the most important outstanding problems in physics and cosmology. From observing astrophysical objects, we have learned that dark matter represents some 25% of the total energy of the universe, while ordinary matter weighs in at only about 4%. Although they make up a large fraction of the energy of the universe, dark matter particles interact with ordinary matter only very weakly, making their detection via interactions with ordinary matter difficult. We review theories of dark matter and discuss ways to look for dark matter through its signatures in the sky in gamma rays and cosmic rays, underground in direct detection experiments, and at the Large Hadron Collider.