(T) Stanford University’s KIPA – Kavli Institute for particle astrophysics and cosmology – had three public in-person lectures, earlier this summer about dark matter, that I attended. Those lectures are a wonderful way for everyone to explore the latest research about dark matter.

Below are the presenters, abstracts, and the videos of those three lectures:

Title: “Wave-like Dark Matter: Listening Through A Dark Matter Radio“

Abstract:

“The nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of the modern era. All the matter that we see makes up just one sixth of the total mass of the Universe – there’s five times as much again in this mysterious stuff we call ‘dark matter’. We know it’s there, but we know close to nothing about what it’s made of. Different people have proposed new particles and objects ranging from the very small – lighter than a single subatomic particle – to the very large – heavier even than the Sun. The lighter, wave-like and heavier, particle-like dark matter candidates, behave differently and require different strategies to detect. In this lecture, Dr. Maria Simanovskaia will discuss a particular, promising dark matter candidate called an ‘axion,’ which, if detected, would also explain why the neutron is missing an electric dipole moment. She will also introduce the DMRadio collaboration, a team she is part of to build the world’s most sensitive radio that interacts with axion dark matter. Dr. Simanovskaia will wrap up the lecture by discussing the requirements needed for detecting a weak dark matter signal and the current technology development for tackling these challenges.”

Speaker: Dr. Maria Simanovskaia (KIPAC/Stanford)

Video:

Title: “Particle-like Dark Matter: When All Other Lights Go Out“

Abstract:

“Deep in underground laboratories sit some of humanity’s most sensitive detectors. Their purpose is to discover dark matter, an unknown substance that makes up ~80% of the mass in our universe, but whose nature remains shrouded in mystery. New particles with extremely weak interactions have been proposed as natural candidates for dark matter, and physicists are actively building detectors to search for them. In this lecture, Dr. Jelle Aalbers will discuss efforts to build and operate large detectors that search for rare small light flashes from dark matter particles bouncing off of regular atoms. He will present what we have learned so far from these experiments, including preliminary results from the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, a dark matter detector filled with 7 tons of liquid xenon in a South Dakota gold mine.”

Speaker: Dr. Jelle Aalbers KIPAC/Stanford)

Video:

Title: “Dark Matter Searches with Astrophysical Objects“

Abstract:

“While multiple lines of evidence suggest the existence of dark matter in the Universe, the theory describing it remains completely unknown and requires new search ideas to resolve its identity. It turns out that stars and planets can be ideal playgrounds to discover dark matter. In this lecture, Dr. Rebecca Leane will review a range of dark matter searches using celestial objects, including exoplanets, solar-system planets, the Sun, and the Earth. She will discuss different search strategies, their opportunities and limitations, and the interplay of regimes where different celestial objects are optimal dark matter detectors.”

Speaker: Dr. Rebecca Leane (KIPAC/SLAC)

Video:

Note: The picture above is from Dr. Rebecca Leane’s lecture.

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