Towards the Identification of Dark Matter

The detection and identification of the dark matter (DM), which makes up about 85% of all existing matter in the Universe, constitutes a key challenge in modern Physics. In fact, the evidence supporting the existence of large amounts of this new kind of particle is possibly one of the clearest hints for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Dark matter can be searched for directly (through its elastic scattering with nuclei inside a detector), indirectly (attempting to observe its annihilation products) or in particle colliders. The remarkable efforts in Astroparticle Physics experiments and the onset of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) offer the unique possibility of attacking this problem from complementary perspectives. A complete understanding of the nature of the DM and the correct model for new Physics can only come from the combined study of signals originating from the different kinds of experiments. This defines the framework in which the project will be developed.
We will investigate the reconstruction of DM parameters from hypothetical future data in direct and indirect detection experiments, exploiting the combination of different experimental techniques and investigating the effect uncertainties (e.g., astrophysical and nuclear). In the particular case of direct detection experiments, we will consider the most general Effective Lagrangian formalism to describe the DM-nucleus interaction. We will also study the effect of annual modulation on these new operators. Real data from these experiments is expected in the coming years. We will attempt to interpret it in terms of particle physics models for DM, trying also to address compatibility with results at the Large Hadron Collider.