Heavy WIMP Effective Theory

Abstract

Observed anomalies in astrophysical systems, ranging from galactic to cosmological in scale, provide compelling evidence for dark matter. Independent and increasingly precise measurements of the cosmic abundance of total matter and of its baryonic component (e.g., from the cosmic microwave background, big bang nucleosynthesis and large-scale structure) have converged on the picture that ∼ 85 % of the matter in the universe cannot be explained by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. While evidence from rotation curves of spiral galaxies may suggest modifications to the theory of gravity, lensing measurements indicate gravitational sources in regions with no baryonic matter, favoring the idea of unseen massive clusters. Beyond the gravitational interaction that implies its existence, there is however little known about the particle nature of dark matter. Does it have non-gravitational interactions with Standard Model particles? Is there a single particle, or an intricate structure of multiple particles similar to the Standard Model? Is it a fundamental particle, or a composite object arising from nonperturbative dynamics? What are its mass and spin?