Standard model extensions and its connection to dark matter

• Grant number: 14/18388-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: January 05, 2015
• End date: December 18, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Ivone Freire da Mota e Albuquerque
• Grantee: Denis Stefan Robertson Sotelo
• Supervisor: Kathryn M. Zurek
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/10697-6 - Indirect Probes of Dark Matter: Neutrino Signatures of Self-Interactions., BP.DR

Abstract

The dark matter's composition is one of most relevant open questions in cosmology and astrophysics. Current best estimates indicate that it accounts for about 84% of all matter present in the Universe. Interestingly, theoretical models that extend the standard model of particle physics, which had independent motivations, present new particles that are good dark matter candidates. In this project we will focus on investigating such extensions and their connection to the dark matter problem. We will start analyzing supersymmetric extensions, focusing on the Next to Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We will develop methods to probe dark matter candidates within these extensions comparing our predictions with current available observations from astrophysics and particle physics. Particularly, we will analyze the dark matter relic abundance, consistency with results from direct and indirect detection experiments like LUX and Fermi-LAT and also with Higgs phenomenology at the LHC. (AU)