UV Sensitivity of Dark Matter

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:12040057,
            doi = {10.48660/12040057},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/12040057},
            author = {Watson, Scott},
            keywords = {Cosmology},
            language = {en},
            title = {UV Sensitivity of Dark Matter},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2012},
            month = {apr},
            note = {PIRSA:12040057 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }
          

Abstract

In this talk I will present evidence that accounting for the presence of hierarchies in string compactifications naturally leads to a UV sensitivity of dark matter in contrast to what is usually assumed. In particular, we will see that the existence of cosmological moduli may lead to a non-thermal history for the early universe and modifications in the primordial production of dark matter. If such a history were realized it would not only require probing new regions in dark matter searches, but also imply that a detection of dark matter would provide a direct probe on the early universe and the UV -- contrary to the thermal WIMP case. Regardless of the history of the early universe I will argue that if current string constructions are representative of more general models then all weak-scale dark matter would indeed be UV sensitive and would be a new prediction of string theory - falsifiable by experiment.