Speaker: Javier Menéndez (University of Barcelona)

Title: Nuclear Theory To Reveal The Nature Of Dark Matter And Neutrinos

Abstract:

Unveiling the nature of dark matter is one the most exciting challenges in physics. While it constitutes about a quarter of the energy-density of the universe and 80% of its mass, the composition of dark matter remains elusive. Beyond the solid evidence based on its gravitational properties, a key step would be the direct detection in the laboratory, a program led by searches of the scattering of dark matter particles off atomic nuclei. Naturally, the interpretation of these experiments depends on the nuclear physics input that describes the dark matter scattering off nuclei. Assuming a scenario where dark matter is mainly composed by WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles) that couple to quarks and gluons, I will introduce nuclear theory insights needed to characterize the possible nuclear-WIMP interactions, with focus on which WIMP-nucleus interactions can receive contributions from several nucleons in the nucleus (coherence), or how experiments could distinguish between different WIMP-nucleus interactions.

Likewise, the scattering of neutrinos off nuclei and a rare proposed nuclear decay, neutrinoless double-beta decay, can determine if neutrinos are its own antiparticles, and pin down physics beyond the Standard Model. Again, these processes depend on nuclear physics input that needs to be calculated from nuclear theory and which is key to interpret experimental searches. If time allows, I will also discuss the most prominent features of the nuclear matrix elements for coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering and neutrinoless double-beta decay.