We summarize the main features of several dark matter candidates in extra-dimensional theories. In particular, we review Kaluza-Klein (KK) gravitons in universal extra dimensions and branons in brane-world models. KK gravitons are superWIMP (superweakly-interacting massive particle) dark matter, and branons are WIMP (weakly-interacting massive particle) dark matter. Both dark matter candidates ...

After a short review of the arguments for the existence of Particle Dark Matter in the Universe, I list the most plausible candidates provided by particle physics, i.e. neutrinos, axions, and WIMPs. In each case I briefly describe how to estimate the relic density, and discuss attempts at detecting these particles. At the end I discuss my personal favorite, the lightest supersymmetric particle,...

More than 90% of matter in the Universe could be composed of heavy particles, which were non-relativistic, or 'cold', when they froze-out from the primordial soup. I will review current searches for these hypothetical particles, both via interactions with nuclei in deep underground detectors, and via the observation of their annihilation products in the Sun, galactic halo and galactic center.

Dark matter is presumably made of some new, exotic particle that appears in extensions of the Standard Model. After giving a brief overview of some popular candidates, I discuss in more detail the most appealing case of the supersymmetric neutralino.

A short tour of supersymmetric dark matter and its connection to collider physics. 1. Quest for the dark matter Recently the existence of dark matter has been confirmed through the CMB measurements [1]. Because the baryon density of the universe Ωb is only 1/6 of the matter density of the universe Ωmh = 0.27 ± 0.04, the dark matter should be explained by the physics beyond standard model(SM). T...

One of the possible methods to distinguish among various dark matter candidates is to study the effects of dark matter decays. We consider four different dark matter candidates (light dark matter, gravitinos, neutralinos and sterile neutrinos), for each of them deriving the decaying/annihilation rate, the influence on reionization, matter temperature and CMB spectra. We find that light dark mat...

Galaxies are lighthouses that sit atop peaks in the density field. There is good observational evidence that these lighthouses do not provide a uniform description of the distribution of dark matter.

Stars account for only about 0.5% of the content of the Universe; the bulk of the Universe is optically dark. The dark side of the Universe is comprised of: at least 0.1% light neutrinos; 3.5% ± 1% baryons; 29% ± 4% cold dark matter; and 66% ± 6% dark energy. Now that we have characterized the dark side of the Universe, the challenge is to understand it. The critical questions are: (1) What for...

We demonstrate that if the universe is dominated by the massive cold dark matter, then besides the generally believed thermal distribution of the dark matter relics, there may exist some very energetic non-thermal relics of the dark matter particles in the universe from some unknown sources, such as from decay of supermassive X particle released from topological defect collapse or annihilation....

A dilaton could be the dominant messenger between standard model fields and dark matter. The measured dark matter relic abundance relates the dark matter mass and spin to the conformal breaking scale. The dark matter-nucleon spin-independent cross section is predicted in terms of the dilaton mass. We compute the current constraints on the dilaton from LEP and Tevatron experiments, and the gamma...