Department of Physics

Abstract: Most of the matter in our universe is composed of a mysterious dark component, whose particle properties and cosmic origin are still largely unknown.  
Current terrestrial searches for the dark matter of our universe leave open the possibility that this dark matter does not interact appreciably with known Standard Model particles.  Such feebly-interacting dark matter is a challenge to discover and characterize, but it can also present new opportunities for probing the particle physics of the universe at very early times.  I will talk about some observational signatures of dark matter from hidden sectors, and highlight in particular some gravitational footprints of dark sectors that can potentially shed light on the particle content and evolution of the very early universe.