Introduction to Dark Matter

Evidence, Candidates, and Experimental Searches
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-28880-6
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 291 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Lecture Notes in Physics

This open access book offers an accessible introduction, ideal for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, to the evidence and experimental searches for dark matter. A wide range of astrophysical and cosmological observations show that our universe is dominated by a new, non baryonic form of matter that binds galaxies and galaxy clusters together. This invisible substance shapes the formation of cosmic structures on the largest scales and is a cornerstone of the standard cosmological model.
The book reviews what is currently known about dark matter and the evidence that supports its existence. It presents the leading particle candidates and provides an in depth overview of the main methods used to search for them. These include both direct and indirect detection techniques, as well as space based and Earth based experiments, from satellite observations to detectors housed in deep underground laboratories.

Zielgruppe

Graduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Baudis, Laura

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Astronomische Beobachtung: Observatorien, Instrumente, Methoden
• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Kosmologie, Urknalltheorie
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Quantenphysik Teilchenphysik
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Angewandte Physik Astrophysik
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Quantenphysik Atom- und Molekülphysik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction.- Observational Evidence for Dark Matter.- Dark matter candidates.- Direct Detection of Dark Matter.- Searches for Axions, Axion-like-particles and Dark Photons.- Astrophysical Detection of Dark Matter.

Über Autor(innen)

Laura Baudis is a professor of experimental physics at the University of Zurich and an internationally recognized expert in direct dark matter detection and neutrinoless double beta decay. She develops detectors aimed at discovering and studying dark matter particles and uncovering fundamental properties of neutrinos.Prof. Baudis received her PhD from the University of Heidelberg in 1999 and subsequently held a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. In 2004, she joined the University of Florida as an assistant professor, where she received an NSF CAREER Award in 2005. She was awarded the Lichtenberg Professorship for Astroparticle Physics at RWTH Aachen University in 2006, and in 2007 she joined the Physics Department at the University of Zurich. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature, and the recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant in 2017 for the Xenoscope project, which supports critical R&D for the XLZD observatory. In 2022, she was awarded the Charpak–Ritz Prize by the French and Swiss Physical Societies and in 2025 she became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.