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arXiv · 1301.0952

TASI 2012 Lectures on Astrophysical Probes of Dark Matter

Stefano Profumo
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Abstract

What is the connection between how the dark matter was produced in the early universe and how we can detect it today? Where does the WIMP miracle come from, and is it really a "WIMP" miracle? What brackets the mass range for thermal relics? Where does <σv> come from, and what does it mean? What is the difference between chemical and kinetic decoupling? Why do some people think that dark matter cannot be lighter than 40 GeV? Why is b\bar b such a popular annihilation final state? Why is antimatter a good way to look for dark matter? Why should the cosmic-ray positron fraction decline with energy, and why does it not? How does one calculate the flux of neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in a celestial body, and when is that flux independent of the dark matter pair-annihilation rate? How does dark matter produce photons? Read these lecture notes, do the suggested 10 exercises, and you will find answers to all of these questions (and to many more on what You Always Wanted to Know About Dark Matter But Were Afraid to Ask).

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Stefano Profumo. 2013-01-05. TASI 2012 Lectures on Astrophysical Probes of Dark Matter. https://arxiv.org/abs/1301.0952

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