Dark Matter in Astrophysics/Cosmology

Abstract

These lecture notes aim to provide an introduction to dark matter from the perspective of astrophysics/cosmology. We start with a rapid overview of cosmology, including the evolution of the Universe, its thermal history and structure formation. Then we look at the observational evidence for dark matter, from observations of galaxies, galaxy clusters, the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation and large scale structure. To detect dark matter we need to know how it's distributed, in particular in the Milky Way, so next we overview relevant results from numerical simulations and observations. Finally, we conclude by looking at what astrophysical and cosmological observations can tell us about the nature of dark matter, focusing on two particular cases: warm and self-interacting dark matter.

arXiv comment35 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to SciPost Physics Lecture Notes, Les Houches Summer School Series, v2: minor changes

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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Momentum transfer in the dark sector and lensing convergence in upcoming galaxy surveys
• Starburst Nuclei as Light Dark Matter Laboratories