Yet Another Introduction to Dark Matter

Abstract

Dark matter is, arguably, the most widely discussed topic in contemporary particle physics. Written in the language of particle physics and quantum field theory, these notes focus on a set of standard calculations needed to understand different dark matter candidates. After introducing some general features of such dark matter agents, we introduce a set of established models which guide us through four experimental aspects: the dark matter relic density extracted from the cosmic microwave background, indirect detection including the Fermi galactic center excess, direct detection, and collider searches.