I will present over 100 cosmological zoom-in simulations of Milky Way and strong lens analogs in a variety of dark matter models beyond CDM. The shape of the linear matter power spectrum, P(k), is clearly imprinted on the corresponding subhalo mass functions. Modeling this effect improves fuzzy and interacting dark matter bounds by…

Axion dark matter thermalizes by gravitational self-interactions and forms a Bose-Einstein condensate.  It is shown that the rethermalization of the axion fluid during the initial collapse of large scale overdensities at cosmic dawn transports angular momentum outward sufficiently fast  that black holes form with masses ranging from …

The large-scale structure of our Universe is well described by a model in which matter is predominantly Cold Dark Matter (CDM). While CDM was initially thought to have trouble reproducing the small scales of our Universe (dwarf galaxies and the central regions of galaxies like the Milky Way), it has generally become accepted in the…

A clear outcome of Snowmass 2021 and now the US P5 report was the community support for R&D towards a future muon collider. In this talk we will discuss the general physics program that becomes available to the community during the construction and completion of the future collider. We will review not only the main challenges…

Inflation, the theory describing a period of exponential superluminal expansion in the early universe, is both a proposed solution to the large-scale structure we see in our night sky and a mystery of which we have little experimental evidence. In this talk, I will describe two ways to experimentally constrain the dynamics of inflation : the…

Many BSM models predict new long-lived particles that could be produced at the LHC and travel measurable distances before decaying. This talk will focus on a set of low-background searches for long-lived particles using the LHC Run 2 dataset that aim to reconstruct decay vertices inside the CMS beam pipe using charged particle tracks, along…

Besides providing a possible explanation to the strong CP problem and dark matter, the QCD axion possesses a rich cosmology. For example, if PQ breaking occurs after inflation, then axion cosmic strings form. Near the QCD phase transition, every axion string become attached to a domain wall which pull on the strings and cause the string-wall…

Decades of direct, indirect and collider searches of dark matter have set stringent constraints pushing us to entertain the possibility that dark matter interacts with us purely gravitationally. In this nightmare scenario, the underlying particle physics of dark matter as well as our cosmological history could still be discerned purely…

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a direct detection dark matter experiment currently being operated at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. The experiment utilizes a dual phase time projection chamber (TPC)  to primarily look for dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The active TPC…

Machine learning is now a part of physics for the foreseeable future, but many deep learning tools, architectures, and algorithms are imported from industry to physics with minimal modifications. Does physics really need all of these fancy techniques, or does “dumb” machine learning with the simplest possible neural network suffice? The answer…

Cross-section predictions are crucial for the success of long-baseline neutrino experiments, but they suffer from significant theoretical uncertainties. Given the promise of future near detector data, one certainly expects and needs to utilize such data to improve cross-section modeling. We want to explore this idea to its fullest extent by…

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) and gravitational wave detectors can serve as valuable tools in the detection of dark matter. Dark matter substructure within the Milky Way Galaxy can induce gravitational pulls on pulsars, leading to observable deviations in pulsar timings. We demonstrate that dark matter models predicting enhanced power on small…

I will discuss exoplanets as new targets to discover Dark Matter (DM). Throughout the Milky Way, DM can scatter, become captured, deposit annihilation energy, and increase the heat flow within exoplanets. I will show estimates for infrared telescope sensitivity to this scenario, finding actionable discovery or exclusion searches. Supporting…

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a ground-based CMB survey that has mapped half the millimeter sky at significantly higher resolution and sensitivity than the Planck satellite. I will present new ACT results from a 9400 sq.deg. gravitational lensing mass map, including constraints on the amplitude of matter fluctuations as well as the Hubble…

In this talk, I present a novel scenario in which the unexplored cosmological evolution of the axion field, specifically a rotation in field space, gives rise to the observed dark matter abundance, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, and gravitational waves signatures. This rotation of the axion field provides a natural origin for an era of…