Speaker
Description
The fundamental nature of dark matter (DM) so far eludes direct detection experiments, but it has left its imprint in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe. I will present new results demonstrating how the discrepancy in the amplitude of density fluctuations between CMB and LSS observations (galaxy clustering, weak lensing and Lyman-alpha forest) could be a signature of theoretically well-motivated ultra-light axion (ULA) DM. I will then discuss prospects for increasing sensitivity to light (sub-GeV) particle and ULA DM models using next-generation cosmological surveys like the Rubin Observatory. In order to model novel DM physics accurately and efficiently, I will present the development of a non-linear halo model of axion structure formation and neural network models called emulators which will accelerate parameter inference from weeks to seconds.
