Determine the nature and properties of dark matter

Determine the fundamental nature and properties of dark matter that account for its cosmological abundance and astrophysical effects, including identifying whether dark matter consists of primordial black holes or new particles beyond the Standard Model, so as to resolve the Standard Model’s lack of an explanation for the dominant matter component of the Universe.

Background

The paper motivates its paper by emphasizing that the Standard Model does not explain the dominant matter component of the Universe. Observational evidence across cosmological scales requires a dark matter component, yet its particle or non-particle nature and properties remain unknown.

This uncertainty frames the investigation of primordial black holes and heavy neutral leptons as potential probes. By analyzing signals from hypothetical nearby PBH explosions, the authors explore how multimessenger observations (neutrinos at IceCube and gamma rays at HAWC) could constrain beyond-Standard-Model scenarios, but the overarching open problem of dark matter’s nature and properties persists.