The study of dark matter, in both astrophysics and particle physics, has emerged as one of the most active and exciting topics of research in recent years. This book reviews the history behind the discovery of missing mass (or unseen mass) in the universe, and ties this into the proposed extensions to the Standard Model of Particle Physics (such as Supersymmetry), which were being proposed within the same time frame.
This book is written as an introduction to these problems at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics, with the goal of conveying the physics of dark matter to beginning undergraduate majors in scientific fields. The book goes on to describe existing and upcoming experiments and techniques, which will be used to detect dark matter either directly or indirectly.
Table of Contents
The Need for Dark Matter
The Formation of Structure and Dark Matter in Galaxies
Cold Dark Matter, Hot Dark Matter, and their alternatives
Types of Dark Matter
Indirect Detection of Dark Matter
Direct Detection of Dark Matter
What the Future Holds
About the Author(s)
Marc Seigar, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Marc Seigar is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). He is also the Director of the Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium at UMD. Prior to his arrival at UMD, he worked as a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a Project Scientist at the University of California, Irvine, and a Staff Astronomer at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Professor Seigar has published numerous papers and conference proceedings articles in the field of galaxy dynamics, spiral structure, and dark matter.
