Jessie Shelton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"More fun with light dark mediators"

Abstract: Dark matter that interacts with the Standard Model through a light dark force carrier can realize a range of interesting phenomena that are distinctly different from the predictions of WIMP-y dark matter models that interact via short range scattering. I’ll talk about two new fun things that happen in DM models with light dark mediators: (1) enhanced gravitational capture rates in nondegenerate astrophysical bodies, and (2) a new kind of UV sensitivity to initial conditions in models of freeze in.