Thesis

Searching for new particles with astrophysical compact objects

• Call:

  PT-CERN Call 2021/2

• Academic Year:

  2021

• Domain:

  Astroparticle Physics

• Supervisor:

  Carlos Herdeiro

• Co-Supervisor:

  Eugen Radu

• Institution:

  Universidade de Aveiro

• Host Institution:

  CIDMA - Centro de Investigação em Matemática e Aplicações da Universidade de Aveiro

• Abstract:

  Dark matter remains a central mystery of modern day science. The elusiveness of dark matter candidates in colliders suggests we further search for its true nature where it was first unveiled - in astrophysics via its gravitational effects. In particular, the new golden age in strong gravity - with the gravitational wave era and remarkable new electromagnetic observations of compact objects - is providing intriguing hints on fuzzy dark matter. Such phenomenological studies start from the construction of appropriate compact objects where such fuzzy dark matter plays a key role, both new types of black holes and horizonless compact objects. The goal of this thesis is to go beyond the simplest fuzzy dark matter models, based on Abelian fields. A dark sector, like the visible one, may contain non-Abelian fields. The impact of such fields on the phenomenology of compact objects, connecting it to gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations, is the central goal of this thesis.