Dark Matter theoretical research

[kelly0303]

Hello! I am currently applying for graduate schools in the USA and during my undergraduate career I was mainly involved in Dark Matter research. However, my research focused on testing different models (experimentally or using numerical simulations) and doing some basic calculations, basically working with stuff that's already there. I would like to work on theoretical physics and despite the fact that my work was focused only on certain dark matter models, I can see there are plenty of different models out there, some of them originals some of them variations of old ones. Now I am wondering how realistic is it for someone to come up with an actual new idea in the field (and of course I don't mean Arkani-Hamed or Lisa Randall)? I feel like I am going towards a field where, despite the fact the we have almost no direct experimental evidence, we have so many theories that I won't be able to make a significant contribution. Any advise on this? Thank you!

 

[Orodruin]

Coming up with new models is not all a theoretical physicist working on dark matter does. A lot of time is spent on deducing the phenomenology of different classes of dark matter models. Most of the research done is not paradigm shifting, but rather pushing the current state just a little bit forward. Of course, if you want your work to be "significant" in the sense of you giving a contribution that is a large part of the field, then you should not go into a field where a lot of people have been and are working. However, going into fields where people are not working also is likely to mean that not many will care about what you do unless you come up with something that is truly groundbreaking and has implications for that and other fields. I would suggest that you instead follow your interests. Personally, I like to follow the field and to be part of the venture of trying to decode the mystery in an active field. And people are paying me to do it! What more can you ask for?

 

[kelly0303]

Coming up with new models is not all a theoretical physicist working on dark matter does. A lot of time is spent on deducing the phenomenology of different classes of dark matter models. Most of the research done is not paradigm shifting, but rather pushing the current state just a little bit forward. Of course, if you want your work to be "significant" in the sense of you giving a contribution that is a large part of the field, then you should not go into a field where a lot of people have been and are working. However, going into fields where people are not working also is likely to mean that not many will care about what you do unless you come up with something that is truly groundbreaking and has implications for that and other fields. I would suggest that you instead follow your interests. Personally, I like to follow the field and to be part of the venture of trying to decode the mystery in an active field. And people are paying me to do it! What more can you ask for?

Thank you for this! It's actually a great answer. Just to make sure, by "phenomenology" do you mean how different models would fit in our current understanding i.e. Standard Model, DM relic abundance and how is this related to experimental data?

 

[Orodruin]

Phenomenology research is the research done to set limits on different models using current data (often using data from different experimental collaborations) and to predict the sensitivity of future experiments to such models.