Louis Strigari
(Stanford)
Abstract:
I will discuss two distinct aspects of searches for unknown constituents of the Milky Way Galaxy. I begin by covering recent advances in searches for particle dark matter, including reviewing results from indirect and direct searches. I will interpret the modern experimental results in the context of theoretical particle dark matter models. For the second part of the talk, I will discuss the implications of new microlensing results that indicate that 'free floating planets' are common in the Galaxy. I will discuss the theoretical origin of these objects, and the potential for future wide field surveys to significantly improve the census of these objects.