Probing dark matter with black hole systems
Speaker: Minxi He (NAOJ)
Abstract:
Dark matter does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, but it accounts for more than one quarter of the total energy density of the Universe, playing an essential role in the structure formation and the cosmic evolution. However, its interactions with visible matter appear to be extremely weak, so probing the nature of dark matter is a challenging task in modern astronomy. In this talk, I will discuss how black hole systems can be used as laboratories to probe dark matter. In particular, since dark matter interacts gravitationally, it can accumulate around compact objects such as black holes and form dense structures in their vicinity. Such structures can affect the dynamics and evolution of black hole systems, leaving observable imprints in different channels such as the periodic electromagnetic signals from black hole binaries and gravitational waves. By studying these signatures, we can use black hole systems to test the properties of dark matter.