Speaker
Description
Dark matter coupled to the Standard Model only through gravity is usually regarded as beyond the reach of laboratory searches. In models with large extra dimensions this expectation can be altered, since the short-distance gravitational potential is enhanced and scales as $1/r^{1+n}$. I will discuss dark-matter scattering in Arkani-Hamed–Dimopoulos–Dvali scenarios, where exchange of Kaluza–Klein graviton modes induces an effective dark-matter–nucleon interaction. Confronting this interaction with xenon-based direct-detection data gives bounds on the fundamental higher-dimensional Planck scale ($M_D$), with the strongest sensitivity for heavy dark matter in two extra dimensions. I will also discuss complementary constraints from resonant scalar dark-matter annihilation through on-shell Kaluza–Klein modes into Standard Model final states. These results show that gravitationally mediated dark matter can be probed by a combination of underground direct detection, collider limits, and indirect gamma-ray searches.