Abstract:
Recent measurements by AMS-02 have revealed an excess in cosmic-ray antiprotons compared to standard astrophysical predictions, raising the possibility of a dark matter origin. In this seminar, I review the current status of this excess, highlighting key uncertainties from cosmic-ray propagation and nuclear physics, and discuss how complementary constraints from indirect detection experiments such as Fermi-LAT and DAMPE, together with direct detection experiments including XENONnT and PandaX, significantly restrict viable dark matter scenarios. Using an effective field theory (EFT) framework, I systematically connect indirect signals to direct detection bounds, and further explore minimal dark matter realizations that can account for the observed excess. I also discuss the role of cosmic-ray antideuterons as a complementary low-background probe, with future measurements from GAPS offering promising discovery potential. Focusing on simple frameworks such as Higgs-portal–type models, I show that only a narrow parameter space remains consistent with existing data, while solar modulation effects play an important role in interpreting low-energy observations. Overall, the antiproton excess remains an intriguing hint of dark matter, with upcoming data expected to clarify its origin.
Biography:
Dr. Yue-Lin Sming Tsai is currently a senior Research Fellow at Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO). He received his Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Sheffield in 2011, specializing in particle astrophysics. Before joining PMO, he has held postdoc positions at the NCBJ in Poland (2011–2013), the Kavli IPMU of Tokyo University (2013–2016), the National Center for Theoretical Sciences in Taiwan (2016–2017), the Institute of Physics at Academia Sinica as a visiting associate professor (2017–2020), and National Tsing Hua University as a research scholar (2020–2021).
His research focuses on dark matter phenomenology, aiming to probe the particle properties of dark matter by connecting theoretical models with experimental data. He specializes in testing high-dimensional theoretical models using diverse datasets. His current interests include indirect and direct detection of dark matter, cosmological implications of dark matter (including linear theory and non-linear N-body simulations), and dark matter model testing. He has published 76 papers in the field of dark matter research, with an h-index of 34.
Online Meeting Room： https://meeting.tencent.com/dm/ltjtux4SZIOS
ID: 205413181