Master thesis topics

Felix Kahlhoefer
Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TTK)
RWTH Aachen
 My research

Emmy Noether Junior Research Group “Analysis Tools for the

Dark Matter Interpretation of Recent Experiments (ADMIRE)”

• Combination of particle
physics, astrophysics and
cosmology in the search for
dark matter

• Exploration of the
complementarity of different
search strategies with global fits

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 My group

Postdocs:
• Patrick Tunney (colliders
& long-lived particles)
• Laura Sagunski (cosmology & gravitational waves)
PhD Students:
• Patrick Stoecker (cosmology & global fits)
• Fatih Ertas (direct detection & axion-like particles)
• Saniya Heeba (light dark matter & cosmology)
Master students: Einar Urdshals, Stefan Schulte, Juliana Carrasco
For more information:
https://web.physik.rwth-aachen.de/user/kahlhoefer/

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 Topic 1: Dark matter density spikes around
primordial black holes

Motivation
• Using gravitational wave signals we can
search for black holes produced in the
early Universe
• If such primordial black holes exist, they
would accumulate DM particles around
them
• These DM density spikes may lead to
new DM signals and teach us about the
nature of DM

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 Topic 1: Dark matter density spikes around
primordial black holes

Aims
• Calculate the profile of DM density spikes for different dark matter
models (e.g. warm dark matter, self-interacting dark matter)
• Predict resulting signals from dark matter annihilation and black hole
mergers

Requirements
• Interest in the interface between particle physics and astrophysics
• Motivation to work on both analytical models and numerical methods

Supervision
• The project will be jointly supervised by myself and Laura Sagunski

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 Topic 2: Gravitational waves from dark sector
phase transitions

Motivation

• Many models of dark matter predict

phase transitions in the early
Universe, e.g. due to the spontaneous
breaking of a global symmetry

• Such phase transitions produce a

stochastic background of gravitational
waves, which can be detected with
future gravitational wave observatories

• The frequency and strength of such signals depend on the details of

the dark matter model, which are constrained by other observables

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 Topic 2: Gravitational waves from dark sector
phase transitions

Aims
• Explore different models of dark sectors and whether they predict
strong phase transitions in the Early Universe
• Calculate the resulting gravitational wave signals and compare to the
expected sensitivity of the Einstein Telescope

Requirements
• Interest in particle physics model building and analytical calculations
• Good understanding of quantum field theory and cosmology

Supervision
• Joint supervision by myself and Laura Sagunski

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Topic 3: Machine learning for global fits of dark
matter models

Motivation

• In order to compare models of dark matter to data one must explore

highly-dimensional parameter spaces and combine many different
experimental and observational results

• Such global fits are computationally

very expensive and require
massive parallelisation on
supercomputers

• If a calculations becomes too

complex to be performed for every
parameter point, machine learning
becomes a promising alternative

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Topic 3: Machine learning for global fits of dark
matter models

Aims
• Understand the details of global fits and explore which parts are
particularly well-suited to be improved with machine learning
• Identify and implement a suitable approach (Gaussian processes, neural
networks…) and perform the necessary training

Requirements
• Good programming skills and an interest in machine learning
• Willingness to work independently and explore new ideas
• Specific task may depend on personal preference (LHC physics,
cosmology, astroparticle physics, …)

Supervision
• Collaboration with various group members under my supervision

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 Questions?

Come to my office (MBP 112) today between 13:30 and 15:30 or

send me an email: kahlhoefer@physik.rwth-aachen.de

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