Speaker
Description
If the dark matter is part of a larger dark sector---as is often the case---it can have a rich phenomenology which sees the dark matter form into composite or macroscopic chunks, in the forms of nuggets, balls (nontopological solitons), or even primordial black holes. I will briefly introduce some of these models, including one I have worked on which sees early structures form in the presence of a strong Yukawa force. Such macroscopic dark matter might well be 'regular stuff'-sized, on the scales of bowling balls, fridges, buildings, or asteroids. I will then discuss the detection and constraint parameter space for these macroscopic dark matter candidates, focusing on how Solar System objects such as asteroids, rings, and planetary surfaces might be impacted by collisions with dark matter.
