Topical seminar: Magnetic Monopoles as dark matter: are they still alive?

by Daniele Perri (SISSA)

Wednesday 5 Nov 2025, 12:00 → 14:00 Europe/Madrid

4-4-4426 - Seminari Física Teòrica (Campus Burjassot)

Magnetic monopoles are a long-sought prediction of Grand Unified Theories (GUTs). However, their efficient production in the early universe would result in an abundance far exceeding observational bounds — a challenge known as the cosmological monopole problem. The standard solution invokes an inflationary phase occurring after monopole formation, which dilutes their density,  while removing any possibility of their present-day detection. In this talk, I will review the current status of monopoles as dark matter, demonstrating how there is still a window where even GUT monopoles can serve as viable dark matter candidates. I will also present an alternative solution to the monopole problem based on a minimal breaking of conformal symmetry in the gauge kinetic sector. The proposed mechanism enhances monopole annihilation, reducing their relic abundance to acceptable levels potentially within the reach of current and upcoming cosmic-ray detection experiments.

Perri-Valencia_051125.pdf