Summary:

The dark sector of our universe might very well be constituted of particles with masses as large as the Exa-electronvolt (10^9 GeV). I will discuss in this talk how such a heavy dark-matter candidate might be populated in the early universe and how one could hope to detect it nowadays in astroparticle searches experiments. In particular, I will discuss the possible imprint of such models on the dynamics of cosmic inflation, but also how such a heavy candidate might be metastable and decay in the present universe, leading to detectable signals in the form of ultra-high energy cosmic rays.

For more information please contact Lavalle J.