Review of DM searches in the ATLAS and LDMX experiments

Abstract: Several findings show that dark matter makes up 27% of the universe. The goals of this thesis are to understand some of the most important evidences and candidates for dark matter, as well as how dark matter is searched for. The ATLAS and LDMX experiments are reviewed to give a greater insight into the search for dark matter. Two papers from ATLAS are studied more carefully and the data from these were re-plotted using a Jupyter Notebook to understand how the data is analyzed. Comparing the ATLAS and LDMX experiments show that their respective method and targeted models differ. LDMX is optimized for studying a specific signature, while ATLAS explores many different final states. Both experiments search for mediators between dark matter and standard model matter, using different collision methods and energy ranges. LDMX is a fixed-target experiment and will cover lower interaction strengths than possible before, while ATLAS is a collision experiment connected to the worlds most powerful accelerator. Finally, both experiments will continue to improve during the upcoming years.