In this talk, I will discuss how dark matter-electron scattering calculations depend on the underlying astrophysical model of the dark matter halo velocity distribution. I will give a brief review of the main astrophysical halo models and the measurements of their associated parameters. The predictions for dark matter-electron scattering calculations are highly sensitive to the specific choice of halo model and parameters, which in turn affects our interpretation of experimental results. Finally, I will introduce work from an ongoing effort to interpret and present dark matter-electron scattering experimental results in a manner that is agnostic about the underlying astrophysical halo model.

 

This seminar is co-sponsored by ICASU.