Connecting neutrino physics with dark matter

Understand

The origin of neutrino masses and the nature of dark matter are two of the most pressing open questions of the modern astro-particle physics.

• We consider here the possibility that these two problems are related, and review some theoretical scenarios which offer common solutions.
• A simple possibility is that the dark matter particle emerges in minimal realizations of the see-saw mechanism, like in the majoron and sterile neutrino scenarios.
• We present the theoretical motivation for both models and discuss their phenomenology, confronting the predictions of these scenarios with cosmological and astrophysical observations.