Probe Combination for Dark Matter Physics in the Era of Large Surveys

Sep 2, 2026, 8:00 AM → Sep 4, 2026, 7:30 PM America/Chicago

401 (KICP, University of Chicago)

Daniel Gilman (The University of Chicago)

Overview
Large surveys, such as Euclid, Rubin, and Roman, will soon enable groundbreaking tests of fundamental physics. In this new era of cosmology, experiments that combine multiple independent datasets will enable more powerful tests than any single technique. 

This workshop brings together experts working on cosmic probes of dark matter substructure and fundamental physics to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with probe combination experiments. In particular, we will discuss optimum strategies for interpreting inferences from near field and extragalactic observations, including (but not limited to) dwarf galaxies, stellar streams, gravitational lensing, and the Lyman-alpha forest, and how to connect these distinct kinds of observations to theoretical predictions across a wide range of halo masses and cosmic time. 

The format of the workshop will include a mix of review and contributed talks, discussion sessions, and hands-on tutorials. Discussions and tutorials will focus on the use of semi-analytic models and cosmological simulations to predict structure across these probes, in a range of dark matter models, and comparisons to data.

Invited keynote speakers 

• Andrew Benson (Carnegie Observatories)
• Sarah Pearson (Technical University of Denmark)
• Vera Glusevic (University of Southern California)
• Mariangela Lisanti (Princeton)
• Julian Muñoz (UT Austin)
• Anna Nierenberg (UC Merced) 

Tutorial sessions 

• Modeling dwarf galaxy populations (Jiaxuan Li)
• Modeling stellar streams (Jake Nibauer)
• Modeling strong gravitational lenses (Daniel Gilman)
• Semi-analytic models and cosmological simulations for substructure predictions (Andrew Benson)

Wed, September 2

9:00 AM → 10:15 AM Connecting theory to observations

9:00 AM Connecting theory to observation with simulations and semi-analytic model

Speaker: Andrew Benson

9:23 AM SUBMERGE: Subhalo Mass Evolution in Realistic Galactic Environments

Speaker: Tara Dacunha (Stanford University)

9:35 AM Calibrating Semi-Analytic Models to Beyond Cold Dark Matter

Speaker: Dimple Sarnaaik (Carnegie Observatories)

9:47 AM Gravothermal Collapse Across Knudsen Numbers

Speaker: James Gurian (Perimeter Institute)

9:59 AM Discussion

10:15 AM → 10:40 AM Coffee break

10:40 AM → 12:15 PM Stellar streams as probe of DM

10:40 AM Stellar streams as probes of dark matter

Speaker: Sarah Pearson (The Technical University of Denmark, DTU Space)

11:03 AM Probing dark matter with stellar-stream density fluctuations in the LSST era

Speaker: Matthieu Pélissier (LPSC - CNRS)

11:15 AM Constraining the Dark Matter Perturber of the AAU Stellar Stream Using Simulation-Based Inference

Speaker: Ella Marin (University of Washington)

11:27 AM Inference Pipeline for Quantitative Constraints on Dark Matter from Stellar Stream Dynamics

Speaker: Jacob Nibauer (Harvard University)

11:39 AM Imprints of progenitor dynamics on stellar stream velocities

Speaker: Anya Phillips (Harvard University)

11:51 AM No Stream Left Unscathed: The Host Galaxy Baseline for Dark Matter Substructure

Speaker: Arpit Arora (University of Washington)

12:03 PM Discussion

12:15 PM → 1:15 PM Lunch

1:15 PM → 2:00 PM Parallel tutorials: Numerical simulations

1:15 PM → 2:00 PM Parallel tutorials: Stellar streams

2:00 PM → 3:15 PM Alternative DM models 1

2:00 PM FLASH TALKS

2:15 PM Alternative dark matter models and the linear matter power spectrum

Speaker: Vera Gluscevic (USC)

2:38 PM Beyond CDM: Limits from the Milky Way Satellites

Speaker: Wendy Crumrine

2:50 PM The Radial Distribution of MW Satellites: Survey Selection Effects and Host Properties

Speaker: Niusha Ahvazi (University of Virginia)

3:02 PM Discussion

3:15 PM → 3:45 PM Coffee break

3:45 PM → 5:00 PM Breakout/discussion

5:00 PM → 7:00 PM Reception

Thu, September 3

9:00 AM → 10:25 AM Alternative DM models 2

9:00 AM Alternative dark matter models and small-scale structure

Speaker: Mariangela Lisanti (Princeton University)

9:23 AM The Cooling Curve is All You Need: A Framework for Characterising Dissipation in Dark Sectors

Speaker: Sandip Roy (University of California San Diego)

9:35 AM Forward Modeling of MW Satellites for Dark Matter Inference in the Large-Survey Era

Speaker: Soumyodipta Karmakar (University of New Mexico)

9:47 AM From Intact Dwarf Galaxies to Stellar Streams: Cosmological Tests of Self-Interacting Dark Matter

Speaker: Maya Silverman (Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen)

9:59 AM Dark Matter with the Via Project

Speaker: Vedant Chandra (Harvard/MIT)

10:11 AM Discussion

10:25 AM → 10:55 AM Coffee break

10:55 AM → 12:00 PM Extragalactic probes of DM

10:55 AM Extragalactic probes of cosmic structure

Speaker: Julian Muñoz (UT Austin)

11:18 AM Cosmological Probes of Atomic Dark Matter

Speaker: Jared Barron (Stony Brook University)

11:30 AM Self-Interacting Dark Matter in the First 700 Myr

Speaker: Tyler Smith (University of California, Irvine)

11:42 AM Discussion

12:00 PM → 1:00 PM Lunch

1:00 PM → 1:45 PM Parallel tutorials: Modeling dwarf galaxy populations

1:00 PM → 1:45 PM Parallel tutorials: Strong lensing and DM substructure

1:45 PM → 3:00 PM Strong lensing as a probe of DM

1:45 PM Strong lensing by galaxies as a probe of cosmic structure

Speaker: Anna Nierenberg (UC Merced)

2:08 PM Simulation-based Forward-Modeling of Strong Lensing Substructure in Dark Matter Halos

Speaker: Ollie Jackson (UC San Diego)

2:20 PM Recent advances in the flux-ratio anomaly statistics method for DM inference

Speaker: Hadrien Paugnat (UCLA)

2:32 PM A novel probe of dark matter substructure in galaxy clusters from lensed arc asymmetry

Speaker: Derek Perera (University of Minnesota)

2:45 PM Discussion

3:00 PM → 3:30 PM Coffee break

3:30 PM → 5:00 PM Breakouts/discussion

6:00 PM → 9:00 PM Conference dinner

Fri, September 4

9:15 AM → 10:30 AM DM and dwarf galaxies

9:15 AM Antlia 2, Crater 2 and Bootes III: Milky Way's Satellite Galaxies under Tidal Stripping

Speaker: Ting Li (University of Toronto)

9:27 AM The ELVES-Dwarf Survey: Satellite Populations Around Dwarf Galaxies

Speaker: Jiaxuan Li (Stanford University)

9:39 AM Building massive stellar-kinematic samples of MW dwarf spheroidal galaxies and dark matter inference

Speaker: Andrew Pace (University of Virginia)

9:51 AM Modeling Constraints and Dark Matter Implications of Crater II's Stellar Mass Loss

Speaker: Kaia Atzberger

10:03 AM Rotation Curve Diversity in CDM

Speaker: Alyson Brooks (Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey)

10:15 AM Discussion

10:30 AM → 11:00 AM Coffee break

11:00 AM → 12:00 PM Wrap up discussion

12:00 PM → 1:00 PM Lunch