SEARCHING FOR DARK MATTER IN THE MONO-JET AND MONO-PHOTON CHANNELS WITH THE ATLAS DETECTOR

This work presents searches for dark matter particles in the mono-jet and mono-photon final states using the data collected by the ATLAS experiment during 2015 and 2016. The thesis starts with an introduction to the basic concepts of the Standard Model, followed by a discussion of the dark matter problem and the WIMP hypothesis. The focus then shifts to the description of the experimental facilities to collect the data and reconstruct the collision events. Particular focus is put on the reconstruction and performance of the missing transverse momentum. After characterizing a few theoretical models predicting dark matter particles in the mono-photon and mono-jet final states, the searches in these two signatures are thoroughly discussed, with particular focus on the background estimation techniques. While no significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are found, the results obtained by these searches further restrict the phase-space where the dark matter particles can lie.