UC San Diego

This thesis addresses astrophysical probes to constrain dark matter (DM) and dark energy models. Primordial black holes (PBHs) remain one of the few DM candidates within the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This thesis presents a new probe of this PBH DM, using the microlensing of the source stars monitored by the already existing Kepler satellite. With its photometric precision and the large projected cross section of the nearby stars, it is found that previous constraints on PBH DM could theoretically be extended by two orders of magnitude. Correcting a well-known microlensing formula, a limb- darkening analysis is included, and a new approximation is calculated for future star selection. A preliminary prediction is calculated for the planned Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope. A preliminary study of the first two years of publicly available Kepler data is presented. The investigation yields many new sources of background error not predicted in the theoretical calculations, such as stellar flares and comets in the field of view. Since no PBH candidates are detected, an efficiency of detection is therefore calculated by running a Monte Carlo with fake limb-darkened finite-source microlensing events. It is found that with just the first 8 quarters of data, a full order of magnitude of the PBH mass range can be already constrained. Finally, one of the astrophysical probes of dark energy is also addressed - specifically, the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) measurement in the gas distribution, as detected in quasar absorption lines. This unique measurement of dark energy at intermediate redshifts is being measured by current telescope surveys. The last part of this thesis therefore focuses on understanding the systematic effects in such a detection. Since the bias between the underlying dark matter distribution and the measured gas flux distribution is based on gas physics, hydrodynamic simulations are used to understand the evolution of neutral hydrogen over time. It is found the location of the peak is a dependable measurement, but more robust simulations will have to be run for a full understanding of the shape and size of the peak.</