Fermionic Mass Bounds & Dark Matter Models 2020

Resources: Thesis (Download) | Paper (Link)

Master project work advised by Prof Alexey Boyarsky at Leiden University.

This project focused on applying phase-space bounds (Tremaine-Gunn) to constrain the mass of fermionic dark matter particles in dwarf spheroidal galaxies. The thesis reviewed several existing dark matter models — including a critical examination of the Ruffini-Argüelles-Rueda model — and applied improved Jeans analyses to derive robust lower mass bounds (~180 eV). The published paper refined and extended this work, incorporating updated mass profiles and phase-space bounds based on Pauli's principle and Liouville's theorem, comparing results with other astrophysical constraints.