Taylor Gray (Chalmers University of Technology)

Sub-GeV, or "light," dark matter (DM) has emerged as a compelling candidate for the observed DM in the universe. Its suppressed momentum transfer relative to traditional WIMPs motivates accelerator-based searches as a powerful and complementary discovery strategy. Fixed-target experiments such as the Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX) and the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) are projected to probe a broad range of DM scenarios, significantly extending the sensitivity frontier for light DM theories. In this talk, we discuss the modeling of expected DM signals at fixed-target facilities, highlight new types of dark sector theories and DM production processes that can be probed, and introduce a statistical framework for evaluating the discovery prospects of LDMX.