Toward a Direct Detection of the Spin of Dark Matter

Higher spin (s > 2) particles appear in many areas of physics, but have recently been of growing interest in the context of cosmology. In this talk, I will highlight recent work studying higher spin particles as a dark matter candidate. I will discuss how higher spin particles with a wide range of masses and spins could be produced in the early universe via gravitational production during inflation to account for the dark matter we observe today. Then I will show how directional direct detection signatures can be used to differentiate between higher spin bosonic and fermionic dark matter as well as to determine the spin. Lastly, I will point towards future directions.