  An abundance of astrophysical evidence indicates that the bulk of matter in
the universe is made up of massive, electrically neutral particles that form
the dark matter (DM). While the density of DM has been precisely measured, the
identity of the DM particle (or particles) is a complete mystery. In fact,
within the laws of physics as we know them (the Standard Model, or SM), none of
the particles have the right properties to make up DM. Remarkably, many new
physics extensions of the SM -- designed to address theoretical issues with the
electroweak symmetry breaking sector -- require the introduction of new
particles, some of which are excellent DM candidates. As the LHC era begins,
there are high hopes that DM particles, along with their associated new matter
states, will be produced in pp collisions. We discuss how LHC experiments,
along with other DM searches, may serve to determine the identity of DM
particles and elucidate the associated physics. Most of our discussion centers
around theories with weak-scale supersymmetry, and allows for several different
DM candidate particles.
