Catching dark matter particles in the galactic halo with DAMA/LIBRA

Dark Matter is one of the challenging topics of contemporary Physics and Cosmology. Many cosmological and astrophysical observations reveal that most of the Universe is made of dark stuff, the Dark Matter and the Dark Energy. The volume, after an introduction to general topics of Cosmology and main features of Dark Matter, deals with the specific experimental approach in direct detection able to shed light on Dark Matter in the galactic halo. In particular, the model–independent annual modulation signature, due to the relative motion of the Earth in the galactic halo, is presented and the results obtained in this context by the DAMA/NaI and DAMA/LIBRA (in its two phases) experiments are described.