On the stability of particle dark matter
  From the particle physics point of view, the most peculiar property of the
dark matter particle is its stability on cosmological time scales. We briefly
review the possible origins of this characteristic feature for candidates whose
relic density results from the thermal freeze-out of their annihilation. We
emphasize that each stabilization mechanism implies an all specific
phenomenology. The models reviewed include supersymmetric and
non-supersymmetric models where the stability is a consequence of
grand-unification, models where stability is due to an unbroken gauge group and
models where the DM stability is accidental. The latter possibility includes
minimal dark matter, hidden vector dark matter and composite DM models.
