The nature of dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries within the Standard Model of particle physics. Recent advances in gravitational wave physics have opened up new avenues for exploration.
In this talk, I will present two recent research directions utilizing gravitational waves—particularly continuous waves—as probes for new physics. First, I will discuss the GeV gamma-ray excess at the galactic center, a phenomenon that may be explained by either dark matter annihilation or a population of millisecond pulsars. Continuous wave searches focused on the galactic center provide a powerful method to distinguish between these two possibilities. Second, in scenarios where dark matter is ultralight and couples to the Standard Model in specific ways, it can induce measurable shaking of test objects in gravitational wave detectors. Through careful data analysis, gravitational wave detectors can serve as powerful probes of such dark matter models.