  Standard Model (SM) of particle physics has achieved enormous success in
describing the interactions among the known fundamental constituents of nature,
yet it fails to describe phenomena for which there is very strong experimental
evidence, such as the existence of dark matter, and which point to the
existence of new physics not included in that model; beyond its existence,
experimental data, however, have not provided clear indications as to the
nature of that new physics. The effective field theory (EFT) approach, the
subject of this review, is designed for this type of situations; it provides a
consistent and unbiased framework within which to study new physics effects
whose existence is expected but whose detailed nature is known very
imperfectly. We will provide a description of this approach together with a
discussion of some of its basic theoretical aspects. We then consider
applications to high-energy phenomenology and conclude with a discussion of the
application of EFT techniques to the study of dark matter physics and it
possible interactions with the SM. In several of the applications we also
briefly discuss specific models that are ultraviolet complete and may realize
the effects described by the EFT.
