The existence of dark matter is one of the few solid hints for physics beyond the standard model. If dark matter has indeed particle nature, then direct detection via scattering on atomic nuclei is one of the most promising discovery channels. In order to connect this nonrelativistic process with astrophysical and collider searches, as well as UV model building, a consistent setup of effective field theories for the different energy scales is necessary.

After an introduction to the physics of dark matter, I will present our work on the explicit connection between these energy scales, from the UV down to the nuclear scale, including a systematic error estimate. I will, in particular, discuss the effects of higher-order chiral and electroweak corrections.