Search

The complex singlet extension CxSM of the Standard Model (SM) is a simple extension of the SM with two visible Higgs bosons in the spectrum and a Dark Matter (DM) candidate. In this paper we complete the computation of the next-to-leading (NLO) electroweak (EW) corrections to on-shell and non-loop-induced Higgs decays. Our calculations are implemented in the code EWsHDECAY which also includes the relevant QCD corrections. Performing an extensive parameter scan in the model and including all relevant theoretical and experimental single- and di-Higgs as well as DM constraints, we obtain a viable parameter sample. We find that current DM constraints are able to test the model in DM mass regions where collider searches are not sensitive. The relative EW corrections turn out to be large for scenarios with relatively large couplings, threshold effects or small leading-order (LO) widths. Otherwise, they are of typical EW size and can amount up to about 20–25%. The theory uncertainty derived from the change of the renormalization scheme dependence then is of a few per cent. While the NLO corrections applied in the constraints due to single- and di-Higgs searches impact the validity of specific parameter points, the overall shape of the allowed parameter region is not yet sensitive to the EW corrections. This picture will change with further increased experimental precision in the future and necessitates precise predictions on the theory side as presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In models with a U(1) gauge extension beyond the Standard Model, one can derive sum rules for the couplings of the theory that are a consequence of tree-level unitarity. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive list of coupling sum rules for a general SU 2 L × U 1 Y × U 1 Y ′ gauge theory coupled to an arbitrary set of fermion and scalar multiplets. These results are of particular interest for models of dark matter that employ an extended gauge sector mediated by a new (dark) Z′ gauge boson. For the case of a minimal extension of the Standard Model with a U 1 Y ′ gauge boson, we clarify the definitions of the weak mixing angle and the electroweak ρ parameter. We demonstrate the utility of a generalized ρ parameter (denoted by ρ′) whose definition naturally follows from the unitarity sum rules developed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higgsinos and Winos in the supersymmetric Standard Model are prime candidates for dark matter due to their weakly interacting nature. The mass differences between their charged components (charginos) and neutral components (neutralinos) become degenerate when other superparticles are heavy, resulting in long-lived charginos. In the case of the Winos, the mass difference is approximately 160 MeV across a wide range of the parameter space. Consequently, the chargino decays into the lightest neutralino, emitting a single charged pion. For Higgsinos, however, mass differences ranging from O(0.1) GeV to O(1) GeV are possible, leading to a variety of decay channels. In this paper, we extend our previous analysis of Wino decay to the chargino with a larger mass difference. We emphasize characterizing its decay signatures through leptonic and hadronic modes. By utilizing the latest experimental data, we perform a comprehensive study of the decay rate calculations incorporating these hadronic modes to determine the impact on the predicted chargino lifetime. Additionally, we conduct next-to-leading order (NLO) calculations for the leptonic decay modes. Our NLO results can be applied to the case of more general fermionic electroweak multiplets, e.g., quintuplet dark matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a way to regularize the t-channel singularity (which appears when a massive, stable t-channel mediator of a given process is allowed to be on-shell, making the cross section infinite) in a general case of particles of any spin 0 1 2 1 interacting within a thermal medium. Those interactions result in a finite lifetime of the mediator and allow to introduce an effective momentum- and temperature-dependent width. As a result, the would-be-singular cross section becomes finite. A complete derivation and an analytical result for the width are provided. For an illustration, the method is used to calculate the thermal widths and cross sections within the Vector-Fermion Dark Matter model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the sensitivity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to light lepton portal dark matter with its mass below 10 GeV. The model features an extra doublet scalar field and singlet Dirac dark matter, which have Yukawa interactions with left-handed leptons. To correctly produce the dark matter abundance via the thermal freeze-out, a large mass splitting among the extra scalars is required, thus providing a light neutral scalar below O 10 GeV and heavy neutral and charged scalars at the electroweak scale. In this paper, we focus on the electroweak pair-production of the extra scalars with subsequent model-specific scalar decays and evaluate the current constraints with the LHC Run 2 data and the discovery potential at the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). It turns out that a large part of the theoretically allowed parameter space can be tested at the HL-LHC by taking into account complementarity between slepton searches and mono-Z plus missing transverse energy search. We also discuss same-sign charged scalar production as a unique prediction of the model, and the implication of the collider searches in the thermal dark matter scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2020)161 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a search for a new Z′ resonance decaying into a pair of dark quarks which hadronise into dark hadrons before promptly decaying back as Standard Model particles. This analysis is based on proton-proton collision data recorded at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. After selecting events containing large-radius jets with high track multiplicity, the invariant mass distribution of the two highest-transverse-momentum jets is scanned to look for an excess above a data-driven estimate of the Standard Model multijet background. No significant excess of events is observed and the results are thus used to set 95% confidence-level upper limits on the production cross-section times branching ratio of the Z′ to dark quarks as a function of the Z′ mass for various dark-quark scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haloscopes, microwave resonant cavities utilized in detecting dark matter axions within powerful static magnetic fields, are pivotal in modern astrophysical research. This paper delves into the realm of cylindrical geometries, investigating techniques to augment volume and enhance compatibility with dipole or solenoid magnets. The study explores volume constraints in two categories of haloscope designs: those reliant on single cavities and those employing multicavities. In both categories, strategies to increase the expanse of elongated structures are elucidated. For multicavities, the optimization of space within magnets is explored through 1D configurations. Three subcavity stacking approaches are investigated, while the foray into 2D and 3D geometries lays the groundwork for future topological developments. The results underscore the efficacy of these methods, revealing substantial room for progress in cylindrical haloscope design. Notably, an elongated single cavity design attains a three-order magnitude increase in volume compared to a WC-109 standard waveguide-based single cavity. Diverse prototypes featuring single cavities, 1D, 2D, and 3D multicavities highlight the feasibility of leveraging these geometries to magnify the volume of tangible haloscope implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutral particles capable of travelling cosmic distances from a source to detectors on Earth are limited to photons and neutrinos. Examination of the Dark Matter annihilation/decay spectra for these particles reveals the presence of continuum spectra (e.g. due to fragmentation and W or Z decay) and peaks (due to direct annihilations/decays). However, when one explores extensions of the Standard Model (BSM), unexplored spectra emerge that differ significantly from those of the Standard Model (SM) for both neutrinos and photons. In this paper, we argue for the inclusion of important spectra that include peaks as well as previously largely unexplored entities such as boxes and combinations of box, peak and continuum decay spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A very simple production mechanism of feebly interacting dark matter (DM) that rarely annihilates is thermal production, which predicts the DM mass around eV. This has been widely known as the hot DM scenario. Despite there are several observational hints from background lights suggesting a DM in this mass range, the hot DM scenario has been considered strongly in tension with the structure formation of our Universe because the free-streaming length of the DM produced from thermal reactions was thought to be too long. In this paper, I show that the previous conclusions are not always true depending on the reaction for bosonic DM because of the Bose-enhanced reaction at very low momentum. By utilizing a simple 1 ↔ 2 decay/inverse decay process to produce DM, I demonstrate that eV range bosonic DM can be thermally produced in a cold manner from a hot plasma through a model-independent analysis applicable to axion, hidden photon, and other bosonic DM candidates. As a result, bosonic DM in the eV mass range may still be unique and theoretically well-motivated. I also discuss some caveats arising from this phenomenon in the freeze-in production of DM, and present a related system that can suppress the hot plasma with thermal reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experiments studying neutrinos from intense radioactive sources have reported a deficit in the measured event rate which, in combination, has reached a statistical significance of ∼ 5σ. In this paper, we explore avenues for explaining this anomaly, both within the Standard Model and beyond. First, we discuss possible biases in the predicted cross section for the detection reaction νe + 71Ga → e− + 71Ge, which could arise from mismeasurement of the inverse process, 71Ge decay, or from the presence of as yet unknown low-lying excited states of 71Ga. The latter would imply that not all 71Ge decays go to the ground state of 71Ga, so the extraction of the ground state-to-ground state matrix element relevant for neutrino capture on gallium would be incorrect. Second, we scrutinize the measurement of the source intensity in gallium experiments, and we point out that a ∼ 2% error in the branching ratios for 51Cr decay would be enough to explain the anomaly. Third, we investigate the calibration of the radiochemical germanium extraction efficiency as a possible origin of anomaly. Finally, we outline several new explanations beyond the Standard Model, including scenarios with sterile neutrinos coupled to fuzzy dark matter or to dark energy, as well as a model with decaying sterile neutrinos. We critically assess the viability of these scenarios, and others that have been proposed, in a summary table. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the possible searches at colliders using Vector Boson Fusion topology in the context of Simplified Models signatures. We examine the possible physics reach of these searches with regard to monojet-type searches, and determine how these two signatures are complementary. We determine the generic characteristics for dark matter signatures in the LHC if the underlying physics imply Vector Boson Fusion type of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate, for the first time, a scenario where the dark matter consists of three complex scalar fields that are stabilized by a single Z7 symmetry. As an extension of the well-known scalar Higgs-portal, this Z7 model is also subject to important restrictions arising from the relic density constraint and from direct detection experiments. Our goal in this paper is to find and characterize the viable regions of this model, and to analyze its detection prospects in future experiments. First, the processes that affect the relic densities are identified (they include semiannihilations and conversions) and then incorporated into the Boltzmann equations for the dark matter abundances, which are numerically solved with micrOMEGAs. By means of random scans of the parameter space, the regions consistent with current data, including the recent direct detection limit from the LZ experiment, are selected. Our results reveal that the Z7 model is indeed viable over a wide range of dark matter masses and that both conversions and semiannihilations play an important role in determining the relic densities. Remarkably, we find that in many cases all three of the dark matter particles give rise to observable signals in future direct detection experiments, providing a suitable way to test this scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider decays of B and K mesons into a pseudo-scalar or vector meson plus missing energy. Within the SM, these modes originate from flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) processes with two neutrinos in the final state. In this paper we consider the experimental upper bounds on these modes and interpret the difference between these bounds and the SM prediction as a window into new light invisible particles. In particular we consider the case where some new symmetry requires the new particles to be produced in pairs. We first construct the general low energy effective Lagrangian coupling an FCNC with two dark sector particles of spin zero, one-half and one. We then present numerical estimates for the constraints that can be placed on these interactions, finding that an effective new physics scale from O (10)- O (1011) GeV can be probed, with the exact value strongly depending on the interaction structure as well as the mass of the invisible particle. For we incorporate into our constraints the effect of using only the signal regions of NA62, and for the q2-dependent efficiency of Belle II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-eV axion-like particles (ALPs) have been searched for by focusing two-color near-infrared pulse lasers into a vacuum along a common optical axis. Within the focused quasi-parallel collision system created by combining a creation field (2.5 mJ/47 fs Ti:Sapphire laser) and a background inducing field (1.5 mJ/9 ns Nd:YAG laser), the detection of signal photons via stimulated resonant photon-photon scattering by exchanging ALPs was attempted in a vacuum chamber. The signal wavelength can be determined via energy-momentum conservation in the vacuum, and it coincides with that determined from the atomic four-wave-mixing (aFWM) process. In this work, the pulse energies were one order of magnitude higher than those in the previous search, allowing aFWM from optical elements to be observed as a pressure-independent background for the first time, in addition to the residual-gas-originating aFWM following a quadratic pressure dependence. In principle the four-wave-mixing process in vacuum via ALP exchanges (vFWM) must also be pressure-independent, so the development of a new method for discriminating the optical-element aFWM is indispensable for increasing the pulse energies to the values needed for future upgraded searches. In this paper, we will present the established method for quantifying the yield from the optical-element aFWM process based on the beam cross- section dependence. With the new method, the number of signal photons was found to be consistent with zero. We then successfully obtained a new exclusion region in the relation between ALP-photon coupling, g/M, and the ALP mass m, reaching the most sensitive point g/M = 1.14 × 10−5 GeV−1 at m = 0.18 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A search for long-lived particles decaying into muon pairs is performed using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2017 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb−1. The data sets used in this search were collected with a dedicated dimuon trigger stream with low transverse momentum thresholds, recorded at high rate by retaining a reduced amount of information, in order to explore otherwise inaccessible phase space at low dimuon mass and nonzero displacement from the primary interaction vertex. No significant excess of events beyond the standard model expectation is found. Upper limits on branching fractions at 95% confidence level are set on a wide range of mass and lifetime hypotheses in beyond the standard model frameworks with the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of long-lived dark photons, or with a long-lived scalar resonance arising from a decay of a b hadron. The limits are the most stringent to date for substantial regions of the parameter space. These results can be also used to constrain models of displaced dimuons that are not explicitly considered in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the cosmological evolution, allowed parameter space, and observational prospects for a dark sector consisting of thermally produced pseudo-Dirac fermions with a small mass splitting, coupled to the Standard Model through a dark photon. This scenario is particularly notable in the context of sub-GeV dark matter, where the mass-off-diagonal leading interaction limits applicability of both CMB energy injection constraints and standard direct detection searches. We present the first general study of the thermal history of pseudo-Dirac DM with splittings from 100 eV to MeV, focusing on the depletion of the heavier "excited" state abundance via scatterings and decays, and on the distinctive signals arising from its small surviving abundance. We analyze CMB energy injection bounds on both DM annihilation and decay, accelerator-based probes, and new line-like direct-detection signals from the excited DM down-scattering on either nuclei or electrons, as well as future search prospects in each channel. We also comment on the relevance of this signal to the few-keV Xenon1T electron excess and on possible diurnal modulation of this signal, and introduce a signal-strength parametrization to facilitate the comparison of future experimental results to theoretical expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As experimental searches for WIMP dark matter continue to yield null results, models beyond the WIMP paradigm have proliferated in order to elude ever improving observational constraints, among them that of sub-GeV dark matter mediated by a massive vector portal (a dark photon) associated with a new dark U(1) gauge symmetry. It has been previously noted that for a significant range of the parameter space of this class of models, the annihilation of dark matter particles into a pair of dark photons can dominate the freeze-out process even when this process is kinematically forbidden for dark matter at rest — this is known as the "forbidden dark matter" (FDM) regime. Prior studies of this regime, however, assume that any "dark Higgs" associated with breaking the dark U(1) and imparting mass to the dark photon is decoupled from the dark matter and as such plays no role in the freeze-out process. In this paper, we explore the effects of a dark Higgs on sub-GeV dark matter phenomenology in this FDM regime by considering the simplest possible construction in which there exist non-trivial dark matter-dark Higgs couplings: a model with a single complex scalar DM candidate coupled directly to the dark Higgs field. We find that for a wide range of parameter space, the dark Higgs can alter the resulting relic abundance by many orders of magnitude, and that this effect can remain significant even for a small dark matter-dark Higgs coupling constant. Considering measurements from direct detection and measurements of the CMB, we further find that points in this model's parameter space which recreate the appropriate dark matter relic abundance suffer only mild constraints from other sources at present, but may become accessible in near-future direct detection experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a cosmological solution to the electroweak hierarchy problem. After discussing general features of cosmological approaches to naturalness, we extend the Standard Model with two light scalars very weakly coupled to the Higgs and present the mechanism, which we recently introduced in a companion paper to explain jointly the electroweak hierarchy and the strong-CP problem. In this work we show that this solution can be decoupled from the strong-CP problem and discuss its possible implementations and phenomenology. The mechanism works with any standard inflationary sector, it does not require weak-scale inflation or a large number of e-folds, and does not introduce ambiguities related to eternal inflation. The cutoff of the theory can be as large as the Planck scale, both for the Cosmological Constant and for the Higgs sector. Reproducing the observed dark matter relic density fixes the couplings of the two new scalars to the Standard Model, offering a target to future axion or fifth force searches. Depending on the specific interaction of the scalars with the Standard Model, the mechanism either yields rich phenomenology at colliders or provides a novel joint solution to the strong-CP problem. We highlight what predictions are common to most realizations of cosmological selection of the weak scale and will allow to test this general framework in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have searched for axion-like resonance states by colliding optical photons in a focused laser field (creation beam) by adding another laser field (inducing beam) for stimulation of the resonance decays, where frequency-converted signal photons can be created as a result of stimulated photon-photon scattering via exchanges of axion-like resonances. A quasi-parallel collision system (QPS) in such a focused field allows access to the sub-eV mass range of resonance particles. In past searches in QPS, for simplicity, we interpreted the scattering rate based on an analytically calculable symmetric collision geometry in both incident angles and incident energies by partially implementing the asymmetric nature to meet the actual experimental conditions. In this paper, we present new search results based on a complete parameterization including fully asymmetric collisional geometries. In particular, we combined a linearly polarized creation laser and a circularly polarized inducing laser to match the new parameterization. A 0.10 mJ/31 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulse and a 0.20 mJ/9 ns Nd:YAG laser pulse were spatiotemporally synchronized by sharing a common optical axis and focused into the vacuum system. Under a condition in which atomic background processes were completely negligible, no significant scattering signal was observed at the vacuum pressure of 2.6 × 10−5 Pa, thereby providing upper bounds on the coupling-mass relation by assuming exchanges of scalar and pseudoscalar fields at a 95% confidence level in the sub-eV mass range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If dark matter (DM) interacts with the Standard Model (SM) via the kinetic mixing (KM) portal, it necessitates the existence of portal matter (PM) particles which carry both dark and SM quantum numbers that will appear in vacuum polarization-like loop graphs. In addition to the familiar ∼ eϵQ strength, QED-like interaction for the dark photon (DP), in some setups different loop graphs of these PM states can also induce other coupling structures for the SM fermions that may come to dominate in at least some regions of parameter space regions and which can take the form of 'dark' moments, e.g., magnetic dipole-type interactions in the IR, associated with a large mass scale, Λ. In this paper, motivated by a simple toy model, we perform a phenomenological investigation of a possible loop-induced dark magnetic dipole moment for SM fermions, in particular, for the electron. We show that at the phenomenological level such a scenario can not only be made compatible with existing experimental constraints for a significant range of correlated values for Λ and the dark U(1)D gauge coupling, gD, but can also lead to quantitatively different signatures once the DP is discovered. In this setup, assuming complex scalar DM to satisfy CMB constraints, parameter space regions where the DP decays invisibly are found to be somewhat preferred if PM mass limits from direct searches at the LHC and our toy model setup are all taken seriously. High precision searches for, or measurements of, the e+e− → γ + DP process at Belle II are shown to provide some of the strongest future constraints on this scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a bubble filtering-out mechanism for an asymmetric dark matter scenario during the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) phase transition. Based on a QCD axion model, extended by extra chiral neutrinos, we show that the PQ phase transition can be first order in the parameter space of the model and regarding the PQ symmetry breaking scale, the mechanism can generate PeV-scale heavy neutrinos as a dark matter candidate. Considering a CP-violating source, during the phase transition, discriminating between the neutrino and antineutrino number density, we find the observed dark matter relic abundance, such that the setup can be applied to the first order phase transition with different strengths. We then calculate effective couplings of the QCD axion addressing the strong CP problem within the model. We also study the energy density spectrum of gravitational waves generated from the first order phase transition and show that the signals can be detected by future ground-based detectors such as Einstein Telescope. In particular, for a visible heavy axion case of the model, it is shown that gravitational waves can be probed by DECIGO and BBO interferometers. Furthermore, we discuss the dark matter-standard model neutrino annihilation process as a source for the creation of PeV-scale neutrinos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive scalar fields provide excellent dark matter candidates, whose dynamics are often explored analytically and numerically using nonrelativistic Schrödinger-Poisson (SP) equations in a cosmological context. In this paper, starting from the nonlinear and fully relativistic Klein-Gordon-Einstein (KGE) equations in an expanding universe, we provide a systematic framework for deriving the SP equations, as well as relativistic corrections to them, by integrating out 'fast modes' and including nonlinear metric and matter contributions. We provide explicit equations for the leading-order relativistic corrections, which provide insight into deviations from the SP equations as the system approaches the relativistic regime. Upon including the leading-order corrections, our equations are applicable beyond the domain of validity of the SP system, and are simpler to use than the full KGE case in some contexts. As a concrete application, we calculate the mass-radius relationship of solitons in scalar dark matter and accurately capture the deviations of this relationship from the SP system towards the KGE one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yukawa-type interactions between heavy Dirac fermions and a scalar field are a common ingredient in various extensions of the Standard Model. Despite of that, the non-relativistic limit of the scalar Yukawa theory has not yet been studied in full generality in a rigorous and model-independent way. In this paper we intend to fill this gap by initiating a series of investigations that make use of modern effective field theory (EFT) techniques. In particular, we aim at constructing suitable non-relativistic and potential non-relativistic EFTs of Yukawa interactions (denoted as NRY and pNRY respectively) in close analogy to the well known and phenomenologically successful non-relativistic QCD (NRQCD) and potential non-relativistic QCD (pNRQCD). The phenomenological motivation for our study lies in the possibility to explain the existing cosmological observations by introducing heavy fermionic dark matter particles that interact with each other by exchanging a light scalar mediator. A systematic study of this compelling scenario in the framework of non-relativistic EFTs (NREFTs) constitutes the main novelty of our approach as compared to the existing studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the possibility of testing the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter (DM) models by applying the simplest phenomenological model which introduces an interaction term between dark energy (DE) and WIMP DM, i.e., Q = 3γDMHρDM. In general, the coupling strength γDE is close to 0 as the interaction between DE and WIMP DM is very weak, thus the effect of γDE on the evolution of Y associated with DM energy density can be safely neglected. Meanwhile, our numerical calculation also indicates that xf ≈ 20 is associated with DM freeze-out temperature, which is the same as the vanishing interaction scenario. As for DM relic density, it will be magnified by 2 − 3 γ DM 2 2 π g ∗ m DM 3 / 45 s 0 x f 3 γ DM times, which provides a new way to test WIMP DM models. As an example, we analyze the case in which WIMP DM is a scalar DM. (SGL+SNe+Hz) and (CMB+BAO+SNe) cosmological observations will give γDM = 0.134 − 0.069 + 0.17 and γDM = −0.0008 ± 0.0016, respectively. After further considering the constraints from DM direct detection experiment, DM indirect detection experiment, and DM relic density, we find that the allowed parameter space of the scalar DM model will be completely excluded for the former cosmological observations, while it will increase for the latter ones. Those two cosmological observations lead to an almost paradoxical conclusion. Therefore, one could expect more stringent constraints on the WMIP DM models, with the accumulation of more accurate cosmological observations in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Higgs doublet can mediate a long-range interaction between multi-TeV particles coupled to the Weak interactions of the Standard Model, while its emission can lead to very rapid bound-state formation processes and bound-to-bound transitions. Using the rates calculated in a companion paper, here we compute the thermal decoupling of multi-TeV WIMP dark matter coupled to the Higgs, and show that the formation of metastable dark matter bound states via Higgs-doublet emission and their decay decrease the relic density very significantly. This in turn implies that WIMP dark matter may be much heavier than previously anticipated, or conversely that for a given mass, the dark matter couplings to the Higgs may be much lower than previously predicted, thereby altering the dark matter phenomenology. While we focus on a minimal singlet-doublet model in the coannihilation regime, our calculations can be extended to larger multiplets where the effects under consideration are expected to be even more significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asymmetric dark matter (ADM) scenario solves the baryon-dark matter coincidence problem when the dark matter (DM) mass is of O 1 GeV. Composite ADM models based on QCD-like strong dynamics are particularly motivated since the strong dynamics naturally provides the DM mass of O 1 GeV and the large annihilation cross-section simultaneously. In those models, the sub-GeV dark photon often plays an essential role in transferring the excessive entropy in the dark sector into the visible sector, i.e., the Standard Model sector. This paper constructs a chiral composite ADM model where the U(1)D gauge symmetry is embedded into the chiral flavor symmetry. Due to the dynamical breaking of the chiral flavor symmetry, the model naturally provides the masses of the dark photon and the dark pions in the sub-GeV range, both of which play crucial roles for a successful ADM model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent confirmation by the Fermilab-based Muon g-2 experiment of the (g − 2)μ anomaly has important implications for allowed particle spectra in softly broken supersymmetry (SUSY) models with neutralino dark matter (DM). Generally, the DM has to be quite light, with the mass up to a few hundred GeV, and bino-dominated if it is to provide most of DM in the Universe. Otherwise, a higgsino or wino dominated DM is also allowed but only as a strongly subdominant component of at most a few percent of the total density. These general patterns can easily be found in the phenomenological models of SUSY but in GUT-constrained scenarios this proves much more challenging. In this paper we revisit the issue in the framework of some unified SUSY models with different GUT boundary conditions on the soft masses. We study the so-called non-universal gaugino model (NUGM) in which the mass of the gluino is disunified from those of the bino and the wino and an SO(10) and an SU(5) GUT-inspired models as examples. We find that in these unified frameworks the above two general patterns of DM can also be found, and thus the muon anomaly can also be accommodated, unlike in the simplest frameworks of the CMSSM or the NUHM. We show the resulting values of direct detection cross-section for points that do and do not satisfy the muon anomaly. On the other hand, it will be challenging to access those solutions at the LHC because the resulting spectra are generally very compressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most significant and practical figures of merit in axion haloscope searches is the scanning rate, because of the unknown axion mass. Under the best experimental parameters, the only way to improve the figure of merit is to increase the experimentally designed signal to noise ratio in the axion haloscope search analysis procedure. In this paper, we report an improved axion haloscope search analysis using the data taken by the CAPP-8TB haloscope. By correcting for the background biased by the background parametrizations in the presence of axion signals, we realized a signal to noise ratio efficiency of about 100%. Given the axion haloscope search analyses to date, the scanning rate can be improved by 21%, with about a 10% improvement in the signal to noise ratio. This improvement is another low cost innovation in axion haloscope searches, where all the experimental parameters are currently at their best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of light dark matter (DM) annihilating through a dark photon (DP) which kinetically mixes (KM) with the Standard Model (SM) hypercharge field is a very attractive scenario. For DM in the interesting mass range below ∼ 1 GeV, it is well known that bounds from the CMB provide a very strong model building constraint forcing the DM annihilation cross section to be roughly 3 orders of magnitude below that needed to reproduce the observed relic density. Under most circumstances this removes the possibility of an s-wave annihilation process for DM in this mass range as would be the case, e.g., if the DM were a Dirac fermion. In an extra-dimensional setup explored previously, it was found that the s-channel exchange of multiple gauge bosons could simultaneously encompass a suppressed annihilation cross section during the CMB era while also producing a sufficiently large annihilation rate during freeze-out to recover the DM relic density. In this paper, we analyze more globally the necessary requirements for this mechanism to work successfully and then realize them within the context of a simple model with two 'dark' gauge bosons having masses of a similar magnitude and whose contributions to the annihilation amplitude destructively interfere. We show that if the DM mass threshold lies appropriately in the saddle region of this destructive interference between the two resonance humps it then becomes possible to satisfy these requirements simultaneously provided several ancillary conditions are met. The multiple constraints on the parameter space of this setup are then explored in detail to identify the phenomenologically successful regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the possibility that Dark Matter (DM) is made of Feebly Interacting Massive Particles (FIMP) interacting just gravitationally with the Standard Model particles in the framework of a Clockwork/Linear Dilaton (CW/LD) model. We restrict here to the case in which the DM particles are scalar fields. This paper extends our previous study of FIMP's in Randall-Sundrum (RS) warped extra-dimensions. As it was the case in the RS scenario, also in the CW/LD model we find a significant region of the parameter space in which the observed DM relic abundance can be reproduced with scalar DM mass in the MeV range, with a reheating temperature varying from 10 GeV to 109 GeV. We comment on the similarities of the results in both extra-dimensional models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A keV-scale gravitino arising from a minimal supersymmetric (SUSY) Standard Model (MSSM) is an interesting possibility since the small scale problems that the ΛCDM model encounters in the modern cosmology could be alleviated with the keV-scale gravitino serving as the warm dark matter (WDM). Such a light gravitino asks for a low scale supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking for which the gauge mediation (GM) is required as a consistent SUSY-breaking mediation mechanism. In this paper, we show upper bounds of the masses of the second CP-even Higgs boson H and the CP-odd Higgs boson A, assuming the keV-scale gravitino to be responsible for the current DM relic abundance: the upper bound on the mass of H/A is found to be ∼ 4 TeV for the gravitino mass of O 10 − 100 keV. Interestingly, the mass of H/A can be as small as 2–3 TeV and the predicted tan β is as large as 55–60 for the gravitino mass of O 10 keV. This will be tested in the near future Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a novel mechanism for producing the observed Dark Matter (DM) relic abundance during the First Order Phase Transition (FOPT) in the early universe. We show that the bubble expansion with ultra-relativistic velocities can lead to the abundance of DM particles with masses much larger than the scale of the transition. We study this non-thermal production mechanism in the context of a generic phase transition and the electroweak phase transition. The application of the mechanism to the Higgs portal DM as well as the signal in the Stochastic Gravitational Background are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extra dimensions have proven to be a very useful tool in constructing new physics models. In earlier work, we began investigating toy models for the 5-D analog of the kinetic mixing/vector portal scenario where the interactions of dark matter, taken to be, e.g., a complex scalar, with the brane-localized fields of the Standard Model (SM) are mediated by a massive U(1)D dark photon living in the bulk. These models were shown to have many novel features differentiating them from their 4-D analogs and which, in several cases, avoided some well-known 4-D model building constraints. However, these gains were obtained at the cost of the introduction of a fair amount of model complexity, e.g., dark matter Kaluza-Klein excitations. In the present paper, we consider an alternative setup wherein the dark matter and the dark Higgs, responsible for U(1)D breaking, are both localized to the 'dark' brane at the opposite end of the 5-D interval from where the SM fields are located with only the dark photon now being a 5-D field. The phenomenology of such a setup is explored for both flat and warped extra dimensions and compared to the previous more complex models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB) is a natural candidate of dark matter in that it avoids the severe direct detection bounds. We show in this paper that the pNGB has another different and interesting face with a higher symmetry breaking scale. Such large symmetry breaking is motivated by various physics beyond the standard model. In this case, the pNGB interaction is suppressed due to the Nambu-Goldstone property and the freeze-out production does not work even with sufficiently large portal coupling. We then study the pNGB dark matter relic abundance from the out-of-equilibrium production via feeble Higgs portal coupling. Further, a possibility is pursued the symmetry breaking scalar in the pNGB model plays the role of inflaton. The inflaton and dark matter are unified in a single field and the pNGB production from inflaton decay is inevitable. For these non-thermally produced relic abundance of pNGB dark matter and successful inflation, we find that the dark matter mass should be less than a few GeV in the wide range of the reheating temperature and the inflaton mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large classes of dark sector models feature mass scales and couplings very different from the ones we observe in the Standard Model (SM). Moreover, in the freeze-in mechanism, often employed by the dark sector models, it is also required that the dark sector cannot be populated during the reheating process like the SM. This is the so called asymmetric reheating. Such disparities in sizes and scales often call for dynamical explanations. In this paper, we explore a scenario in which slow evolving conformal field theories (CFTs) offer such an explanation. Building on the recent work on conformal freeze-in (COFI), we focus on a coupling between the Standard Model Hypercharge gauge boson and an anti-symmetric tensor operator in the dark CFT. We present a scenario which dynamically realizes the asymmetric reheating and COFI production. With a detailed study of dark matter production, and taking into account limits on the dark matter (DM) self-interaction, warm DM bound, and constraints from the stellar evolution, we demonstrate that the correct relic abundance can be obtained with reasonable choices of parameters. The model predicts the existence of a dark photon as an emergent composite particle, with a small kinetic mixing also determined by the CFT dynamics, which correlates it with the generation of the mass scale of the dark sector. At the same time, COFI production of dark matter is very different from those freeze-in mediated by the dark photon. This is an example of the physics in which a realistic dark sector model can often be much richer and with unexpected features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low energy antideuteron detection presents a unique channel for indirect detection, targeting dark matter that annihilates into hadrons in a relatively background-free way. Since the idea was first proposed, many WIMP-type models have already been disfavored by direct detection experiments, and current constraints indicate that any thermal relic candidates likely annihilate through some hidden sector process. In this paper, we show that cosmic ray antideuteron detection experiments represent one of the best ways to search for hidden sector thermal relic dark matter, and in particular investigate a vector portal dark matter that annihilates via a massive dark photon. We find that the parameter space with thermal relic annihilation and m χ > m A ′ > ~ 20 GeV is largely unconstrained, and near future antideuteron experiment GAPS will be able to probe models in this space with mχ ≈ mA′ up to masses of O (100 GeV). Specifically the dark matter models favored by the Fermi Galactic center excess is expected to be detected or constrained at the 5(3) −σ level assuming a optimistic (conservative) propagation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of electroweak Z bosons that decay to neutrinos and recoil against jets with large transverse momentum p⊥ is an important background process to searches for dark matter at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). To fully benefit from opportunities offered by the future high-luminosity LHC, the theoretical description of the pp → Z + j process should be extended to include mixed QCD-electroweak corrections. The goal of this paper is to initiate the computation of such corrections starting with the calculation of the Feynman integrals needed to describe two-loop QCD-electroweak contributions to q q ¯ → Z + g scattering amplitudes. Making use of the hierarchy between the large transverse momenta of the recoiling jet, relevant for heavy dark matter searches, and the Z boson mass mZ , we present the relevant master integrals as a series expansion in mZ/p⊥. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simplest extension of the Standard Model by only one real singlet scalar can explain the observed dark matter relic density while giving simultaneously a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition in the early universe. However, after imposing the invisible Higgs decay constraint from the LHC, the parameter space of the single scalar model shrinks to regions with only a few percentage of the DM relic abundance and when adding the direct detection bound, e.g. from XENON100, it gets excluded completely. In this paper, we extend the Standard Model with two real gauge singlet scalars, here s and s′, and show that the electroweak symmetry breaking may occur via different channels. Despite very restrictive first-order phase transition conditions for the two-scalar model in comparison to the single scalar model, there is a viable space of parameters in different phase transition channels that simultaneously explains a fraction or the whole dark matter relic density, a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition and still evading the direct detection bounds from the latest LUX/XENON experiments while respecting the invisible Higgs decay width constraint from the LHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constraints on selected mediator-based dark matter models and a scalar dark energy model using up to 37 fb−1s = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015-2016 are summarised in this paper. The results of experimental searches in a variety of final states are interpreted in terms of a set of spin-1 and spin-0 single-mediator dark matter simplified models and a second set of models involving an extended Higgs sector plus an additional vector or pseudo-scalar mediator. The searches considered in this paper constrain spin-1 leptophobic and leptophilic mediators, spin-0 colour-neutral and colour-charged mediators and vector or pseudo-scalar mediators embedded in extended Higgs sector models. In this case, also s = 8 TeV pp collision data are used for the interpretation of the results. The results are also interpreted for the first time in terms of light scalar particles that could contribute to the accelerating expansion of the universe (dark energy).[Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Constraints on selected mediator-based dark matter models and a scalar dark energy model using up to 37 fb−1s = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015-2016 are summarised in this paper. The results of experimental searches in a variety of final states are interpreted in terms of a set of spin-1 and spin-0 single-mediator dark matter simplified models and a second set of models involving an extended Higgs sector plus an additional vector or pseudo-scalar mediator. The searches considered in this paper constrain spin-1 leptophobic and leptophilic mediators, spin-0 colour-neutral and colour-charged mediators and vector or pseudo-scalar mediators embedded in extended Higgs sector models. In this case, also s = 8 TeV pp collision data are used for the interpretation of the results. The results are also interpreted for the first time in terms of light scalar particles that could contribute to the accelerating expansion of the universe (dark energy).[Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Extensions of the Standard Model with masses at or below the GeV scale are motivated by searches for dark matter and precision measurements in the quark and lepton flavour sectors, including that of the muon anomalous magnetic moment. An excellent experimental environment to test such light new physics is given by the Belle II experiment, which foresees to take up to 50 ab−1 of data. Here we consider a model with an additional gauged U 1 L μ − L τ symmetry that introduces a neutral gauge boson, a Dark Photon, with possibly large couplings to muon- and tau-flavored leptons, including neutrinos. Dark Photon mixing with the Standard Model photon is loop induced, allowing it to couple to electrically charged fermions other than muons and taus. We systematically investigate the possible search strategies for Dark Photons with four fermion final states. We identified search channels with muons as the most promising ones, and we analyse the kinematic distributions to obtain cuts that optimise the sensitivity of Belle II searches for the Dark Photon. Summarising the sensitivities from the most promising search channels we provide a comprehensive overview of future searches at Belle II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leptonic signatures of Dark Matter (DM) are one of the cleanest ways to discover such a secluded form of matter at high energy colliders. We explore the full parameter space relevant to multi-lepton (2- and 3-lepton) signatures at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from representative minimal consistent models with scalar and fermion DM. In our analysis, we suggest a new parametrisation of the model parameter spaces in terms of the DM mass and mass differences between DM and its multiplet partners. This parametrisation allows us to explore properties of DM models in their whole parameter space. This approach is generic and quite model-independent since the mass differences are related to the couplings of the DM to the Standard Model (SM) sector. We establish the most up-to-date LHC limits on the inert 2-Higgs Doublet Model (i2HDM) and Minimal Fermion DM (MFDM) model parameter spaces, by using the complementary information stemming from 2- and 3-lepton signatures. We provide a map of LHC efficiencies and cross-section limits for such 2- and 3-lepton signatures allowing one to easily make model-independent reinterpretations of LHC results for analogous classes of models. We also present combined constraints from the LHC, DM relic density and direct search experiments indicating the current status of the i2HDM and MFDM model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper presents a detailed characterization of the positron beam delivered by the Beam Test Facility at Laboratori Nazionali of Frascati to the PADME experiment during Run III, which took place from October to December 2022. It showcases the methodology used to measure the main beam parameters such as the position in space, the absolute momentum scale, the beam energy spread, and its intensity through a combination of data analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. The results achieved include an absolute precision in the momentum of the beam to within ~1–2 MeV/c, a relative beam energy spread below 0.25%, and an absolute precision in the intensity of the beam at the level of 2%.

In the original paper, figure 10 was incorrect. The correct figure is shown below. Additionally, the unparticle entries in table 3, as well as figure 4 and 5 were labelled with incorrect values of Λ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A search for “emerging jets” produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is performed using data collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. This search examines a hypothetical dark quantum chromodynamics (QCD) sector that couples to the standard model (SM) through a scalar mediator. The scalar mediator decays into an SM quark and a dark sector quark. As the dark sector quark showers and hadronizes, it produces long-lived dark mesons that subsequently decay into SM particles, resulting in a jet, known as an emerging jet, with multiple displaced vertices. This search looks for pair production of the scalar mediator at the LHC, which yields events with two SM jets and two emerging jets at leading order. The results are interpreted using two dark sector models with different flavor structures, and exclude mediator masses up to 1950 (1950) GeV for an unflavored (flavor-aligned) dark QCD model. The unflavored results surpass a previous search for emerging jets by setting the most stringent mediator mass exclusion limits to date, while the flavor-aligned results provide the first direct mediator mass exclusion limits to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jovian magnetic field, being the strongest and largest planetary one in the solar system, could offer us new insights into possible microscopic scale new physics, such as a non-zero mass of the Standard Model (SM) photon or a light dark photon kinetically mixing with the SM photon. We employ the immense data set from the latest Juno mission, which provides us unprecedented information about the magnetic field of the gas giant, together with a more rigorous statistical approach compared to the literature, to set strong constraints on the dark photon mass and kinetic mixing parameter, as well as the SM photon mass. The constraint on the dark photon parameters is independent of whether dark photon is (part of) dark matter or not, and serves as the most stringent one in a certain regime of the parameter space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a usual dark matter (DM) model without a huge mass difference between the DM and lighter mediator, using the coupling strength suitable for having the correct relic density, the resulting self-interaction becomes several orders of magnitude smaller than that required to interpret the small-scale structures. We present a framework that can offer a solution for this point. We consider a model that contains the vector DM and a heavier but unstable Higgs-like scalar in the hidden sector. When the temperature drops below ~ mDM, the hidden sector, which is thermally decoupled from the visible sector, enters a cannibal phase, during which the DM density is depleted with the out-of-equilibrium decay of the scalar. The favored parameter region, giving the correct relic density and the proper size of self-interactions, shows the scalar-to-DM mass ratio ∈ [1.1, 1.33] and the scalar mass ∈ [9, 114] MeV. A sizable parameter space still survives the most current constraints and can be further probed by the near future NA62 beam dump experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]