Supersymmetric dark matter sectors

Many models of dark matter place their dark matter candidate inside a broader dark sector with other particles and fields for theoretical and phenomenological reasons. The cosmological evolution of these dark sectors can differ significantly from standard scenarios, in particular due to their interplay with the Standard Model of particle physics. In this thesis, we study various dark sector cosmologies, including their evolution and resulting constraints. In view of ever more stringent limits from direct and indirect searches on dark matter as a thermal relic from the primordial plasma encompassing the SM particles, scenarios of a dark sector decoupled from the Standard Model receive increasing interest. Interestingly, the corresponding dark matter production mechanism of thermal freeze-out can also occur entirely in a decoupled dark sector. Still, certain modifications to the standard treatment need to be taken into account. We study these changes and find significant deviations of the annihilation cross-section required to obtain the observed dark matter abundance, in particular if the dark matter particle and its annihilation product are similar in mass. After the first gravitational waves were observed by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), interest in primordial black holes as a candidate for dark matter has been renewed. As gravitational waves can be produced in primordial black hole binary mergers, this setup can be considered a dark sector with purely gravitational interactions. Large initial primordial black hole clustering has been suggested to circumvent the strong limits on this scenario. We show that instead, gravitational wave constraints are enhanced by large clustering such that highly clustered primordial black holes with the masses corresponding to the LIGO events cannot account for all of the dark matter in the Universe. A major part of this thesis studies Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) as a probe for MeVscale dark sectors. Due to the remarkable agreement of predictions for the primordial light element abundances from BBN with observations, alterations are generally strongly constrained. Dark sectors can change the predictions for the primordial light element abundances by the influence of their cosmological evolution during BBN itself and subsequent disintegration processes, e.g. photodisintegration. The former proceed via alterations of the Hubble rate, neutrino decoupling, the time-temperature relation, and the best-fit value for the baryon-to-photon ratio. The latter are due to late-time high-energy electromagnetic injections into the Standard Model plasma, which induce an electromagnetic cascade producing an abundance of non-thermal photons that can disintegrate light nuclei. We derive these constraints for annihilations of MeV-scale dark matter, electromagnetic decays of MeV-scale dark sector particles, and axion-like particles coupled to photons.

The Starobinsky inflation model is one of the simplest inflation models that is consistent with the cosmic microwave background observations. In order to explain dark matter of the universe, we consider a minimal extension of the Starobinsky inflation model with introducing the dark sector which communicates with the visible sector only via the gravitational interaction. In Starobinsky inflation model, a sizable amount of dark-sector particle may be produced by the inflaton decay. Thus, a scalar, a fermion or a vector boson in the dark sector may become dark matter. We pay particular attention to the case with dark non-Abelian gauge interaction to make a dark glueball a dark matter candidate. In the minimal setup, we show that it is difficult to explain the observed dark matter abundance without conflicting observational constraints on the coldness and the self-interaction of dark matter. We propose scenarios in which the dark glueball, as well as other dark-sector particles, from the inflaton decay become viable dark matter candidates. We also discuss possibilities to test such scenarios.

All of the significant evidence for dark matter observed thus far has been through its gravitational interactions. After 40 years of direct detection experiments, the parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) as dark matter candidates is rapidly approaching the neutrino floor. Moreover, there have been no signs of WIMPs in any particle production experiments so far. In this light, we consider a dark sector that is strongly decoupled from the visible sector, interacting exclusively through gravity. In this model, proposed by Freese and Winkler [Dark matter and gravitational waves from a dark big bang, ], dark matter can be produced through a first-order phase transition in the dark sector dubbed “the dark big bang.” We fully determine the allowed region of parameter space for the tunneling potential that leads to the realization of a dark big bang and is consistent with all experimental bounds available. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

A preponderance of astrophysical and cosmological evidence indicates that the universe contains not only visible matter but also dark matter. In order to suppress the couplings between the dark and visible sectors, a standard assumption is that these two sectors communicate only through a mediator. In this paper we make a simple but important observation: if the dark sector contains multiple components with similar quantum numbers, then this mediator also generically gives rise to dark-sector decays, with heavier dark components decaying to lighter components. This in turn can even give rise to relatively long dark decay chains, with each step of the decay chain also producing visible matter. The visible byproducts of such mediator-induced decay chains can therefore serve as a unique signature of such scenarios. In order to investigate this possibility more concretely, we examine a scenario in which a multicomponent dark sector is connected through a mediator to Standard-Model quarks. We then demonstrate that such a scenario gives rise to multijet collider signatures, and we examine the properties of such jets at both the parton and detector levels. Within relatively large regions of parameter space, we find that such multijet signatures are not excluded by existing monojet and multijet searches. Such decay cascades therefore represent a potential discovery route for multicomponent dark sectors at current and future colliders.

We consider dark matter physics in a model for the dark sector with extra dark U(1)$_X$ gauge symmetry. The dark sector is composed of exotic fermions that are charged under both dark U(1)$_X$ and the standard model SU(3)$_C \times$U(1)$_Y$ gauge groups, as well as standard model singlet complex scalars $\Phi$ and $X$ with nonzero U(1)$_X$ charge. In this model, there are two dark matter candidates$-$a scalar and a fermion$-$both of which are stabilized by accidental $Z_2$ symmetry. Their thermal relic density, and direct and indirect detection constraints are discussed in detail and we search for the parameter space of the model accommodating dark matter observations. We also discuss constraints from diphoton resonance searches associated with the scalar field which breaks the dark U(1)$_X$, in a way consistent with dark matter physics. In addition, implications for collider physics are discussed, focusing on the production cross section of the scalar boson.

Self-Interacting Dark Matter models can successfully explain dark matter (DM) production through interactions confined within the dark sector. However, they often lack measurable experimental signals due to their secluded nature. Including a feeble interaction with the visible sector through a Higgs portal leads not only to potential detection avenues and richer thermal production dynamics, but also to a possible explanation of the initial dark sector population through the freeze-in mechanism. In this work we study, by solving the full system of coupled Boltzmann equations for the number densities and temperatures of all the involved states, three scenarios of this type where the DM is: a real scalar with broken ℤ2, a complex scalar with unbroken ℤ3, and a ℤ3 scalar with an additional scalar mediator. All of these models have viable dark matter candidates in a cannibal phase while having different detection profiles. We show that cosmological bounds can be either exacerbated or evaded by changing the dark sector interactions, leading to potential signatures in long-lived particle and indirect detection experiments.

We study the prospect of heavy singlet neutrinos as a dark matter (DM) candidate within a neutrinophilic U(1) model, where the Standard Model (SM) is extended with a U(1) gauge symmetry, and neutrino mass and oscillation parameters are explained through an inverse see-saw mechanism. The lightest of the heavy neutrinos plays the role of the DM, while the newly introduced scalars and the extra gauge boson Z′ act as mediators between the dark sector and the SM sector. We show the range of model parameters where this DM candidate can be accommodated in the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) or Feebly Interacting Massive Particle (FIMP) scenario. The observed DM relic density (DMRD) is achieved via the new gauge boson and singlet scalar portals in the WIMP scenario, whereas within the FIMP scenario, these two particles assume a distinct yet pivotal role in generating the observed DMRD.

We explore the possibility that a confining first-order phase transition of a nearly-conformal dark sector generates the reported NANOGrav signal of a stochastic gravitational wave background. The visible Standard Model (SM) sector and the dark sector are initially thermally decoupled so that their temperatures are different. The nearly conformal phase transition is described by the shallow potential of a dilaton (or a radion in the 5D holographic perspective) generated by a new dark Yang-Mills field coupled to the conformal sector. For a dark sector only gravitationally connected with the visible sector, the NANOGrav signal is explained by the phase transition without contradicting the ΔNeff constraint, together with a contribution from supermassive black hole binaries. While the dilaton and dark glueballs can be produced after the phase transition, they immediately decay into dark radiation, which can help ameliorate the Hubble tension and be tested by the future CMB-S4 experiment. Alternatively, for a dark conformal sector decaying into the visible sector after the phase transition, the ΔNeff constraint is not applied and the phase transition can solely explain the NANOGrav signal.

The lack of information before Big Bang Neucleosynthesis (BBN) allow us to assume the presence of a new species ϕ whose energy density redshifts as a -4+n where n > 0 and a is the scale factor. This non-standard cosmological setup facilitates a larger portal coupling (ϵ) between the dark and the visible sectors even when the two sectors are not in thermal equilibrium. Here, we have considered U(1) Lμ-Lτ ⊗ U(1) X gauge extension of the Standard Model (SM) and studied different phases of the cosmological evolution of a thermally decoupled dark sector such as leak-in, freeze-in, reannihilation, and late-time annihilation in the presence of fast expansion. Due to the tree level kinetic mixing between U(1) X and U(1) Lμ-Lτ gauge bosons, the dark sector couples with the μ and τ flavored leptons of the SM. We show that in our scenario it is possible to reconcile the dark matter relic density and muon (g-2) anomaly. In particular, we show that for 2 × 10-4 ≲ ϵ ≲ 10-3, 5.5 MeV ≲ mZ ' ≲ 200 MeV, n = 4, and 1 TeV ≲ mχ ≲ 10 TeV relic density constraint of dark matter, constraint from muon (g-2) anomaly, and other cosmological, astrophysical constraints are satisfied.

We consider the cosmological constraints on theories in which there exists a nontrivial coupling between the dark matter sector and the sector responsible for the acceleration of the universe, in light of the most recent supernovae, large scale structure and cosmic microwave background data. For a variety of models, we show that the strength of the coupling of dark matter to a quintessence field is constrained to be less than 7% of the coupling to gravity. We also show that long-range interactions between fermionic dark matter particles mediated by a light scalar with a Yukawa coupling are constrained to be less than 5% of the strength of gravity at a distance scale of 10 Mpc. We show that all of the models we consider are quantum mechanically weakly coupled, and argue that some other models in the literature are ruled out by quantum mechanical strong coupling.

The Standard Model of particle physics is governed by Poincaré symmetry, while all other symmetries, exact or approximate, are essentially dictated by theoretical consistency with the particle spectrum. On the other hand, many models of dark matter exist that rely upon the addition of new added global symmetries in order to stabilize the dark matter particle and/or achieve the correct abundance. In this work we begin a systematic exploration into truly natural models of dark matter, organized by only relativity and quantum mechanics, without the appeal to any additional global symmetries, no fine-tuning, and no small parameters. We begin by reviewing how singlet dark sectors based on spin 0 or spin frac{1}{2} should readily decay, while pure strongly coupled spin 1 models have an overabun-dance problem. This inevitably leads us to construct chiral models with spin frac{1}{2} particles charged under confining spin 1 particles. This leads to stable dark matter candidates that are analogs of baryons, with a confinement scale that can be naturally \U0001d4aa(100)TeV. This leads to the right freeze-out abundance by annihilating into massless unconfined dark fermions. The minimal model involves a dark copy of SU(3) × SU(2) with 1 generation of chiral dark quarks and leptons. The presence of massless dark leptons can potentially give rise to a somewhat large value of ∆Neff during BBN. In order to not upset BBN one may either appeal to a large number of heavy degrees of freedom beyond the Standard Model, or to assume the dark sector has a lower reheat temperature than the visible sector, which is also natural in this framework. This reasoning provides a robust set of dark matter models that are entirely natural. Some are concrete realizations of the nightmare scenario in which dark matter may be very difficult to detect, which may impact future search techniques.

If there were a fifth force in the dark sector and dark matter (DM) particles interacted nongravitationally with ordinary matter, quantum corrections generically would lead to a fifth force in the visible sector. We show how the strong experimental limits on fifth forces in the visible sector produce bounds on the cross section for DM detection and the strength of the fifth force in the dark sector. For a fifth force comparable in strength to gravity, the spin-independent direct detection cross section must typically be less, similar10;{-55} cm;{2}. The anomalous acceleration of ordinary matter falling towards dark matter would also be constrained: eta_{OM-DM} less, similar10;{-8}.

We consider a model of two-component dark matter based on a hidden U(1)D symmetry, in which relic densities of the dark matter are determined by forbidden channels and thermal freeze-out. The hidden U(1)D symmetry is spontaneously broken to a residual ℤ4 symmetry, and the lightest ℤ4 charged particle can be a dark matter candidate. Moreover, depending on the mass hierarchy in the dark sector, we have two-component dark matter. We show that the relic density of the lighter dark matter component can be determined by forbidden annihilation channels which require larger couplings compared to the normal freeze-out mechanism. As a result, a large self-interaction of the lighter dark matter component can be induced, which may solve small scale problems of ΛCDM model. On the other hand, the heavier dark matter component is produced by normal freeze-out mechanism. We find that interesting implications emerge between the two dark matter components in this framework. We explore detectabilities of these dark matter particles and show some parameter space can be tested by the SHiP experiment.

Dark matter charged under a new gauge sector, as motivated by recent data, suggests a rich GeV-scale 'dark sector' weakly coupled to the Standard Model by gauge kinetic mixing. The new gauge bosons can decay to Standard Model leptons, but this mode is suppressed if decays into lighter 'dark sector' particles are kinematically allowed. These particles in turn typically have macroscopic decay lifetimes that are constrained by two classes of experiments, which we discuss. Lifetimes of 10 cm {approx}< c{tau} {approx}< 10{sup 8} cm are constrained by existing terrestrial beam-dump experiments. If, in addition, dark matter captured in the Sun (or Earth) annihilates into these particles, lifetimes up to {approx} 10{sup 15} cm are constrained by solar observations. These bounds span fourteen orders of magnitude in lifetime, but they are not exhaustive. Accordingly, we identify promising new directions for experiments including searches for displaced di-muons in B-factories, studies at high-energy and -intensity proton beam dumps, precision gamma-ray and electronic measurements of the Sun, and milli-charge searches re-analyzed in this new context.

We propose a novel cogenesis of baryon and dark matter (DM) in the Universe by utilising a first-order phase transition (FOPT) in the dark sector containing an asymmetric Dirac fermion χ. Due to the mass difference of χ across the bubble walls, it is energetically favourable for χ to get trapped in the false vacuum leading to the formation of Fermi-ball, which can self-collapse to form primordial black hole (PBH) if χ has a sufficiently large Yukawa interaction. While such PBH formed out of false vacuum collapse can give rise to the DM in the Universe, a tiny amount of asymmetric χ leaking into the true vacuum through the bubble walls can transfer the dark asymmetry into the visible sector via decay. The same mass difference of χ across the two minima which decides the amount of trapping or filtering of χ, also allows χ decay into visible sector in the true minima while keeping it stable in the false vacuum. Our filtered cogenesis scenario can be probed via FOPT generated stochastic gravitational waves (GW) at near future detectors in addition to the well-known detection aspects of asteroid mass PBH constituting DM in the Universe.