Alexander V. Belikov, John F. Gunion, Dan Hooper, Tim M. P. Tait
Recent observations by the CoGeNT collaboration (as well as long standing observations by DAMA/LIBRA) suggest the presence of a $\sim 5$-10 GeV dark matter particle with a somewhat large elastic scattering cross section with nucleons ($σ\sim 10^{-40}$ cm$^2$).Within the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), neutralinos in this mass range are not able to possess such large cross sections, and would be overproduced in the early universe. Simple extensions of the MSSM, however, can easily accommodate these observations. In particular, the extension of the MSSM by a chiral singlet superfield allows for the possibility that the dark matter is made up of a light singlino that interacts with nucleons largely through the exchange of a fairly light ($\sim$30-70 GeV) singlet-like scalar higgs, $\hi$. Such a scenario is consistent with all current collider constraints and can generate the signals reported by CoGeNT and DAMA/LIBRA. Furthermore, there is a generic limit of the extended model in which there is a singlet-like pseudoscalar higgs, $\ai$, with $\mai\sim \mhi$ and in which the $χ^0χ^0$ and $b\anti b, s\anti s$ coupling magnitudes of the $\hi$ and $\ai$ are very similar. In this case, the thermal relic abundance is automatically consistent with the measured density of dark matter if $\mchi$ is sufficiently small that $χ^0χ^0\to b\anti b$ is forbidden.
JoAnne L. Hewett, Jessie Shelton, Michael Spannowsky, Tim M. P. Tait, Michihisa Takeuchi
The recent Tevatron measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry of the top quark shows an intriguing discrepancy with Standard Model expectations, particularly at large $\ttbar$ invariant masses. Measurements of this quantity are subtle at the LHC, due to its $pp$ initial state, however, one can define a forward-central-charge asymmetry which captures the physics. We study the capability of the LHC to measure this asymmetry and find that within the SM a measurement at the $5σ$ level is possible with roughly 60 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 14$ TeV. If nature realizes a model which enhances the asymmetry (as is necessary to explain the Tevatron measurements), a significant difference from zero can be observed much earlier, perhaps even during early LHC running at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. We further explore the capabilities of the 7 TeV LHC to discover resonances or contact interactions which modify the $\ttbar$ invariant mass distribution using recent boosted top tagging techniques. We find that TeV-scale color octet resonances can be discovered, even with small coupling strengths and that contact interactions can be probed at scales exceeding 6 TeV. Overall, the LHC has good potential to clarify the situation with regards to the Tevatron forward-backward measurement.
Arvind Rajaraman, Tim M. P. Tait, Alexander M. Wijangco
We explore theories of dark matter in which dark matter annihilations produce mono-energetic gamma rays ("lines") in the context of effective field theory, which captures the physics for cases in which the particles mediating the interaction are somewhat heavier than the dark matter particle itself. Building on earlier work, we explore the generic signature resulting from SU(2)xU(1) gauge invariance that two (or more) lines are generically expected, and determine the expected relative intensities, including the possibility of interference between operators.
Gianfranco Bertone, C. B. Jackson, Gabe Shaughnessy, Tim M. P. Tait, Alberto Vallinotto
The spectrum of photons arising from WIMP annihilation carries a detailed imprint of the structure of the dark sector. In particular, loop-level annihilations into a photon and another boson can in principle lead to a series of lines (a WIMP forest) at energies up to the WIMP mass. A specific model which illustrates this feature nicely is a theory of two universal extra dimensions compactified on a chiral square. Aside from the continuum emission, which is a generic prediction of most dark matter candidates, we find a "forest" of prominent annihilation lines that, after convolution with the angular resolution of current experiments, leads to a distinctive (2-bump plus continuum) spectrum, which may be visible in the near future with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (formerly known as GLAST).
C. B. Jackson, Geraldine Servant, Gabe Shaughnessy, Tim M. P. Tait, Marco Taoso
We consider the possibility that the Higgs can be produced in dark matter annihilations, appearing as a line in the spectrum of gamma rays at an energy determined by the masses of the WIMP and the Higgs itself. We argue that this phenomenon occurs generally in models in which the the dark sector has large couplings to the most massive states of the SM and provide a simple example inspired by the Randall-Sundrum vision of dark matter, whose 4d dual corresponds to electroweak symmetry-breaking by strong dynamics which respect global symmetries that guarantee a stable WIMP. The dark matter is a Dirac fermion that couples to a Z' acting as a portal to the Standard Model through its strong coupling to top quarks. Annihilation into light standard model degrees of freedom is suppressed and generates a feeble continuum spectrum of gamma rays. Loops of top quarks mediate annihilation into gamma Z, gamma h, and gamma Z', providing a forest of lines in the spectrum. Such models can be probed by the Fermi/GLAST satellite and ground-based Air Cherenkov telescopes.
Jessica N. Howard, Seyda Ipek, Tim M. P. Tait, Jessica Turner
We explore the possibility that dark matter is a pair of vector-like fermionic $\mathrm{SU}(2)_{\rm L}$ doublets and propose a novel mechanism of dark matter production that proceeds through the confinement of the weak sector of the Standard Model. This confinement phase causes the Standard Model doublets and dark matter to confine into pions. The dark pions freeze-out before the weak sector deconfines and generate a relic abundance of dark matter. We solve the Boltzmann equations for this scenario to determine the scale of confinement and constituent dark matter mass required to produce the observed relic density. We determine which regions of this parameter space evade direct detection, collider bounds, and successfully produce the observed relic density of dark matter. For a TeV scale pair of vector-like fermionic $\mathrm{SU}(2)_{\rm L}$ doublets, we find the weak confinement scale to be $\sim 700$ TeV.
Linda M. Carpenter, Taylor Murphy, Tim M. P. Tait
We study a renormalizable model of Dirac fermion dark matter (DM) that communicates with the Standard Model (SM) through a pair of mediators -- one scalar, one fermion -- in the representation $(\boldsymbol{6},\boldsymbol{1}, \tfrac{4}{3})$ of the SM gauge group $\text{SU}(3)_{\text{c}} \times \text{SU}(2)_{\text{L}} \times \text{U}(1)_Y$. While such assignments preclude direct coupling of the dark matter to the Standard Model at tree level, we examine the many effective operators generated at one-loop order when the mediators are heavy, and find that they are often phenomenologically relevant. We reinterpret dijet and pair-produced resonance and $\text{jets} + E_{\text{T}}^{\text{miss}}$ searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in order to constrain the mediator sector, and we examine an array of DM constraints ranging from the observed relic density $Ω_χ h^2_{\text{Planck}}$ to indirect and direct searches for dark matter. Tree-level annihilation, available for DM masses starting at the TeV scale, is required in order to produce $Ω_χ h^2_{\text{Planck}}$ through freeze-out, but loops -- led by the dimension-five DM magnetic dipole moment -- are nonetheless able to produce signals large enough to be constrained, particularly by the XENON1T experiment. In some benchmarks, we find a fair amount of parameter space left open by experiment and compatible with freeze-out. In other scenarios, however, the open space is quite small, suggesting a need for further model-building and/or non-standard cosmologies.
Tyler B. Smith, Tim M. P. Tait
New vector bosons that are coupled to conserved currents in the Standard Model exhibit enhanced rates below the electroweak scale from anomalous triangle amplitudes, leading to (energy/vector mass)$^2$ enhancements to rare Z decays and flavor-changing meson decays into the longitudinally polarized vector boson. In the case of a vector boson gauging $U(1)_{B-L}$, the mass gap between the top quark and the remaining SM fermions leads to (energy/vector mass)$^2$ enhancements for processes with momentum transfer below the top mass. In addition, we examine the case of an intergenerational $U(1)_{B_3 - L_2}$ that has been proposed to resolve the $(g-2)_μ$ anomaly with an MeV scale DM candidate, and we find that these enhanced processes constrain the entire parameter space.
Kimberly K. Boddy, Jonathan L. Feng, Manoj Kaplinghat, Tim M. P. Tait
There is strong evidence in favor of the idea that dark matter is self interacting, with the cross section-to-mass ratio $σ/ m \sim 1\,\mathrm{cm^2/g} \sim 1\,\mathrm{barn/GeV}$. We show that viable models of dark matter with this large cross section are straightforwardly realized with non-Abelian hidden sectors. In the simplest of such models, the hidden sector is a pure gauge theory, and the dark matter is composed of hidden glueballs with a mass around $100\,\mathrm{MeV}$. Alternatively, the hidden sector may be a supersymmetric pure gauge theory with a $\sim 10\,\mathrm{TeV}$ gluino thermal relic. In this case, the dark matter is largely composed of glueballinos that strongly self interact through the exchange of light glueballs. We present a unified framework that realizes both of these possibilities in anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking, where, depending on a few model parameters, the dark matter may be composed of hidden glueballinos, hidden glueballs, or a mixture of the two. These models provide simple examples of multicomponent dark matter, have interesting implications for particle physics and cosmology, and include cases where a subdominant component of dark matter may be extremely strongly self interacting, with interesting astrophysical consequences.
Andre de Gouvea, Daniel Hernandez, Tim M. P. Tait
With the discovery of a particle that seems rather consistent with the minimal Standard Model Higgs boson, attention turns to questions of naturalness, fine-tuning, and what they imply for physics beyond the Standard Model and its discovery prospects at run II of the LHC. In this article we revisit the issue of naturalness, discussing some implicit assumptions that underly some of the most common statements, which tend to assign physical significance to certain regularization procedures. Vague arguments concerning fine-tuning can lead to conclusions that are too strong and perhaps not as generic as one would hope. Instead, we explore a more pragmatic definition of the hierarchy problem that does not rely on peeking beyond the murky boundaries of quantum field theory: we investigate the fine-tuning of the electroweak scale associated with thresholds from heavy particles, which is both calculable and dependent on the nature of the would-be ultraviolet completion of the Standard Model. We discuss different manifestations of new high-energy scales that are favored by experimental hints for new physics with an eye toward making use of fine-tuning in order to determine natural regions of the new physics parameter spaces.
Jonathan L. Feng, Tim M. P. Tait, Christopher B. Verhaaren
Recent anomalies in $^8$Be and $^4$He nuclear decays can be explained by postulating a fifth force mediated by a new boson $X$. The distributions of both transitions are consistent with the same $X$ mass, 17 MeV, providing kinematic evidence for a single new particle explanation. In this work, we examine whether the new results also provide dynamical evidence for a new particle explanation, that is, whether the observed decay rates of both anomalies can be described by a single hypothesis for the $X$ boson's interactions. We consider the observed $^8$Be and $^4$He excited nuclei, as well as a $^{12}$C excited nucleus; together these span the possible $J^P$ quantum numbers up to spin 1. For each transition, we determine whether scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, or axial vector $X$ particles can mediate the decay, and we construct the leading operators in a nuclear physics effective field theory that describes them. Assuming parity conservation, the scalar case is excluded and the pseudoscalar case is highly disfavored. Remarkably, however, the protophobic vector gauge boson, first proposed to explain only the $^8$Be anomaly, also explains the $^4$He anomaly within experimental uncertainties. We predict signal rates for other closely related nuclear measurements, which, if confirmed, will provide overwhelming evidence that a fifth force has been discovered.
Tomohiro Abe, Yoav Afik, Andreas Albert, Christopher R. Anelli, Liron Barak, Martin Bauer, J. Katharina Behr, Nicole F. Bell, Antonio Boveia, Oleg Brandt, Giorgio Busoni, Linda M. Carpenter, Yu-Heng Chen, Caterina Doglioni, Alison Elliot, Motoko Fujiwara, Marie-Helene Genest, Raffaele Gerosa, Stefania Gori, Johanna Gramling, Alexander Grohsjean, Giuliano Gustavino, Kristian Hahn, Ulrich Haisch, Lars Henkelmann, Junji Hisano, Anders Huitfeldt, Valerio Ippolito, Felix Kahlhoefer, Greg Landsberg, Steven Lowette, Benedikt Maier, Fabio Maltoni, Margarete Muehlleitner, Jose M. No, Priscilla Pani, Giacomo Polesello, Darren D. Price, Tania Robens, Giulia Rovelli, Yoram Rozen, Isaac W. Sanderson, Rui Santos, Stanislava Sevova, David Sperka, Kevin Sung, Tim M. P. Tait, Koji Terashi, Francesca C. Ungaro, Eleni Vryonidou, Shin-Shan Yu, Sau Lan Wu, Chen Zhou
Dark matter (DM) simplified models are by now commonly used by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations to interpret searches for missing transverse energy ($E_T^\mathrm{miss}$). The coherent use of these models sharpened the LHC DM search program, especially in the presentation of its results and their comparison to DM direct-detection (DD) and indirect-detection (ID) experiments. However, the community has been aware of the limitations of the DM simplified models, in particular the lack of theoretical consistency of some of them and their restricted phenomenology leading to the relevance of only a small subset of $E_T^\mathrm{miss}$ signatures. This document from the LHC Dark Matter Working Group identifies an example of a next-generation DM model, called $\textrm{2HDM+a}$, that provides the simplest theoretically consistent extension of the DM pseudoscalar simplified model. A comprehensive study of the phenomenology of the $\textrm{2HDM+a}$ model is presented, including a discussion of the rich and intricate pattern of mono-$X$ signatures and the relevance of other DM as well as non-DM experiments. Based on our discussions, a set of recommended scans are proposed to explore the parameter space of the $\textrm{2HDM+a}$ model through LHC searches. The exclusion limits obtained from the proposed scans can be consistently compared to the constraints on the $\textrm{2HDM+a}$ model that derive from DD, ID and the DM relic density.
Linda M. Carpenter, Taylor Murphy, Tim M. P. Tait
We introduce an effort to catalog the gauge-invariant interactions of Standard Model (SM) particles and new fields in a variety of representations of the SM color gauge group $\text{SU}(3)_{\text{c}}$. In this first installment, we direct this effort toward fields in the six-dimensional (sextet, $\boldsymbol{6}$) representation. We consider effective operators of mass dimension up to seven (comprehensively up to dimension six), featuring both scalar and fermionic color sextets. We use an iterative tensor-product method to identify the color invariants underpinning such operators, emphasizing structures that have received little attention to date. In order to demonstrate the utility of our approach, we study a simple but novel model of color-sextet fields at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We compute cross sections for an array of new production channels enabled by our operators, including single-sextet production and sextet production in association with photons or leptons. We also discuss dijet-resonance constraints on a sextet fermion. This example shows that there remains a wide array of fairly minimal but well motivated and unexplored models with extended strong sectors as we await the high-luminosity LHC.
Jason Arakawa, Arvind Rajaraman, Tim M. P. Tait
We investigate a novel interplay between the decay and annihilation of a particle whose mass undergoes a large shift during a first order phase transition, leading to the particles becoming trapped in the false vacuum and enhancing their annihilation rates as the bubbles of true vacuum expand. This opens up a large region of the parameter space where annihilations can be important. We apply this scenario to baryogenesis, where we find that annihilations can be enhanced enough to generate the requires baryon asymmetry even for relatively tiny annihilation cross sections with modest CP asymmetries.
Jason Arakawa, Arvind Rajaraman, Tim M. P. Tait
We construct a theory in which the solution to the strong CP problem is an emergent property of the background of the dark matter in the Universe. The role of the axion degree of freedom is played by multi-body collective excitations similar to spin-waves in the medium of the dark matter of the Galactic halo. The dark matter is a vector particle whose low energy interactions with the Standard Model take the form of its spin density coupled to $G \widetilde{G}$, which induces a potential on the average spin density inducing it to compensate $\overlineθ$, effectively removing CP violation in the strong sector in regions of the Universe with sufficient dark matter density. We discuss the viable parameter space, finding that light dark matter masses within a few orders of magnitude of the fuzzy limit are preferred, and discuss the associated signals with this type of solution to the strong CP problem.
Bartosz Fornal, Tim M. P. Tait
We analyze a recently proposed extension of the Standard Model based on the SU(4) x SU(2)_L x U(1)_X gauge group, in which baryon number is interpreted as the fourth color and dark matter emerges as a neutral partner of the ordinary quarks under SU(4). We show that under well-motivated minimal flavor-violating assumptions the particle spectrum contains a heavy dark matter candidate which is dominantly the partner of the right-handed top quark. Assuming a standard cosmology, the correct thermal relic density through freeze-out is obtained for dark matter masses around 2 - 3 TeV. We examine the constraints and future prospects for direct and indirect searches for dark matter. We also briefly discuss the LHC phenomenology, which is rich in top quark signatures, and investigate the prospects for discovery at a 100 TeV hadron collider.
Anja Butter, Simona Murgia, Tilman Plehn, Tim M. P. Tait
The minimal supersymmetric setup offers a comprehensive framework to interpret the Fermi LAT Galactic center excess. Taking into account experimental, theoretical, and astrophysical uncertainties we can identify valid parameter regions linked to different annihilation channels. They extend to dark matter masses above 250 GeV. There exists a very mild tension between the observed relic density and the annihilation rate in the center of our galaxy for specific channels. The strongest additional constraints come from the new generation of direct detection experiments, ruling out much of the light and intermediate dark matter mass regime and giving preference to heavier dark matter annihilating into a pair of top quarks.
Anne-Katherine Burns, Venus Keus, Marc Sher, Tim M. P. Tait
Recently, the EMPRESS collaboration has included new data in the extraction of the primordial $^4$He abundance from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), resulting in a determination that differs from the previous value and from theoretical expectations. There have been several studies attempting to explain this anomaly which involve variation of fundamental constants between the time of BBN and the present. Since the Higgs vacuum expectation value (vev) is the only dimensionful parameter in the Standard Model and it is already known to vary during the electroweak phase transition, we consider the possibility that the vev is slightly different during BBN compared to its present value. A modification of the vev changes not only particle masses but also affects, through mass thresholds, the QCD confinement scale. We use the recently developed PRyMordial program to study this variation and its impact on the $^4$He and deuterium abundances. We find that bounds on $|{δv}/{v}|$ are approximately $0.01$, and that the EMPRESS result can be explained within $2σ$ if $0.008 < {δv}/{v}< 0.02$, but at the cost of worsening the current $2σ$ discrepancy in the deuterium abundance to over $3σ$.
Jodi Cooley, Tongyan Lin, W. Hugh Lippincott, Tracy R. Slatyer, Tien-Tien Yu, Daniel S. Akerib, Tsuguo Aramaki, Daniel Baxter, Torsten Bringmann, Ray Bunker, Daniel Carney, Susana Cebrián, Thomas Y. Chen, Priscilla Cushman, C. E. Dahl, Rouven Essig, Alden Fan, Richard Gaitskell, Cristano Galbiati, Graciela B. Gelmini, Graham K. Giovanetti, Guillaume Giroux, Luca Grandi, J. Patrick Harding, Scott Haselschwardt, Lauren Hsu, Shunsaku Horiuchi, Yonatan Kahn, Doojin Kim, Geon-Bo Kim, Scott Kravitz, V. A. Kudryavtsev, Noah Kurinsky, Rafael F. Lang, Rebecca K. Leane, Benjamin V. Lehmann, Cecilia Levy, Shengchao Li, Ben Loer, Aaron Manalaysay, C. J Martoff, Gopolang Mohlabeng, M. E. Monzani, Alexander St J. Murphy, Russell Neilson, Harry N. Nelson, Ciaran A. J. O'Hare, K. J. Palladino, Aditya Parikh, Jong-Chul Park, Kerstin Perez, Stefano Profumo, Nirmal Raj, Brandon M. Roach, Tarek Saab, Maria Luísa Sarsa, Richard Schnee, Sally Shaw, Seodong Shin, Kuver Sinha, Kelly Stifter, Aritoki Suzuki, M. Szydagis, Tim M. P. Tait, Volodymyr Takhistov, Yu-Dai Tsai, S. E. Vahsen, Edoardo Vitagliano, Philip von Doetinchem, Gensheng Wang, Shawn Westerdale, David A. Williams, Xin Xiang, Liang Yang
This report summarizes the findings of the CF1 Topical Subgroup to Snowmass 2021, which was focused on particle dark matter. One of the most important scientific goals of the next decade is to reveal the nature of dark matter (DM). To accomplish this goal, we must delve deep, to cover high priority targets including weakly-interacting massive particles (WIMPs), and search wide, to explore as much motivated DM parameter space as possible. A diverse, continuous portfolio of experiments at large, medium, and small scales that includes both direct and indirect detection techniques maximizes the probability of discovering particle DM. Detailed calibrations and modeling of signal and background processes are required to make a convincing discovery. In the event that a candidate particle is found through different means, for example at a particle collider, the program described in this report is also essential to show that it is consistent with the actual cosmological DM. The US has a leading role in both direct and indirect detection dark matter experiments -- to maintain this leading role, it is imperative to continue funding major experiments and support a robust R\&D program.
Keith R. Dienes, Lucien Heurtier, Fei Huang, Doojin Kim, Tim M. P. Tait, Brooks Thomas
A variety of scenarios for early-universe cosmology give rise to a population of primordial black holes (PBHs) with a broad spectrum of masses. The evaporation of PBHs in such scenarios has the potential to place the universe into an extended period of "stasis" during which the abundances of matter and radiation remain absolutely constant despite cosmological expansion. This surprising phenomenon can give rise to new possibilities for early-universe dynamics and lead to distinctive signatures of the evaporation of such PBHs. In this paper, we discuss how this stasis epoch arises and explore a number of its phenomenological consequences, including implications for inflationary observables, the stochastic gravitational-wave background, baryogenesis, and the production of dark matter and dark radiation.