Abstract
We reanalyze the effective field theory approach for the scenario in which the particles that account for the dark matter (DM) in the universe are vector states that interact only or mainly through the Standard Model-like Higgs boson observed at the LHC. This model-independent and simple approach, with a minimal set of new input parameters, is widely used as a benchmark in DM searches and studies in astroparticle and collider physics. We show that this effective theory could be the limiting case of ultraviolet complete models, taking as an example the one based on a spontaneously broken U(1) gauge symmetry that incorporates a dark gauge boson and an additional scalar that mixes with the standard Higgs boson. Hence, despite the presence of the new degrees of freedom, measurements of the invisible decay branching ratio of the Higgs boson, as performed at colliders such as the CERN LHC, can be interpreted consistently in such an effective framework and can be made complementary to results of DM searches in direct detection experiments.
Highlights
Particle physics proposes a compelling solution to the puzzle of the missing or dark matter (DM) in the Universe, in terms of a colorless and electrically neutral weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) that is stable at cosmological times and has a mass in the vicinity of the electroweak scale
In order to assess the theoretical consistency of the effective Higgs–portal in the vector DM case, in particular for what concerns the interpretation of the searches for invisible Higgs decays, we compare it in the following with one of its simplest and most economical ultraviolet complete realizations: the one in which the vector DM couplings are generated through the mixing of the Standard Model (SM)–like Higgs boson with an additional scalar state
Regime, this effective field theory (EFT) approach might not provide a consistent interpretation of the experimental outcome, especially when it is compared to the direct detection in astrophysical experiments
Summary
Particle physics proposes a compelling solution to the puzzle of the missing or dark matter (DM) in the Universe, in terms of a colorless and electrically neutral weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) that is stable at cosmological times and has a mass in the vicinity of the electroweak scale. It bears the advantage of having a very restricted number of extra parameters in addition to the SM ones [16], namely the mass of the DM particle and its coupling to the Higgs boson Such a minimal scheme has been investigated extensively and has been probed in direct and indirect detection in astrophysical experiments, and at colliders such as the CERN LHC. We investigate whether the vector Higgs–portal case can be regarded as a consistent EFT limit of a UV–complete model If this is the case, the correlation between constraints from invisible Higgs decays at the LHC and direct detection experiments such as XENON1T are valid.
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