Indirect Detection Signals Research Articles

MSSM A-funnel and the galactic center excess: prospects for the LHC and direct detection experiments

The pseudoscalar resonance or "A-funnel" in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model~(MSSM) is a widely studied framework for explaining dark matter that can yield interesting indirect detection and collider signals. The well-known Galactic Center excess (GCE) at GeV energies in the gamma ray spectrum, consistent with annihilation of a $\lesssim 40$ GeV dark matter particle, has more recently been shown to be compatible with significantly heavier masses following reanalysis of the background. In this paper, we explore the LHC and direct detection implications of interpreting the GCE in this extended mass window within the MSSM A-funnel framework. We find that compatibility with relic density, signal strength, collider constraints, and Higgs data can be simultaneously achieved with appropriate parameter choices. The compatible regions give very sharp predictions of 200-600 GeV CP-odd/even Higgs bosons at low tan$\beta$ at the LHC and spin-independent cross sections $\approx 10^{-11}$ pb at direct detection experiments. Regardless of consistency with the GCE, this study serves as a useful template of the strong correlations between indirect, direct, and LHC signatures of the MSSM A-funnel region.

Nonthermal dark matter models and signals

Many experiments exploring weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) such as direct, indirect and collider searches have been carried out until now. However, a clear signal of a WIMP has not been found yet and it makes us to suspect that WIMPs are questionable as a dark matter candidate. Taking into account this situation, we propose two models in which dark matter relic density is produced by decay of a metastable particle. In the first model, the metastable particle is a feebly interacting massive particle, which is the so-called FIMP produced by freeze-in mechanism in the early universe. In the second model, the decaying particle is thermally produced the same as the usual WIMP. However decay of the particle into dark matter is led by a higher dimensional operator. As a phenomenologically interesting feature of nonthermal dark matter discussed in this paper, a strong sharp gamma-ray emission as an indirect detection signal occurs due to internal bremsstrahlung, although some parameter space has already been ruled out by this process. Moreover combining other experimental and theoretical constraints such as dark matter relic density, big bang nucleosynthesis, collider, gamma-rays and perturbativity of couplings, we discuss the two nonthermal DM models.

Stealth dark matter: Dark scalar baryons through the Higgs portal

We present a new model of "Stealth Dark Matter": a composite baryonic scalar of an $SU(N_D)$ strongly-coupled theory with even $N_D \geq 4$. All mass scales are technically natural, and dark matter stability is automatic without imposing an additional discrete or global symmetry. Constituent fermions transform in vector-like representations of the electroweak group that permit both electroweak-breaking and electroweak-preserving mass terms. This gives a tunable coupling of stealth dark matter to the Higgs boson independent of the dark matter mass itself. We specialize to $SU(4)$, and investigate the constraints on the model from dark meson decay, electroweak precision measurements, basic collider limits, and spin-independent direct detection scattering through Higgs exchange. We exploit our earlier lattice simulations that determined the composite spectrum as well as the effective Higgs coupling of stealth dark matter in order to place bounds from direct detection, excluding constituent fermions with dominantly electroweak-breaking masses. A lower bound on the dark baryon mass $m_B \gtrsim 300$ GeV is obtained from the indirect requirement that the lightest dark meson not be observable at LEP II. We briefly survey some intriguing properties of stealth dark matter that are worthy of future study, including: collider studies of dark meson production and decay; indirect detection signals from annihilation; relic abundance estimates for both symmetric and asymmetric mechanisms; and direct detection through electromagnetic polarizability, a detailed study of which will appear in a companion paper.

Signatures of the Inert Doublet Dark Matter Model

The inert Doublet Model is an extension of the Standard Model by one extra scalar, with identical gauge quantum numbers as the Standard Model Higgs doublet but charged under an unbroken discrete symmetry. The model offers a very rich phenomenology and could lead to signatures in electroweak precision observables or collider experiments. Furthermore, the lightest particle of the extended scalar sector is a dark matter candidate. In this talk we review the dark matter phenomenology of the model, concretely the dark matter thermal production, the direct detection signals and the indirect detection signals, with emphasis on the generation of sharp gamma-ray spectral features via internal bremsstrahlung and via one-loop effects.

Towards a Bullet-proof test for indirect signals of dark matter

Merging galaxy clusters such as the Bullet Cluster provide a powerful testing ground for indirect detection of dark matter. The spatial distribution of the dark matter is both directly measurable through gravitational lensing and substantially different from the distribution of potential astrophysical backgrounds. We propose to use this spatial information to identify the origin of indirect detection signals, and we show that even statistical excesses of a few sigma can be robustly tested for consistency--or inconsistency--with a dark matter source. For example, our methods, combined with already-existing observations of the Coma Cluster, would allow the 3.55 keV line to be tested for compatibility with a dark matter origin. We also discuss the optimal spatial reweighting of photons for indirect detection searches. The current discovery rate of merging galaxy clusters and associated lensing maps strongly motivates deep exposures in these dark matter targets for both current and upcoming indirect detection experiments in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands.

Signals from dark atom formation in halos

We consider indirect detection signals of atomic dark matter, with a massive dark photon which mixes kinetically with hypercharge. In significant regions of parameter space, dark matter remains at least partially ionized today, and dark atom formation can occur efficiently in dense regions, such as the centers of galactic halos. The formation of dark atoms is accompanied by emission of a dark photon, which can subsequently decay into Standard Model particles. We discuss the expected signal strength and compare it to that of annihilating dark matter. As a case study, we explore the possibility that dark atom formation can account for the observed 511 keV line and outline the relevant parameter space.

Confronting the moduli-induced lightest-superpartner problem

Moduli fields with Planck-suppressed couplings to light species are common in string compactifications. Decays of these moduli can reheat the universe at a late time and produce dark matter non-thermally. For generic moduli fields motivated by string theory with masses similar to that of the gravitino and TeV-scale superpartners in the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), the non-thermal production of the lightest superpartner (LSP) tends to create an unacceptably large relic density or too strong of an indirect detection signal. We call this the moduli-induced LSP problem of the MSSM. In this paper we investigate extensions of the MSSM containing new LSP candidates that can alleviate this tension. We examine the viability of this scenario in models with light Abelian and non-Abelian hidden sectors, and symmetric or asymmetric dark matter. In these extensions it is possible, though somewhat challenging, to avoid a moduli-induced LSP problem. In all but the asymmetric scenario, the LSP can account for only a small fraction of the observed dark matter density.

Dark nuclei. I. Cosmology and indirect detection

In a companion paper (to be presented), lattice field theory methods are used to show that in two-color, two-flavor QCD there are stable nuclear states in the spectrum. As a commonly studied theory of composite dark matter, this motivates the consideration of possible nuclear physics in this and other composite dark sectors. In this work, early Universe cosmology and indirect detection signatures are explored for both symmetric and asymmetric dark matter, highlighting the unique features that arise from considerations of dark nuclei and associated dark nuclear processes. The present day dark matter abundance may be composed of dark nucleons and/or dark nuclei, where the latter are generated through it dark nucleosynthesis. For symmetric dark matter, indirect detection signatures are possible from annihilation, dark nucleosynthesis, and dark nuclear capture and we present a novel explanation of the galactic center gamma ray excess based on the latter. For asymmetric dark matter, dark nucleosynthesis may alter the capture of dark matter in stars, allowing for captured particles to be processed into nuclei and ejected from the star through dark nucleosynthesis in the core. Notably, dark nucleosynthesis realizes a novel mechanism for indirect detection signals of asymmetric dark matter from regions such as the galactic center, without having to rely on a symmetric dark matter component.

Dark matter indirect detection signals and the nature of neutrinos in the supersymmetricU(1)B−Lextension of the standard model

In this paper, we study the prospects for determining the nature of neutrinos in the context of a supersymmetric $B\ensuremath{-}L$ extension of the standard model by using dark matter indirect detection signals and bounds on ${N}_{\text{eff}}$ from the cosmic microwave background data. The model contains two new dark matter candidates whose dominant annihilation channels produce more neutrinos than neutralino dark matter in the minimal supersymmetric standard model. The photon and neutrino counts may then be used to discriminate between the two models. If the dark matter comes from the $B\ensuremath{-}L$ sector, its indirect signals and impact on the cosmic microwave background can shed light on the nature of the neutrinos. When the light neutrinos are of Majorana type, the indirect neutrino signal from the Sun and the Galactic center may show a prompt neutrino box feature, as well as an earlier cutoff in both neutrino and gamma-ray energy spectra. When the light neutrinos are of Dirac type, their contribution to the effective number of neutrinos ${N}_{\text{eff}}$ is at a detectable level.

Indirect detection signatures for the origin of asymmetric dark matter

We study the decay signatures of Asymmetric Dark Matter (ADM) via higher dimension operators which are responsible for generating the primordial dark matter (DM) asymmetry. Since the signatures are sensitive both to the nature of the higher dimension operator generating the DM asymmetry and to the sign of the baryon or lepton number that the DM carries, indirect detection may provide a window into the nature of the mechanism which generates the DM asymmetry. We consider in particular dimension-6 fermionic operators of the form ${\cal O}_{ADM} = X {\cal O}_{B-L}/M^2$, where ${\cal O}_{B-L} = u^c d^c d^c,~\ell \ell e^c,~q \ell d^c$ (or operators related through a Hermitian conjugate) with the scale $M$ around or just below the GUT scale. We derive constraints on ADM particles both in the natural mass range (around a few GeV), as well as in the range between 100 GeV to 10 TeV. For light ADM, we focus on constraints from both the low energy gamma ray data and proton/anti-proton fluxes. For heavy ADM, we consider $\gamma$-rays and proton/anti-proton fluxes, and we fit $e^+/e^-$ data from AMS-02 and H.E.S.S. (neglecting the Fermi charged particle fluxes which disagree with AMS-02 below 100 GeV). We show that, although the best fit regions from electron/positron measurement are still in tension with other channels on account of the H.E.S.S. measurement at high energies, compared to an ordinary symmetric dark matter scenario, the decay of DM with a primordial asymmetry reduces the tension. Better measurement of the flux at high energy will be necessary to draw a definite conclusion about the viability of decaying DM as source for the signals.

Collider bounds on indirect dark matter searches: TheWWfinal state

We describe an effective theory of interaction between pairs of dark matter particles (denoted $\chi$) and pairs of $W$ bosons. Such an interaction could accommodate $\chi\bar{\chi}\rightarrow WW$ processes, which are a major focus of indirect dark matter experiments, as well as $pp \rightarrow W\rightarrow W\chi\bar{\chi}$ processes, which would predict excesses at the LHC in the $W$+MET final-state. We reinterpret an ATLAS $W$+MET analysis in the hadronic mode and translate the bounds to the space of indirect detection signals. We also reinterpret the $W$+MET analysis in terms of graviton theory through the processes $W\rightarrow WG$ and $Z\rightarrow ZG$ in which $G$ is invisible. Finally, the final state is interpreted in terms of a $W'$ model where $W'\rightarrow WZ$, where $W$ decays hadronically and $Z$ decays to neutrinos.

Co-annihilating dark matter: Effective operator analysis and collider phenomenology

We study dark matter (DM) models in which there are two dark sector particles, $\chi_1$ and $\chi_2$, of near mass. In such models, co-annihilation of $\chi_1$ and $\chi_2$ may be the dominant process controlling the DM relic density during freezeout in the early universe. In this scenario, there is no significant contribution to direct and indirect detection signals, unless there exists an extreme degeneracy in the masses of the lightest dark sector particles. Therefore, relic density constraints and collider searches provide the most relevant information about these models. We consider Dirac fermion dark matter which couples to standard model (SM) particles via an effective operator. For the collider phenomenology, where an effective field theory may not be valid, we adopt a simple Z' model to provide an appropriate UV completion. We explore the interesting LHC signals that arise from the dark matter production process $pp \rightarrow \overline{\chi_1} + \chi_2 + \textrm{ jet}$, followed by the decay $\chi_2 \rightarrow \chi_1 + SM$.

Planck-scale effects on WIMP dark matter

There exists a widely known conjecture that gravitational effects violate global symmetries. We study the effect of global-symmetry violating higher-dimension operators induced by Planck-scale physics on the properties of WIMP dark matter. Using an effective description, we show that the lifetime of the WIMP dark matter candidate can satisfy cosmological bounds under reasonable assumptions regarding the strength of the dimension-five operators. On the other hand, the indirect WIMP dark matter detection signal is significantly enhanced due to new decay channels.

Minimal signatures of naturalness

Abstract We study the naturalness problem using a model independent bottom up approach by considering models where only the interaction terms needed to cancel the Higgs quadratic divergences are present. If quadratic divergences are canceled by terms linear in the Higgs field, then the collider phenomenology is well covered by current electroweakino and fourth generation searches. If quadratic divergences are canceled by terms bilinear in the Higgs field, then the signatures are highly dependent on the quantum numbers of the new particles. Precision Higgs measurements can reveal the presence of new particles with either vevs or Standard Model charges. If the new particles are scalar dark matter candidates, their direct and indirect detection signatures will be highly correlated and within the reach of XENON100 and Fermi. Observation at one of these experiments would imply observation at the other one. Observable LHC decay channels can also arise if the new particles mix with lighter states. This decay channel involves only the Higgs boson and not the gauge bosons. Observation of such decays would give evidence that the new particle is tied to the naturalness problem.

Indirect detection of self-interacting asymmetric dark matter

Self-interacting dark matter resolves the issue of cuspy profiles that appear in noninteracting cold dark matter simulations; it may additionally resolve the so-called ``too big to fail'' problem in structure formation. Asymmetric dark matter provides a natural explanation of the comparable densities of baryonic matter and dark matter. In this paper, we discuss unique indirect detection signals produced by a minimal model of self-interacting asymmetric scalar dark matter. Through the formation of dark matter bound states, a dark force mediator particle may be emitted; the decay of this particle may produce an observable signal. We estimate the produced signal and explicitly demonstrate parameters for which the signal exceeds current observations.

Dark-Disk Universe

We point out that current constraints on dark matter imply only that the majority of dark matter is cold and collisionless. A subdominant fraction of dark matter could have much stronger interactions. In particular, it could interact in a manner that dissipates energy, thereby cooling into a rotationally supported disk, much as baryons do. We call this proposed new dark matter component double-disk dark matter (DDDM). We argue that DDDM could constitute a fraction of all matter roughly as large as the fraction in baryons, and that it could be detected through its gravitational effects on the motion of stars in galaxies, for example. Furthermore, if DDDM can annihilate to gamma rays, it would give rise to an indirect detection signal distributed across the sky that differs dramatically from that predicted for ordinary dark matter. DDDM and more general partially interacting dark matter scenarios provide a large unexplored space of testable new physics ideas.

Density profiles of CDM microhalos and their implications for annihilation boost factors

In a standard cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology, microhalos at the CDM cutoff scale are the first and smallest objects expected to form in the universe. Here we present results of high resolution simulations of three representative roughly Earth-mass microhalos in order to determine their inner density profile. We find that CDM microhalos in simulations without a cutoff in the power spectrum roughly follow the NFW density profile, just like the much larger CDM halos on galaxy and galaxy cluster scales. But having a cutoff in the initial power spectrum at a typical neutralino free streaming scale of 10−7M⊙ makes their inner density profiles considerably steeper, i.e. ρ∝r−(1.3−1.4), in good agreement with the results from Ishiyama et al. (2010). An extrapolation of the halo and subhalo mass functions down to the cutoff scale indicates that microhalos are extremely abundant throughout the present day dark matter distribution and might contribute significantly to indirect dark matter detection signals. Assuming a transition from a NFW to a steeper inner profile (ρ∝r−1.4) two orders of magnitude above the cutoff scale, the total boost factor for a Milky Way sized dark matter halo increases from about 3.5 to 4. We further find that CDM microhalo concentrations are consistent with the Bullock et al. (2001) model and clearly rule out simplistic power law models for the mass dependence of concentrations and subhalo annihilation, which would erroneously lead to very large boost factors (a few hundred for galaxy halos and over 1000 for clusters).

Predictions of a natural SUSY dark matter model for direct and indirect detection experiments

The most natural region of cosmologically compatible dark matter relic density in terms of low fine-tuning in a minimal supersymmetric standard model with nonuniversal gaugino masses is the so called bulk annihilation region. We study this region in a simple and predictive SUSY-GUT model of nonuniversal gaugino masses, where the latter transform as a combination of singlet plus a nonsinglet representation of the GUT group SU(5). The model prediction for the direct dark matter detection rates is well below the present CDMS and XENON100 limits, but within the reach of a future 1Ton XENON experiment. The most interesting and robust model prediction is an indirect detection signal of hard positron events, which resembles closely the shape of the observed positron spectrum from the PAMELA experiment.

How dark are Majorana WIMPs? Signals from magnetic inelastic dark matter and Rayleigh dark matter

The effective interactions of dark matter with photons are fairly restricted. Yet both direct detection as well as monochromatic $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray signatures depend sensitively on the presence of such interactions. For a Dirac fermion, electromagnetic dipoles are possible but are very constrained. For Majorana fermions, no such terms are allowed. We consider signals of an effective theory with a Majorana dark matter particle and its couplings to photons. In the presence of a nearby excited state, there is the possibility of a magnetic dipole transition (magnetic inelastic dark matter), which yields both direct and indirect detection signals and, intriguingly, yields essentially the same size over a wide range of dipole strengths. Absent an excited state, the leading interaction of weakly interacting massive particles is similar to the Rayleigh scattering of low-energy photons from neutral atoms, which may be captured by an effective operator of dimension 7 of the form $\overline{\ensuremath{\chi}}\ensuremath{\chi}{F}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}{F}^{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}$. While it can be thought of as a phase of the magnetic inelastic dark matter scenario where the excited state is much heavier than the ground state, it can arise from other theories as well. We study the resulting phenomenology of this scenario: gamma-ray lines from the annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles; nuclear recoils in direct detection; and direct production of the weakly interacting massive particle pair in high-energy colliders. Considering recent evidence in particular for a 130 GeV line from the Galactic center, we discuss the detection prospects at upcoming experiments.

Consequences of DM/antiDM oscillations for asymmetric WIMP dark matter

Assuming the existence of a primordial asymmetry in the dark sector, a scenario usually dubbed Asymmetric Dark Matter (aDM), we study the effect of oscillations between dark matter and its antiparticle on the re-equilibration of the initial asymmetry before freeze-out, which enable efficient annihilations to recouple. We calculate the evolution of the DM relic abundance and show how oscillations re-open the parameter space of aDM models, in particular in the direction of allowing large (WIMP-scale) DM masses.A typical WIMP with a mass at the EW scale ( ∼ 100 GeV – 1 TeV) presenting a primordial asymmetry of the same order as the baryon asymmetry naturally gets the correct relic abundance if the DM-number-violating Δ(DM) = 2 mass term is in the ∼ meV range.The re-establishment of annihilations implies that constraints from the accumulation of aDM in astrophysical bodies are evaded. On the other hand, the ordinary bounds from BBN, CMB and indirect detection signals on annihilating DM have to be considered.