Inert Doublet Research Articles

Constraining extended scalar sectors at the LHC and beyond

We give a brief overview of beyond the Standard Model (BSM) theories with an extended scalar sector and their phenomenological status in the light of recent experimental results. We discuss the relevant theoretical and experimental constraints, and show their impact on the allowed parameter space of two specific models: the real scalar singlet extension of the Standard Model (SM) and the Inert Doublet Model. We emphasize the importance of the LHC measurements, both the direct searches for additional scalar bosons, as well as the precise measurements of properties of the Higgs boson of mass 125 GeV. We show the complementarity of these measurements to electroweak and dark matter observables.

Electric dipole moments in the minimal scotogenic model

In this work we consider a minimal version of the scotogenic model capable of accounting for an electron electric dipole moment within experimental sensitivity reach in addition to providing a dark matter candidate and radiatively generating neutrino masses. The Standard Model is minimally extended by two sterile fermions and one inert scalar doublet, both having odd parity, while the Standard Model particles have an even parity, imposed by a ℤ2 symmetry. The neutrino Yukawa couplings provide additional sources of CP violation, and thus a possible impact on electric dipole moments of charged leptons. This model provides two possible dark matter candidates (one bosonic and one fermionic) and our results show that, independently of the ordering of the generated light neutrino spectrum, one can have sizeable electron electric dipole moment within ACME sensitivity reach in the case of fermionic dark matter candidate.

Vector boson fusion in the inert doublet model

In this paper we probe inert Higgs doublet model at the LHC using Vector Boson Fusion (VBF) search strategy. We optimize the selection cuts and investigate the parameter space of the model and we show that the VBF search has a better reach when compared with the monojet searches. We also investigate the Drell-Yan type cuts and show that they can be important for smaller charged Higgs masses. We determine the $3\sigma$ reach for the parameter space using these optimized cuts for a luminosity of 3000 fb$^{-1}$.

Dark matter and electroweak phase transition in the mixed scalar dark matter model

We study the electroweak phase transition in the framework of scalar singlet-doublet mixed dark matter model, where the particle dark matter candidate is the lightest neutral Higgs that comprised of the CP-even component of inert doublet and a singlet scalar. The dark matter can be dominated by the inert doublet or singlet scalar depending on the mixing. We present several benchmark models to investigate the two situations after imposing several theoretical and experimental constraints. An additional singlet scalar and the inert doublet drive the electroweak phase transition to be strongly first order. A strong first order electroweak phase transition and a viable dark matter candidate can be accomplished in two benchmark models simultaneously, where a proper mass splitting among the neutral and charged Higgs masses is needed.

Dynamical relaxation in 2HDM models

Dynamical relaxation provides an interesting solution to the hierarchy problem in face of the missing signatures of any new physics in recent experiments. Through a dynamical process taking place in the inflationary phase of the Universe it manages to achieve a small electroweak scale without introducing new states observable in current experiments. Appropriate approximation makes it possible to derive an explicit formula for the final vevs in the double-scanning scenario extended to a model with two Higgs doublets (2HDM). Analysis of the relaxation in the 2HDM confirms that in a general case it is impossible to keep vevs of both scalars small, unless fine-tuning is present or additional symmetries are cast upon the Lagrangian. Within the slightly constrained variant of the 2HDM, where odd powers of the fields’ expectation values are not present (which can be easily enforced by requiring that the doublets have different gauge transformations or by imposing a global symmetry) it is shown that the difference between the vevs of two scalars tends to be proportional to the cutoff. The analysis of the relaxation in 2HDM indicates that in a general case the relaxation would be stopped by the first doublet that gains a vev, with the other one remaining vevless with a mass of the order of the cutoff. This happens to conform with the inert doublet model.

Explaining the 3.5 keV X-ray line in a Lμ−Lτ extension of the inert doublet model

We explain the existence of neutrino masses and their flavour structure, dark matter relic abundance and the observed 3.5 keV X-ray line within the framework of a gauged U(1)Lμ − Lτ extension of the “scotogenic” model. In the U(1)Lμ − Lτ symmetric limit, two of the RH neutrinos are degenerate in mass, while the third is heavier. The U(1)Lμ − Lτ symmetry is broken spontaneously. Firstly, this breaks the μ−τ symmetry in the light neutrino sector. Secondly, this results in mild splitting of the two degenerate RH neutrinos, with their mass difference given in terms of the U(1)Lμ − Lτ breaking parameter. Finally, we get a massive Zμτ gauge boson. Due to the added Z2 symmetry under which the RH neutrinos and the inert doublet are odd, the canonical Type-I seesaw is forbidden and the tiny neutrino masses are generated radiatively at one loop. The same Z2 symmetry also ensures that the lightest RH neutrino is stable and the other two can only decay into the lightest one. This makes the two nearly-degenerate lighter neutrinos a two-component dark matter, which in our model are produced by the freeze-in mechanism via the decay of the Zμτ gauge boson in the early universe. We show that the next-to-lightest RH neutrino has a very long lifetime and decays into the lightest one at the present epoch explaining the observed 3.5 keV line.

B decay anomalies and dark matter from vectorlike confinement

Lepton flavor universality violating $B\to K\ell\ell$ and $K^*\ell\ell$ decays tentatively observed by LHCb can be explained by leptoquark exchange. We explore a simple model for the $B$ anomalies with a composite leptoquark from new strong dynamics at the TeV scale, a confining SU($N_{\rm HC}$) hypercolor interaction. The new matter fields, fundamentals under SU($N_{\rm HC}$), are heavy vectorlike fermions $\Psi,\, S,$ and an inert scalar doublet $\phi$. $\Psi$ is colored under QCD while $S$ is neutral, and the hyperbaryon $S^N$ is a dark matter candidate. The model is tightly constrained by meson-antimeson oscillations, lepton flavor violation, and LHC searches for resonant production of the exotic bound states. The dark matter may be detectable through its magnetic dipole moment. If $m_S$ is sufficiently small, composite leptoquarks and heavy lepton partners can be pair-produced at an observable level at LHC.

Dark matter stability and one-loop neutrino mass generation based on Peccei\u2013Quinn symmetry

We propose a model which is a simple extension of the KSVZ invisible axion model with an inert doublet scalar. Peccei–Quinn symmetry forbids tree-level neutrino mass generation and its remnant Z_2 symmetry guarantees dark matter stability. The neutrino masses are generated by one-loop effects as a result of the breaking of Peccei–Quinn symmetry through a nonrenormalizable interaction. Although the low energy effective model coincides with an original scotogenic model which contains right-handed neutrinos with large masses, it is free from the strong CP problem.

Possible roles of Peccei-Quinn symmetry in an effective low energy model

The strong $CP$ problem is known to be solved by imposing Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry. However, the domain wall problem caused by the spontaneous breaking of its remnant discrete subgroup could make models invalid in many cases. We propose a model in which the PQ charge is assigned quarks so as to escape this problem without introducing any extra colored fermions. In the low energy effective model resulting after the PQ symmetry breaking, both the quark mass hierarchy and the CKM mixing could be explained through Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism. If the model is combined with the lepton sector supplemented by an inert doublet scalar and right-handed neutrinos, the effective model reduces to the scotogenic neutrino mass model in which both the origin of neutrino masses and dark matter are closely related. The strong $CP$ problem could be related to the quark mass hierarchy, neutrino masses, and dark matter through the PQ symmetry.

Heavy stable charged tracks as signatures of non-thermal dark matter at the LHC: a study in some non-supersymmetric scenarios

We consider two theoretical scenarios, each including a ℤ2-odd sector and leading to an elementary dark matter candidate. The first one is a variant of the Type-III seesaw model where one lepton triplet is ℤ2-odd, together with a heavy sterile neutrino. It leads to a fermionic dark matter, together with the charged component of the triplet being a quasi-stable particle which decays only via a higher-dimensional operator suppressed by a high scale. The second model consists of an inert scalar doublet together with a ℤ2-odd right-handed Majorana neutrino dark matter. A tiny Yukawa coupling delays the decay of the charged component of the inert doublet into the dark matter candidate, making the former long-lived on the scale of collider detectors. The parameter space of each model has been constrained by big-bang nucleosynthesis constraints, and also by estimating the contribution to the relic density through freeze-out of the long-lived charged particle as well the freeze-in production of the dark matter candidate. We consider two kinds of signals at the Large Hadron Collider for each case. For the first kind of models, namely two charged tracks and single track and for the second kind, the characteristic signals are opposite as well as same-sign charged track pairs. We perform a detailed analysis using event selection criteria consistent with the current experimental programmes. It is found that the scenario with a lepton triplet can be probed upto 960 (1190) GeV with an integrated luminosity of 300 (3000) fb−1, while the corresponding numbers for the inert doublet scenario are 630 (800) GeV. Furthermore, the second kind of signal mentioned in each case allows us to differentiate different dark matter scenarios from each other.

Inflation and dark matter in the inert doublet model

We discuss inflation and dark matter in the inert doublet model coupled non-minimally to gravity where the inert doublet is the inflaton and the neutral scalar part of the doublet is the dark matter candidate. We calculate the various inflationary parameters like ns, r and Ps and then proceed to the reheating phase where the inflaton decays into the Higgs and other gauge bosons which are non-relativistic owing to high effective masses. These bosons further decay or annihilate to give relativistic fermions which are finally responsible for reheating the universe. At the end of the reheating phase, the inert doublet which was the inflaton enters into thermal equilibrium with the rest of the plasma and its neutral component later freezes out as cold dark matter with a mass of about 2 TeV.

Scalar dark matter in inert doublet model with scalar singlet

The simplest scalar representations under SU(2)L symmetry are considered to extend the scalar sector of the Standard Model. The main motivation is including a dark matter candidate, which could arise from the additional scalar fields. We also include an additional U(1) symmetry in order to control the stability of the dark matter candidate.

Mixed Inert scalar triplet dark matter, radiative neutrino masses and leptogenesis

The neutral component of an inert scalar multiplet with hypercharge can provide a stable dark matter particle when its real and imaginary parts have a splitting mass spectrum. Otherwise, a tree-level dark-matter-nucleon scattering mediated by the Z boson will be much above the experimental limit. In this paper we focus on a mixed inert scalar triplet dark matter scenario where a complex scalar triplet with hypercharge can mix with another real scalar triplet without hypercharge through their renormalizable coupling to the standard model Higgs doublet. We consider three specified cases that carry most of the relevant features of the full parameter space: (i) the neutral component of the real triplet dominates the dark matter particle, (ii) the neutral component of the complex triplet dominates the dark matter particle; and (iii) the neutral components of the real and complex triplets equally constitute the dark matter particle. Subject to the dark matter relic abundance and direct detection constraint, we perform a systematic study on the allowed parameter space with particular emphasis on the interplay among triplet-doublet terms and gauge interactions. In the presence of these mixed inert scalar triplets, some heavy Dirac fermions composed of inert fermion doublets can be utilized to generate a tiny Majorana neutrino mass term at one-loop level and realize a successful leptogenesis for explaining the cosmic baryon asymmetry.

The inert doublet model in the light of Fermi-LAT gamma-ray data: a global fit analysis

We perform a global fit within the inert doublet model taking into account experimental observables from colliders, direct and indirect dark matter searches and theoretical constraints. In particular, we consider recent results from searches for dark matter annihilation-induced gamma-rays in dwarf spheroidal galaxies and relax the assumption that the inert doublet model should account for the entire dark matter in the Universe. We, moreover, study in how far the model is compatible with a possible dark matter explanation of the so-called Galactic center excess. We find two distinct parameter space regions that are consistent with existing constraints and can simultaneously explain the excess: One with dark matter masses near the Higgs resonance and one around 72 GeV where dark matter annihilates predominantly into pairs of virtual electroweak gauge bosons via the four-vertex arising from the inert doublet’s kinetic term. We briefly discuss future prospects to probe these scenarios.

Radiative neutrino mass model with a TeV scale gauge symmetry

The radiative neutrino mass model can relate neutrino masses to dark matter at TeV regions. In order for thermal leptogenesis to work well in this model, both nely degenerate mass of the right-handed neutrinos and a tiny neutrino Yukawa coupling are necessary for resonant out-of-equilibrium decay. We show these features could be realized through an extension of the model with a U(1) gauge symmetry. This extension can also bring about a small quartic scalar coupling between the Higgs doublet scalar and an inert doublet scalar, and the origin of the Z2 symmetry which guarantees the stability of dark matter.

Observability of inert scalars at the LHC

In this work we investigate the observability of inert doublet model scalars at the LHC operating at the center of mass energy of 14 TeV. The signal production process is pp rightarrow AH^pm rightarrow ZHW^{pm }H leading to two different final states of ell ^+ell ^-Hjj H and ell ^+ell ^-Hell ^pm nu H based on the hadronic and leptonic decay channels of the W boson. All the relevant background processes are considered and an event selection is designed to distinguish the signal from the large Standard Model background. We found that signals of the selected search channels are well observable at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 300 mathrm{{fb}}^{-1}.

Re-derived overclosure bound for the inert doublet model

We apply a formalism accounting for thermal effects (such as modified Sommerfeld effect; Salpeter correction; decohering scatterings; dissociation of bound states), to one of the simplest WIMP-like dark matter models, associated with an “inert” Higgs doublet. A broad temperature range T ∼ M/20 . . . M/104 is considered, stressing the importance and less-understood nature of late annihilation stages. Even though only weak interactions play a role, we find that resummed real and virtual corrections increase the tree-level overclosure bound by 1 . . . 18%, depending on quartic couplings and mass splittings.

Dark Matter and CP-violation in the Three-Higgs Doublet Model

In many scalar Dark Matter models an imposed discrete symmetry will result in CP conservation. We present results for the 3HDM, the Standard Model with two additional inert doublets, where it is possible to have CP-violating effects and a stable Dark Matter candidate. We discuss the new regions of DM relic density opened up by CP-violation and constrain the parameter space of the CP-violating model using recent results from the LHC and DM direct and indirect detection experiments.

Lepton portal limit of inert Higgs doublet dark matter with radiative neutrino mass

We study an extension of the Inert Higgs Doublet Model (IHDM) by three copies of right handed neutrinos and heavy charged leptons such that both the inert Higgs doublet and the heavy fermions are odd under the Z2 symmetry of the model. The neutrino masses are generated at one loop in the scotogenic fashion. Assuming the neutral scalar of the inert Higgs to be the dark matter candidate, we particularly look into the region of parameter space where dark matter relic abundance is primarily governed by the inert Higgs coupling with the leptons. This corresponds to tiny Higgs portal coupling of dark matter as well as large mass splitting within different components of the inert Higgs doublet suppressing the coannihilations. Such lepton portal couplings can still produce the correct relic abundance even if the Higgs portal couplings are arbitrarily small. Such tiny Higgs portal couplings may be responsible for suppressed dark matter nucleon cross section as well as tiny invisible branching ratio of the standard model Higgs, to be probed at ongoing and future experiments. We also briefly discuss the collider implications of such a scenario.

Electroweak baryogenesis from a dark sector

Adding an extra singlet scalar $S$ to the Higgs sector can provide a barrier at tree level between a false vacuum with restored electroweak symmetry and the true one. This has been demonstrated to readily give a strong phase transition as required for electroweak baryogenesis. We show that with the addition of a fermionic dark matter particle $\chi$ coupling to $S$, a simple UV-complete model can realize successful electroweak baryogenesis. The dark matter gets a CP asymmetry that is transferred to the standard model through a $CP\ portal\ interaction$, which we take to be a coupling of $\chi$ to $\tau$ leptons and an inert Higgs doublet. The CP asymmetry induced in left-handed $\tau$ leptons biases sphalerons to produce the baryon asymmetry. The model has promising discovery potential at the LHC, while robustly providing a large enough baryon asymmetry and correct dark matter relic density with reasonable values of the couplings.