Melcon, A. A., Cuendis, S. A., Cogollos, C., Diaz-Morcillo, A., Dobrich, B., Gallego, J. D., et al. (2020). Scalable haloscopes for axion dark matter detection in the 30 μeV range with RADES. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 084–28pp.
Abstract: RADES (Relic Axion Detector Exploratory Setup) is a project with the goal of directly searching for axion dark matter above the 30 μeV scale employing custom-made microwave filters in magnetic dipole fields. Currently RADES is taking data at the LHC dipole of the CAST experiment. In the long term, the RADES cavities are envisioned to take data in the BabyIAXO magnet. In this article we report on the modelling, building and characterisation of an optimised microwave-filter design with alternating irises that exploits maximal coupling to axions while being scalable in length without suffering from mode-mixing. We develop the mathematical formalism and theoretical study which justifies the performance of the chosen design. We also point towards the applicability of this formalism to optimise the MADMAX dielectric haloscopes.
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Cepedello, R., Esser, F., Hirsch, M., & Sanz, V. (2023). SMEFT goes dark: Dark Matter models for four-fermion operators. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 081–47pp.
Abstract: We study ultra-violet completions for d = 6 four-fermion operators in the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT), focusing on models that contain cold dark matter candidates. Via a diagrammatic method, we generate systematically lists of possible UV completions, with the aim of providing sets of models, which are complete under certain, well specified assumptions. Within these lists of models we rediscover many known DM models, as diverse as R-parity conserving supersymmetry or the scotogenic neutrino mass model. Our lists, however, also contain many new constructions, which have not been studied in the literature so far. We also briefly discuss how our DM models could be constrained by reinterpretations of LHC searches and the prospects for HL-LHC and future lepton colliders.
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Centelles Chulia, S., Cepedello, R., & Medina, O. (2022). Absolute neutrino mass scale and dark matter stability from flavour symmetry. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 080–23pp.
Abstract: We explore a simple but extremely predictive extension of the scotogenic model. We promote the scotogenic symmetry Z(2) to the flavour non-Abelian symmetry sigma(81), which can also automatically protect dark matter stability. In addition, sigma(81) leads to striking predictions in the lepton sector: only Inverted Ordering is realised, the absolute neutrino mass scale is predicted to be m(lightest)approximate to 7.5x10(-4) eV and the Majorana phases are correlated in such a way that vertical bar m(ee)vertical bar approximate to 0.018 eV. The model also leads to a strong correlation between the solar mixing angle theta(12) and delta(CP), which may be falsified by the next generation of neutrino oscillation experiments. The setup is minimal in the sense that no additional symmetries or flavons are required.
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Bonilla, C., Herms, J., Medina, O., & Peinado, E. (2023). Discrete dark matter mechanism as the source of neutrino mass scales. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 078–23pp.
Abstract: The hierarchy in scale between atmospheric and solar neutrino mass splittings is investigated through two distinct neutrino mass mechanisms from tree-level and one-loop-level contributions. We demonstrate that the minimal discrete dark matter mechanism contains the ingredients for explaining this hierarchy. This scenario is characterized by adding new RH neutrinos and SU(2)-doublet scalars to the Standard Model as triplet representations of an A(4) flavor symmetry. The A(4) symmetry breaking, which occurs at the electroweak scale, leads to a residual DOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL Z(2) symmetry responsible for the dark matter stability and dictates the neutrino phenomenology. Finally, we show that to reproduce the neutrino mixing angles correctly, it is necessary to violate CP in the scalar potential.
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Alvarez Melcon, A. et al, & Gimeno, B. (2021). First results of the CAST-RADES haloscope search for axions at 34.67 μeV. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 075–16pp.
Abstract: We present results of the Relic Axion Dark-Matter Exploratory Setup (RADES), a detector which is part of the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST), searching for axion dark matter in the 34.67 μeV mass range. A radio frequency cavity consisting of 5 sub-cavities coupled by inductive irises took physics data inside the CAST dipole magnet for the first time using this filter-like haloscope geometry. An exclusion limit with a 95% credibility level on the axion-photon coupling constant of g(a gamma) greater than or similar to 4 x 10(-13) GeV-1 over a mass range of 34.6738 μeV < m(a)< 34.6771 μeV is set. This constitutes a significant improvement over the current strongest limit set by CAST at this mass and is at the same time one of the most sensitive direct searches for an axion dark matter candidate above the mass of 25 μeV. The results also demonstrate the feasibility of exploring a wider mass range around the value probed by CAST-RADES in this work using similar coherent resonant cavities.
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Bas i Beneito, A., Herrero-Garcia, J., & Vatsyayan, D. (2022). Multi-component dark sectors: symmetries, asymmetries and conversions. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 075–31pp.
Abstract: We study the relic abundance of several stable particles from a generic dark sector, including the possible presence of dark asymmetries. After discussing the different possibilities for stabilising multi-component dark matter, we analyse the final relic abundance of the symmetric and asymmetric dark matter components, paying special attention to the role of the unavoidable conversions between dark matter states. We find an exponential dependence of the asymmetries of the heavier components on annihilations and conversions. We conclude that having similar symmetric and asymmetric components is a natural outcome in many scenarios of multi-component dark matter. This has novel phenomenological implications, which we briefly discuss.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Sanchez-Losa, A., Tönnis, C., et al. (2016). Limits on dark matter annihilation in the sun using the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Phys. Lett. B, 759, 69–74.
Abstract: A search for muon neutrinos originating from dark matter annihilations in the Sun is performed using the data recorded by the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. In order to obtain the best possible sensitivities to dark matter signals, an optimisation of the event selection criteria is performed taking into account the background of atmospheric muons, atmospheric neutrinos and the energy spectra of the expected neutrino signals. No significant excess over the background is observed and 90% C.L. upper limits on the neutrino flux, the spin-dependent and spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-sections are derived for WIMP masses ranging from 50 GeV to 5 TeV for the annihilation channels WIMP + WIMP -> b (b) over bar, W+W- and tau(+)tau(-).
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Moline, A., Schewtschenko, J. A., Palomares-Ruiz, S., Boehm, C., & Baugh, C. M. (2016). Isotropic extragalactic flux from dark matter annihilations: lessons from interacting dark matter scenarios. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 08(8), 069–23pp.
Abstract: The extragalactic gamma-ray and neutrino emission may have a contribution from dark matter (DM) annihilations. In the case of discrepancies between observations and standard predictions, one could infer the DM pair annihilation cross section into cosmic rays by studying the shape of the energy spectrum. So far all analyses of the extragalactic DM signal have assumed the standard cosmological model (ACDM) as the underlying theory. However, there are alternative DM scenarios where the number of low-mass objects is significantly suppressed. Therefore the characteristics of the gamma-ray and neutrino emission in these models may differ from ACDM as a result. Here we show that the extragalactic isotropic signal in these alternative models has a similar energy dependence to that in ACDM, but the overall normalisation is reduced. The similarities between the energy spectra combined with the flux suppression could lead one to misinterpret possible evidence for models beyond ACDM as being due to CDM particles annihilating with a much weaker cross section than expected.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Lambard, G., Sanchez-Losa, A., Tönnis, C., et al. (2015). Search of dark matter annihilation in the galactic centre using the ANTARES neutrino telescope. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 10(10), 068–26pp.
Abstract: A search for high-energy neutrinos coming from the direction of the Galactic Centre is performed using the data recorded by the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. The event selection criteria are chosen to maximise the sensitivity to possible signals produced by the self-annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles accumulated around the centre of the Milky Way with respect to the atmospheric background. After data unblinding, the number of neutrinos observed in the line of sight of the Galactic Centre is found to be compatible with background expectations. The 90% C.L. upper limits in terms of the neutrino+anti-neutrino flux, Phi(nu μ+ (nu) over bar mu), and the velocity averaged annihilation cross-section, <sigma(A) v >, are derived for the WIMP self-annihilation channels into b (b) over bar; W+W-; tau(+)tau(-); mu(+)mu(-); nu(nu) over bar. The ANTARES limits for <sigma(A) v > are shown to be the most stringent for a neutrino telescope over the WIMP masses 25 GeV < M-WIMP < 10TeV.
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Jueid, A., Kip, J., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Skands, P. (2023). Impact of QCD uncertainties on antiproton spectra from dark-matter annihilation. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 068–15pp.
Abstract: Dark-matter particles that annihilate or decay can undergo complex sequences of processes, including strong and electromagnetic radiation, hadronisation, and hadron de-cays, before particles that are stable on astrophysical time scales are produced. Antiprotons produced in this way may leave footprints in experiments such as AMS-02. Several groups have reported an excess of events in the antiproton flux in the rigidity range of 10-20 GV. However, the theoretical modeling of baryon production is not straightforward and relies in part on phenomenological models in Monte Carlo event generators. In this work, we assess the impact of QCD uncertainties on the spectra of antiprotons from dark-matter annihila-tion. As a proof-of-principle, we show that for a two-parameter model that depends only on the thermally-averaged annihilation cross section ((o -v)) and the dark-matter mass (Mx), QCD uncertainties can affect the best-fit mass by up to ti 14% (with large uncertainties for large DM masses), depending on the choice of Mx and the annihilation channel (bb over bar or W+W-), and (o -v) by up to ti 10%. For comparison, changes to the underlying diffusion parameters are found to be within 1%-5%, and the results are also quite resilient to the choice of cosmic-ray propagation model. These findings indicate that QCD uncertainties need to be included in future DM analyses. To facilitate full-fledged analyses, we provide the spectra in tabulated form including QCD uncertainties and code snippets to perform mass interpolations and quick DM fits. The code can be found in this GitHub [1] repository.
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