Coito, L., Faubel, C., Herrero-Garcia, J., & Santamaria, A. (2021). Dark matter from a complex scalar singlet: the role of dark CP and other discrete symmetries. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 202–34pp.
Abstract: We study the case of a pseudo-scalar dark matter candidate which emerges from a complex scalar singlet, charged under a global U(1) symmetry, which is broken both explicitly and spontaneously. The pseudo-scalar is naturally stabilized by the presence of a remnant discrete symmetry: dark CP. We study and compare the phenomenology of several simplified models with only one explicit symmetry breaking term. We find that several regions of the parameter space are able to reproduce the observed dark matter abundance while respecting direct detection and invisible Higgs decay limits: in the resonances of the two scalars, featuring the known as forbidden or secluded dark matter, and through non-resonant Higgs-mediated annihilations. In some cases, combining different measurements would allow one to distinguish the breaking pattern of the symmetry. Moreover, this setup admits a light DM candidate at the sub-GeV scale. We also discuss the situation where more than one symmetry breaking term is present. In that case, the dark CP symmetry may be spontaneously broken, thus spoiling the stability of the dark matter candidate. Requiring that this does not happen imposes a constraint on the allowed parameter space. Finally, we consider an effective field theory approach valid in the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson limit and when the U(1) breaking scale is much larger than the electroweak scale.
|
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.
|
de Gouvea, A., Herrero-Garcia, J., & Kobach, A. (2014). Neutrino masses, grand unification, and baryon number violation. Phys. Rev. D, 90(1), 016011–11pp.
Abstract: If grand unification is real, searches for baryon-number violation should be included on the list of observables that may reveal information regarding the origin of neutrino masses. Making use of an effective-operator approach and assuming that nature is SU(5) invariant at very short distances, we estimate the consequences of different scenarios that lead to light Majorana neutrinos for low-energy phenomena that violate baryon number minus lepton number (B – L) by two (or more) units, including neutron-antineutron oscillations and B – L violating nucleon decays. We find that, among all possible effective theories of lepton-number violation that lead to nonzero neutrino masses, only a subset is, broadly speaking, consistent with grand unification.
|
Aristizabal Sierra, D., Herrero-Garcia, J., Restrepo, D., & Vicente, A. (2016). Diboson anomaly: Heavy Higgs resonance and QCD vectorlike exotics. Phys. Rev. D, 93(1), 015012–12pp.
Abstract: The ATLAS Collaboration (and also CMS) has recently reported an excess over Standard Model expectations for gauge boson pair production in the invariant mass region 1.8-2.2 TeV. In light of these results, we argue that such a signal might be the first manifestation of the production and further decay of a heavy CP-even Higgs resulting from a type-I two Higgs doublet model. We demonstrate that in the presence of colored vectorlike fermions, its gluon fusion production cross section is strongly enhanced, with the enhancement depending on the color representation of the new fermion states. Our findings show that barring the color triplet case, any QCD “exotic” representation can fit the ATLAS result in fairly large portions of the parameter space. We have found that if the diboson excess is confirmed and this mechanism is indeed responsible for it, then the LHC Run-2 should find (i) a CP-odd scalar with mass below similar to 2.3 TeV, (ii) new colored states with masses below similar to 2 TeV, (iii) no statistically significant diboson events in the W(+/-)Z channel, (iv) events in the triboson channels W(+/-)W(-/+)Z and ZZZ with invariant mass amounting to the mass of the CP-odd scalar.
|
Herrero-Garcia, J., Nebot, M., Rius, N., & Santamaria, A. (2014). The Zee-Babu model revisited in the light of new data. Nucl. Phys. B, 885, 542–570.
Abstract: We update previous analyses of the Zee-Babu model in the light of new data, e.g., the mixing angle On, the rare decay μ-> e gamma and the LHC results. We also analyze the possibility of accommodating the deviations in Gamma (H -> gamma gamma) hinted by the LHC experiments, and the stability of the scalar potential. We find that neutrino oscillation data and low energy constraints are still compatible with masses of the extra charged scalars accessible to LHC. Moreover, if any of them is discovered, the model can be falsified by combining the information on the singly and doubly charged scalar decay modes with neutrino data. Conversely, if the neutrino spectrum is found to be inverted and the CP phase delta is quite different from pi, the masses of the charged scalars will be well outside the LHC reach.
|
