This theoretical particle physics thesis is an investigation into old and new symmetries of Nature. Known symmetries and conservation laws serve as a guide for dark and visible sector model building. New symmetries of Nature are proposed, broken and subsequently reinstated at high temperatures in order to discover well-motivated particle physics models for cosmological observations implying the existence of a dark sector. Candidate processes for creation of a non-primordial matter/antimatter asymmetry result from out of equilibrium spontaneous breaking of these symmetries in the early Universe. Using the Standard Model of particle physics as a foundation with minimal new degrees of freedom, minicharged and millicharged particles emerge from a proposed spontaneous breaking of known symmetries. Experimental predictions and constraints for such dark matter candidates are given briefly here and outlined for future work. Constraints on neutrino-like particles found in the debris of broken local (gauge) symmetries are given, a subset of which are sterile and appear to be viable particle dark matter candidates. A failed baryonic dark matter candidate became a candidate to solve an outstanding nuclear structure problem, the EMC effect.
We show that gauge coupling unification is realized with a greater accuracy in the presence of a massless hidden photon which has a large kinetic mixing with hypercharge. We solve the renormalization group equations at two-loop level and find that the GUT unification scale is around $10^{16.5}$ GeV which sufficiently suppresses the proton decay rate, and that the unification is essentially determined by the kinetic mixing only, and it is rather insensitive to the hidden gauge coupling or the presence of vector-like matter fields charged under U(1)$_H$ and/or SU(5). Matter fields charged under …
We compute the thermalization of a hidden sector consisting of minicharged fermions (MCPs) and massless hidden photons in the early Universe. The precise measurement of the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by Planck and the relic abundance of light nuclei produced during big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) constrain the amount of dark radiation of this hidden sector through the effective number of neutrino species, Neff. This study presents novel and accurate predictions of dark radiation in the strongly and weakly coupled regime for a wide range of model parameters. We give th…
In viable models of minicharged dark matter, astrophysical black holes might be charged under a hidden $U(1)$ symmetry and are formally described by the same Kerr-Newman solution of Einstein-Maxwell theory. These objects are unique probes of minicharged dark matter and dark photons. We show that the recent gravitational-wave detection of a binary black-hole coalescence by aLIGO provides various observational bounds on the black hole's charge, regardless of its nature. The pre-merger inspiral phase can be used to constrain the dipolar emission of (ordinary and dark) photons, whereas the detecti…
Polarimetric experiments driven by the strong field of a circularly polarized laser wave can become a powerful tool to limit the parameter space of not yet detected hidden-photons and minicharged particles associated with extra U(1) gauge symmetries. We show how the absorption and dispersion of probe electromagnetic waves in the vacuum polarized by such a background are modified due to the coupling between the visible U(1)-gauge sector and these hypothetical degrees of freedom. The results of this analysis reveal that the regime close to the two-photon reaction threshold can be a sensititive p…
The origin and composition of the cosmological dark matter remain a mystery. However, upcoming 21-cm measurements during cosmic dawn, the period of the first stellar formation, can provide new clues on the nature of dark matter. During this era, the baryon-dark matter fluid is the slowest it will ever be, making it ideal to search for dark matter elastically scattering with baryons through massless mediators, such as the photon. Here we explore whether dark-matter particles with an electric "minicharge" can significantly alter the baryonic temperature and, thus, affect 21-cm observations. We f…
Optical searches assisted by the field of a laser pulse might allow for exploring a variety of not yet detected dark matter candidates such as hidden-photons and scalar minicharged particles. These hypothetical degrees of freedom may be understood as a natural consequence of extensions of the Standard Model incorporating a hidden $\rm U(1)$-gauge sector. In this paper, we study the effects induced by both candidates on the propagation of a probe electromagnetic waves in the vacuum polarized by a long laser pulse of moderate intensity, this way complementing our previous study [JHEP \textbf{06}…
We have no certain knowledge of the early history of dark matter (DM). In this paper we propose a scenario where DM is produced post-recombination but prior to the cosmic dawn. It helps to relax the bounds on DM interactions, in particular with baryons, from the CMB. It may be of interest in some circumstances, for example, to understand the recent cosmic dawn 21-cm signal anomaly. We argue that the cosmic gas cooling mechanism via the minicharged DM-baryon scattering may be viable even if it takes up the total DM budget. We also investigate the possibility of a gluon-philic mediator of a few …
We discuss the impact of a hidden sector consisting of Minicharged Particles (MCPs) and massless hidden photons on the expansion history of our Universe. We present parameter scans for the amount of extra relativistic particles (Neff) and the abundance of light nuclei for fermionic MCPs with masses between ~100 keV and 10 GeV and minicharges in the range 10^(-11)-1. Current CMB and BBN data significantly constrain the available parameter space of MCPs. The shown results are a valuable indicator for future experimental searches and are presented in a flexible way so that more accurate results o…
Hidden theories coupled to the SM may provide emergent (dark) vectors, that are composites/bound-states of the hidden fields. This is motivated by paradigms emerging from the AdS/CFT correspondence but it is a more general phenomenon. We explore the general setup and find that UV interactions among currents or charged fields give rise to emergent vectors in the IR. We study the general properties of such vectors and argue that they can be generically different from fundamental dark photons that have been studied so far.
Axions were first introduced in connection with chiral symmetry but are now being looked for mainly as dark matter. In this paper we introduce a nonabelian analogue of axions which can also be potential candidates for dark matter. Their nonabelian symmetries, which are generalizations of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry, are interesting in their own right. Detailed analysis, using fermion measure and zeta function approaches shows that these symmetries are not anomalous.
In the presence of approximate global symmetries that forbid relevant interactions, strongly coupled light Dark Matter (DM) can appear weakly coupled at small energy and generate a sizable relic abundance. Fundamental principles like unitarity restrict these symmetries to a small class, where the leading interactions are captured by effective operators up to dimension-8. Chiral symmetry, spontaneously broken global symmetries and non-linearly realized supersymmetry are examples of this. Their DM candidates (composite fermions, pseudo Nambu-Goldstone Bosons and Goldstini) are interesting target…
The fermionic fields constructed from Elko have several unexpected properties. They satisfy the Klein-Gordon but not the Dirac equation and are of mass dimension one instead of three-half. Starting with the Klein-Gordon Lagrangian, we initiate a careful study of the symmetries and interactions of these fermions and their higher-spin generalisations. We find, although the fermions are of mass dimension one, the four-point fermionic self-interaction violates unitarity at high-energy. Therefore, it cannot be a fundamental interaction of the theory. It follows that for the spin-half fermions, the …
We present a class of models in which the dark matter stabilization symmetry is generated by spontaneous symmetry breaking. These models naturally correlate the dark and electroweak symmetry breaking scales. The result is a generic mechanism linking the annihilation cross section for thermally populated dark matter with the weak scale. The thermal relic abundance, sensitivity to major precision electroweak observables and additional LHC signatures are also presented.
In this talk, I describe a class of electroweak (EW) scale dark matter (DM) models where its stability or longevity are the results of underlying dark gauge symmetries: stable due to unbroken local dark gauge symmetry or topology, or long-lived due to the accidental global symmetry of dark gauge theories. Compared with the usual phenomenological dark matter models (including DM EFT or simplified DM models), DM models with local dark gauge symmetries include dark gauge bosons, dark Higgs bosons and sometimes excited dark matter. And dynamics among these fields are completely fixed by local gaug…
We investigate scenarios in which dark matter is stabilized by an abelian Z_N discrete gauge symmetry. Models are surveyed according to symmetries and matter content. Multi-component dark matter arises when N is not prime and Z_N contains one or more subgroups. The dark sector interacts with the visible sector through the renormalizable kinetic mixing and Higgs portal operators, and we highlight the basic phenomenology in these scenarios. In particular, multiple species of dark matter can lead to an unconventional nuclear recoil spectrum in direct detection experiments, while the presence of n…
Generically, the asymmetric interactions in asymmetric dark matter (ADM) models lead to decaying DM. We show that, for ADM that carries nonzero baryon number, the continuous flavor symmetries that generate the flavor structure in the quark sector also imply a looser lower bound on the mass scale of the asymmetric mediators between the dark and visible sectors. The mediators for $B=2$ ADM that can produce a signal in the future indirect dark matter searches can thus also be searched for at the LHC. For two examples of the mediator models, with either the MFV or Froggatt-Nielsen flavor breaking …
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…
The available data on large scale structures seem to favour models with mixed dark matter (MDM), i.e. with a hot and cold component in a rather well--defined amount, or with some form of ``warm" dark matter. I discuss some prospects for these new scenarios for DM in the context of supersymmetric extensions of the electroweak standard model. In particular, I emphasize the intriguing link which exists between the present prospects of solution of the DM puzzle and the explicit or spontaneous breaking of baryon and/or lepton number symmetries. Some consequences on the issue of baryogenesis are wor…
We consider theories with one gauge group (SU, SO or Sp) and one scalar in a two-index representation. The renormalizable action often has accidental symmetries (such as global U(1) or unusual group parities) that lead to one or more stable states, providing Dark Matter candidates. We discuss the confined phase(s) of each theory and compute the two Higgs phases, finding no generic dualities among them. Discrete gauge symmetries can arise and accidental symmetries can be broken, possibly giving pseudo-Goldstone Dark Matter. Dark Matter candidates can have a complicated sub-structure characteris…
The stability of dark matter is normally achieved by imposing extra symmetries beyond those of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. In this paper we present a framework where the dark matter stability emerges as a consequence of the Standard Model symmetries. The dark matter particle is an antisymmetric tensor field (analogous to the one used for spin-1 mesons in QCD), singlet under the Standard Model gauge group. The Lagrangian possesses an accidental $Z_2$ symmetry which makes the dark matter stable on cosmological time scales. Interactions with the Standard Model fields proceed through t…
We show that the scotogenic dark symmetry can be obtained as a residual subgroup of the global $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry already present in Standard Model. We propose a general framework where the $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry is spontaneously broken to an even $\mathcal{Z}_{2n}$ subgroup, setting the general conditions for neutrinos to be Majorana and the dark matter stability in terms of the residual $\mathcal{Z}_{2n}$. Under this general framework, as examples, we build a class of simple models where, in the scotogenic spirit, the dark matter candidate is the lightest particle running inside the neutri…
I consider symmetries which could explain observed properties of dark matter, namely, its stability on Gyr time scales or its relic density and discuss how such symmetries can be discovered through the study of the propagation and polarization of light in its transit through dark matter.
General considerations in general relativity and quantum mechanics are known to potentially rule out continuous global symmetries in the context of any consistent theory of quantum gravity. Assuming the validity of such considerations, we derive stringent bounds from gamma-ray, X-ray, cosmic-ray, neutrino, and CMB data on models that invoke global symmetries to stabilize the dark matter particle. We compute up-to-date, robust model-independent limits on the dark matter lifetime for a variety of Planck-scale suppressed dimension-five effective operators. We then specialize our analysis and appl…
We provide a generic framework to obtain stable dark matter along with naturally small Dirac neutrino masses generated at the loop level. This is achieved through the spontaneous breaking of the global $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry already present in Standard Model. The $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry is broken down to a residual even $\mathcal{Z}_n$; $n \geq 4$ subgroup. The residual $\mathcal{Z}_n$ symmetry simultaneously guarantees dark matter stability and protects the Dirac nature of neutrinos. The $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry in our setup is anomaly free and can also be gauged in a straightforward way. Finally, …
Many popular models of new physics beyond the Standard Model use a parity to stabilize weakly interacting, dark matter candidates. We examine the potential for the CERN Large Hadron Collider to distinguish models with parity stabilized dark matter from models in which the dark matter is stabilized by other symmetries. In this letter, we focus on signatures involving long-lived particles and large amounts of missing transverse energy. To illustrate these signatures, we consider three models from the literature which are representative of a more general class of models with non-traditional stabi…
Non-Abelian family symmetries offer a very promising explanation for the flavour structure in the Standard Model and its extensions. We explore the possibility that dark matter consists in fermions that transform under a family symmetry, such that the visible and dark sector are linked by the familons - Standard Model gauge singlet scalars, responsible for spontaneously breaking the family symmetry. We study three representative models with non-Abelian family symmetries that have been shown capable to explain the masses and mixing of the Standard Model fermions. One of our central results is t…
We present a mechanism for the dark matter stability in the framework of a non-Abelian avour symmetry renormalizable model. The same non-abelian discrete avor symmetry which accounts for the observed pattern of neutrino oscillations, spontaneously breaks to a Z2 subgroup which renders DM stable. The simplest scheme leads to a scalar doublet DM potentially detectable in nuclear recoil experiments, inverse neutrino mass hierarchy, hence a neutrinoless double beta decay rate accessible to upcoming searches.
In supersymmetric theories without R-parity, the gravitino can play the role of a decaying Dark Matter candidate without the problem of late NLSP decays affecting Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. In this work, we elaborate on recently discussed limits on R-parity violating couplings from decays to antideuterons and discuss the implications for two classes of flavor symmetries: horizontal symmetries, and Minimal Flavor Violation. In most of the parameter space the antideuteron constraints on R-parity violating couplings are stronger than low-energy baryon-number-violating processes. Even in the absenc…
The observational value of the velocity dispersion, $Δ\upsilon$, is missing in the Dark Matter (DM) puzzle. Non-zero or non-thermal DM velocities can drastically influence Large Scale Structure and the 21-cm temperature at the epoch of the Cosmic Dawn, as well as the estimation of DM physical parameters, such as the mass and the interaction couplings. To study the phenomenology of $Δ\upsilon$ we model the evolution of DM in terms of a simplistic and generic Boltzmann-like momentum distribution. Using cosmological data from the Cosmic Microwave Background, Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations, and Re…
We investigate the phenomenology of flavored dark matter (DM). DM stability is guaranteed by an accidental ${\mathcal Z}_3$ symmetry, a subgroup of the standard model (SM) flavor group that is not broken by the SM Yukawa interactions. We consider an explicit realization where the quark part of the SM flavor group is fully gauged. If the dominant interactions between DM and visible sector are through flavor gauge bosons, as we show for Dirac fermion flavored DM, then the DM mass is bounded between roughly $0.5$ TeV and $5$ TeV if the DM multiplet mass is split only radiatively. In general, howe…
Dark Matter Stability from residual flavour symmetries
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare（意大利国家核物理研究所）；Universitat de València（瓦伦西亚大学）；Instituto de Física Corpuscular (CSIC-Universidad de Valencia)（粒子物理研究所（瓦伦西亚大学-CSIC））
We propose a "scotogenic" mechanism relating small neutrino mass and cosmological dark matter. Neutrinos are Dirac fermions with masses arising only in two--loop order through the sector responsible for dark matter. Two triality symmetries ensure both dark matter stability and strict lepton number conservation at higher orders. A global spontaneously broken U(1) symmetry leads to a physical $Diracon$ that induces invisible Higgs decays which add up to the Higgs to dark matter mode. This enhances sensitivities to spin-independent WIMP dark matter search below $m_h/2$.
We consider the class of models where Dirac neutrino masses at one loop and the dark matter stability can be obtained using only the global $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry already present in Standard Model. We discuss how the residual $\mathcal{Z}_n$ subgroup, left unbroken after the breaking of $U(1)_{B-L}$, dictates the neutrino nature, namely if they are Dirac or Majorana particles, as well as determines the stability of the dark matter candidate in such models. In particular, we show that without the correct breaking of $U(1)_{B-L}$ to an appropriate residual $\mathcal{Z}_n$ symmetry, the Dirac natu…
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 resonance…
We show that there are discrete gauge symmetries protect naturally heavy X particles from decaying into the ordinary light particles in the supersymmetric standard model. This makes the proposal very attractive that the superheavy X particles constitute a part of the dark matter in the present universe. It is more interesting that there are a class of discrete gauge symmetries which naturally accommodate a long-lived unstable X particle. We find that in some discrete Z_{10} models, for example, a superheavy X particle has lifetime τ_X \simeq 10^{11}-10^{26} years for its mass M_X \simeq 10^{13…
The search for a Dark Matter particle is the new grail and hard-sought nirvana of the particle physics community. From the theoretical side, it is the main challenge to provide a consistent and model-independent tool for comparing the bounds and reach of the diverse experiments. We propose a first complete classification of minimal consistent Dark Matter models, which provides the missing link between experiments and top-down models. Consistency is achieved by imposing renormalisability and invariance under the full Standard Model symmetries. We apply this paradigm to fermionic Dark multiplets…
We propose a novel mechanism in composite models that provides self-interacting dark matter along with the Higgs itself as composite particles, alleviating the Standard Model naturalness problem and explaining small-scale discrepancies such as the core-cusp and "too big to fail" problems. These dark matter candidates are stable due to global U(1) symmetries of the composite dynamics and their strong self-interactions are created by the novel mechanism based on top-quark partial compositeness. The relic density of the dark matter candidates is particle anti-particle symmetric and due to thermal…
Hidden sector dark matter (DM) models with local dark gauge symmetry make a natural playground for the $γ$-ray excess from the galactic center (GC). In this paper, we first discuss in detail the GC $γ$-ray excess in scalar dark matter model with local $Z_{3}$ symmetry which was recently proposed by the present authors. Within this model, scalar DM with mass $30-70$GeV is allowed due to newly-opened (semi-)annihilation channels of DM pair into dark Higgs $ϕ$ and/or dark photon $Z^{'}$ pair, and can fit the $γ$-ray spectrum from the GC. Then we argue that the GC gamma ray excess can be easily ac…
Constructing $SU(N)$ strongly coupled dark sectors by extending the Standard Model: mixed representations, flavor structure, global symmetries and various portals
Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)（宇宙理论物理中心，基础科学研究院）
Discrete Abelian symmetries ($\mathbb{Z}_N$) are a common "artifact" of beyond the standard model physics models. They provide different avenues for constructing consistent scenarios for lepton and quark mixing patterns, radiative neutrino mass generation as well as dark matter stabilization. We argue that these symmetries can arise from the spontaneous breaking of the Abelian $U(1)$ factors contained in the global flavor symmetry transformations of the gauge invariant kinetic Lagrangian. This will be the case provided the ultra-violet completion responsible for the Yukawa structure involves s…
We consider an extension of the nuMSM in which sterile neutrino masses originate from the VEV of a Higgs singlet phi and dark matter is produced through the decays of phi rather than through active-sterile neutrino mixing. This model, which we refer to as the nuNMSM, can readily satisfy or escape the constraints on warm dark matter from the Lyman-alpha forest and other small scale structure. However, it requires a particular hierarchy of Majorana masses and Yukawa couplings without an obvious origin. We show that the hierarchical parameters of the nuNMSM can arise from symmetries broken at or …
An extra Abelian gauge symmetry is motivated in many new physics models in both supersymmetric and nonsupersymmetric cases. Such a new gauge symmetry may interact with both the observable sector and the hidden sector. We systematically investigate the most general residual discrete symmetries in both sectors from a common Abelian gauge symmetry. Those discrete symmetries can ensure the stability of the proton and the dark matter candidate. A hidden sector dark matter candidate (lightest U-parity particle or LUP) interacts with the standard model fields through the gauge boson Z', which may sel…
We emphasize that the stabilizing symmetry for dark matter (DM) particles does not have to be the commonly used parity (Z_2) symmetry. We therefore examine the potential of the colliders to distinguish models with parity stabilized DM from models in which the DM is stabilized by other symmetries. We often take the latter to be a Z_3 symmetry for illustration. We focus on signatures where a single particle, charged under the DM stabilization symmetry decays into the DM and Standard Model (SM) particles. Such a Z_3-charged "mother" particle can decay into one or two DM particles along with the s…
The recently observed ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays beyond the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin bound can be explained by the decays of some superheavy $X$ particles forming a part of dark matter in our universe. We consider various discrete gauge symmetries ${\bf Z}_N$ to ensure the required long lifetime ($τ_X \simeq 10^{10}-10^{22} years$) of the $X$ particle to explain the UHE cosmic rays in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) with massive Majorana neutrinos. We show that there is no anomaly-free discrete gauge symmetry to make the lifetime of the $X$ particle sufficiently long i…
Flavour symmetries in the dark sector are a theoretically motivated and phenomenologically appealing concept. The dark matter particle can be stabilised with the help of flavour symmetries, without the need to introduce an additional discrete symmetry by hand. Apart from the usual searches in direct and indirect detection experiments and high energy colliders, flavoured dark matter generally also gives rise to new flavour violating interactions leading to interesting signatures in rare meson decays. This proceedings article reviews a simplified model of flavoured dark matter in which the dark …
We examine the potential of using colliders to distinguish models with parity (Z_2) stabilized dark matter (DM) from models in which the DM is stabilized by other symmetries, taking the latter to be a Z_3 symmetry for illustration. The key observation is that a heavier mother particle charged under a Z_3 stabilization symmetry can decay into one or two DM particles along with Standard Model (SM) particles. This can be contrasted with the decay of a mother particle charged under a parity symmetry; typically, only one DM particle appears in the decay chain. In arXiv:1003.0899, some of us studied…
The existence of dark matter is now well established by several indirect experiments. Several candidates for dark matter has also been proposed. However, the dark matter can just be like our ordinary matter in a parallel Universe with both Universes being described by their own non-abelian gauge symmetries forbidding any kinetic mixing. However, the quartic Higgs interactions involving Higgs fields between the two Universes are allowed by the symmetries of the model. The ensuing mixing between the two lightest Standard Model like Higgses gives rise to interesting signatures at the proposed int…
We study the symmetries enjoyed by the Newtonian equations of motion of the non-relativistic dark matter fluid coupled to gravity which give rise to the phenomenon of gravitational instability. We also discuss some consistency relations involving the soft limit of the (n + 1)-correlator functions of matter and galaxy overdensities.
We consider cases where the dark matter-nucleon interaction is naturally suppressed. We explicitly show that by extending the standard model scalar sector by a number of singlets, can lead to a vanishing direct detection cross section, if some softly broken symmetries are imposed in the dark sector. In particular, it is shown that if said symmetries are $SU(2)$ ($SU(N)$) and $U(1) \times S_N$, then the resulting pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons can constitute the dark matter of the Universe, while naturally explaining the missing signal in nuclear recoil experiments.
Discrete symmetries allowed in string compactification are the mother of all global symmetries which are broken at some level. We discuss the resulting pseudo-Goldstone bosons, in particular the QCD axion and a temporary cosmological constant, and inflatons. We also comment on some implications of the recent BICEP2 data.
