We consider a Higgs portal model in which the 125-GeV Higgs boson mixes with a light singlet mediator $h_2$ coupling to particles of a Dark Sector and study potential $b\to s h_2$ decays in the Belle II experiment. Multiplying the gauge-dependent off-shell Standard-Model $b$-$s$-Higgs vertex with the sine of the Higgs mixing angle does not give the correct $b$-$s$-$h_2$ vertex. We clarify this issue by calculating the $b$-$s$-$h_2$ vertex in an arbitrary $R_ξ$ gauge and demonstrate how the $ξ$ dependence cancels from physical decay rates involving an on-shell or off-shell $h_2$. Then we revisit the $b\to s h_2$ phenomenology and point out that a simultaneous study of $B\to K^* h_2$ and $B\to K h_2$ helps to discriminate between the Higgs portal and alternative models of the Dark Sector. We further advocate for the use of the $h_2$ lifetime information contained in displaced-vertex data with $h_2$ decaying back to Standard-Model particles to better constrain the $h_2$ mass or to reveal additional $h_2$ decay modes into long-lived particles.
High-energy $γγ$ colliders constitute a potential running mode of future $e^+ e^-$ colliders such as the ILC and CLIC. We study the sensitivity of a high-energy $γγ$ collider to the Higgs portal scenario to a hidden sector above the invisible Higgs decay threshold. We show that such $γγ$ collisions could allow to probe the existence of dark sectors through the Higgs portal comparatively more precisely than any other planned collider facility, from the unique combination of sizable cross-section with clean final state and collider environment. In addition, this search could cover the singlet Hi…
We perform a detailed study of scalar dark matter with triplet Higgs extensions of the Standard Model in order to explain the cosmic ray electron and positron excesses reported by AMS-02 and DAMPE. A detailed analysis of AMS-02 positron excess reveals that for different orderings (normal, inverted and quasi-degenerate) of neutrino mass, the hybrid triplet Higgs portal framework is more favored with respect to the single triplet Higgs portal for TeV scale dark matter. We also show that the resonant peak and continuous excess in DAMPE cosmic ray data can be well explained with the hybrid triplet…
We constrain the Higgs-portal model employing the vector-boson fusion channel at the LHC. In particular, we include the phenomenologically interesting parameter region near the Higgs resonance, where the Higgs-boson mass is close to the threshold for dark-matter production and a running-width prescription has to be employed for the Higgs-boson propagator. Limits for the Higgs-portal coupling as a function of the dark-matter mass are derived from the CMS search for invisible Higgs-boson decays in vector-boson fusion at 13 TeV. Furthermore, we perform projections for the 14 TeV HL-LHC and the 27…
We review predictions and constraints for nuclear recoil signals from Higgs portal dark matter under the assumption of standard thermal creation from freeze-out. Thermally created scalar and vector Higgs portal dark matter masses are constrained to be in the resonance region near half the Higgs mass or above several TeV. The resonance region for these models will be tested by XENONnT and LZ. The full mass range up to the unitarity limit can be tested by DarkSide-20k and DARWIN. Fermionic Higgs portal dark matter with a pure CP odd coupling is constrained by the Higgs decay width, but has stron…
We perform frequentist and Bayesian statistical analyses of Higgs- and Z-portal models of dark matter particles with spin 0, 1/2 and 1. Our analyses incorporate data from direct detection and indirect detection experiments, as well as LHC searches for monojet and monophoton events, and we also analyze the potential impacts of future direct detection experiments. We find acceptable regions of the parameter spaces for Higgs-portal models with real scalar, neutral vector, Majorana or Dirac fermion dark matter particles, and Z-portal models with Majorana or Dirac fermion dark matter particles. In …
A review of the Higgs portal-vector dark matter interpretation of the spin-independent dark-matter nucleon elastic scattering cross section is presented, where the invisible Higgs decay width measured at the LHC is used. Effective Field Theory and ultraviolet complete models are discussed. LHC interpretations show only the scalar and Majorana dark-matter scenarios; we propose to include interpretation for vector dark matter in the EFT and UV completions theoretical framework. In addition, our studies suggest an extension of the LHC dark matter interpretations to the sub-GeV regime.
In the so-called Planckian Interacting Dark Matter (PIDM) scenario, superheavy dark matter particles are produced after inflation by gravity-mediated interactions through the freeze-in mechanism. In the minimal PIDM model, the absence of any additional direct coupling with Standard Model particles is assumed. However, for scalar dark matter particles there is no symmetry that suppresses the Higgs portal coupling. In this paper, we therefore study the impact of a non-zero interaction with the Higgs field on the PIDM paradigm for scalar dark matter. In particular, we fully explore the model para…
A scalar particle with a relic density set by annihilations through a Higgs portal operator is a simple and minimal possibility for dark matter. However, assuming a thermal cosmological history this model is ruled out over most of parameter space by collider and direct detection constraints. We show that in theories with a non-thermal cosmological history Higgs portal dark matter is viable for a wide range of dark matter masses and values of the portal coupling, evading existing limits. In particular, we focus on the string theory motivated scenario of a period of late time matter domination d…
High-luminosity fixed target experiments provide impressive sensitivity to new light weakly coupled degrees of freedom. We revisit the minimal case of a scalar singlet $S$ coupled to the Standard Model through the Higgs portal, that decays visibly to leptons for scalar masses below the di-pion threshold. The dataset from the LSND experiment is found to impose the leading constraints within two mass windows between $m_S \sim 100$ and 350 MeV. In the process, we analyze a number of scalar production channels in the target, finding that proton bremsstrahlung provides the dominant channel at LSND …
We study a fermionic dark matter model in which the interaction of the dark and visible sectors is mediated by Higgs portal type couplings. Specifically, we consider the mixing of a dark sector scalar with the scalars of a Two Higgs Doublet Model extension of the Standard Model. Given that scalar exchange will result in a spin-independent dark matter-nucleon scattering cross section, such a model is potentially subject to stringent direct detection constraints. Moreover, the addition of new charged scalars introduce non-trivial flavour constraints. Nonetheless, this model allows more freedom t…
Higgs-portal effective field theories are widely used as benchmarks in order to interpret collider and astroparticle searches for dark matter (DM) particles. To assess the validity of these effective models, it is important to confront them to concrete realizations that are complete in the ultraviolet regime. In this paper, we compare effective Higgs-portal models with scalar, fermionic and vector DM with a series of increasingly complex realistic models, taking into account all existing constraints from collider and astroparticle physics. These complete realizations include the inert doublet …
We revisit the simplest model of Higgs portal fermionic dark matter. The dark matter in this scenario is thermally produced in the early universe due to the interactions with the Higgs boson which is described by a non-renormalisable dimension-5 operator. The dark matter-Higgs scattering amplitude grows as $\propto \sqrt{s}$, signalling a breakdown of the effective description of the Higgs-dark matter interactions at large enough (compared to the mass scale $Λ$ of the dimention-5 operator) energies. Therefore, in order to reliably compute Higgs-dark matter scattering cross sections, we employ …
We investigate the implications of the dark axion portal interaction, the axion-photon-dark photon vertex, for the future experiments SHiP and FASER. We also study the phenomenology of the combined vector portal (kinetic mixing of the photon and dark photon) and dark axion portal. The muon $g-2$ discrepancy is unfortunately not solved even with the two portals, but the low-energy beam dump experiments with monophoton detection capability can open new opportunities in light dark sector searches using the combined portals.
We examine a model with a fermionic dark matter candidate having pseudoscalar interaction with the standard model particles where its direct detection elastic scattering cross section at tree level is highly suppressed. We then calculate analytically the leading loop contribution to the spin independent scattering cross section. It turns out that these loop effects are sizable over a large region of the parameter space. Taking constraints from direct detection experiments, the invisible Higgs decay measurements, observed DM relic density, we find viable regions which are within reach in the fu…
The dark axion portal is a recently introduced portal between the standard model and the dark sector. It connects both the dark photon and the axion (or axion-like particle) to the photon simultaneously through an anomaly triangle. While the vector portal and the axion portal have been popular venues to search for the dark photon and axion, respectively, the new portal provides new detection channels if they coexist. The dark axion portal is not a result of the simple combination of the two portals, and its value is not determined by the other portal values; it should be tested independently. …
