We introduce a new way of modeling the physics beyond the Standard Model by considering fake, strictly off-shell degrees of freedom: the fakeons. To demonstrate the approach and exemplify its reach, we re-analyze the phenomenology of the Inert Doublet Model under the assumption that the second doublet is a fakeon. Remarkably, the fake doublet avoids the most stringent $Z$-pole constraints regardless of the chosen mass scale, thereby allowing for the presence of new effects well below the electroweak scale. Furthermore, the absence of on-shell propagation prevents fakeons from inducing missing energy signatures in collider experiments. The distinguishing features of the model appear at the loop level, where fakeons modify the Higgs boson $h\toγγ$ decay width and the Higgs trilinear coupling. The running of Standard Model parameters proceeds as in the usual Inert Doublet Model case. Therefore, the fake doublet can also ensure the stability of the Standard Model vacuum. Our work shows that fakeons are a valid alternative to the usual tools of particle physics model building, with the potential to shape a new paradigm, where the significance of the existing experimental constraints towards new physics must necessarily be reconsidered.
The single Higgs doublet in the standard model (SM) may be the simplest way of introducing electroweak symmetry breaking, but SM extensions with more scalar doublets are not excluded. A special case of the two Higgs doublet models is the inert doublet model - a minimalistic version with interesting phenomenology. These proceedings reviews the inert doublet model's theoretical setup, constraints, collider prospects and its dark matter phenomenology.
The simple 3-3-1 model that contains the minimal lepton and minimal scalar contents is detailedly studied. The impact of the inert scalars (i.e., the extra fundamental fields that provide realistic dark matter candidates) on the model is discussed. All the interactions of the model are derived, in which the standard model ones are identified. We constrain the standard model like Higgs particle at the LHC. We search for the new particles including the inert ones, which contribute to the $B_s$-$\bar{B}_s$ mixing, the rare $B_s\rightarrow μ^+μ^-$ decay, the CKM unitarity violation, as well as pro…
We make a phenomenological study of a model with two inert doublets plus one Higgs doublet (I(2+1)HDM) which is symmetric under a Z$_2$ group, preserved after Electro-Weak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) by the vacuum alignment $(0,0,v)$. This model may be regarded as an extension to the model with one inert doublet plus one Higgs doublet (I(1+1)HDM), by the addition of an extra inert scalar doublet. The neutral fields from the two inert doublets provide a viable Dark Matter (DM) candidate which is stabilised by the conserved $Z_2$ symmetry. We study the new Higgs decay channels offered by the scalar…
We study the production and decay of charged scalars, eta^\pm, in the context of a CP-Violating Inert-Doublet Model. The model is an extended version of the Inert Doublet Model with an extra Higgs doublet and provides new sources of CP violation and a dark matter candidate. As compared with the 2HDM, the particle spectrum contains two additional neutral scalars and a charged pair. These particles are subject to a Z_2 symmetry, but can be pair-produced in hadronic collisions. If a charged scalar is included in the pair, it decays to the stable dark-matter candidate (i.e., the lightest neutral i…
The extension of the standard model's minimal Higgs sector with an inert $SU(2)_L$ scalar doublet can provide light dark matter candidate and simultaneously induce a strong phase transition for explaining Baryogenesis. There is however no symmetry reasons to prevent the extension using scalars with higher $SU(2)_L$ representations. By making random scans over the models' parameters, we show that in the light of electroweak physics constraints, strong first order electroweak phase transition and the possibility of having sub-TeV cold dark matter candidate the higher representations are rather d…
The inert doublet model is a minimal dark matter model with strong theoretical motivations, where the stability of dark matter is usually achieved by imposing a $Z_2$ parity. We promote the $Z_2$ parity into a global $U(1)$ symmetry and study its phenomenological implications. There are two characteristic features of the model: both the CP-even and CP-odd neutral inert scalars, $h_1$ and $h_2$, become DM candidates; the number of model parameters is one less than that with $Z_2$ parity. We first analyze the constraints from LEP experiments, electroweak precision tests, theoretical stability, H…
In this work we will extend the inert-doublet model (IDM) by adding a new $U(1)_{F}$ gauge symmetry to it, under which, a $Z_{2}$ even scalar ($ϕ_{2}$) and $Z_{2}$ odd right handed component of two exotic charged leptons $(F_{eR},\ F_{μR})$, are charged. We also add one $Z_{2}$ even real scalar ($ϕ_{1}$) and one complex scalar ($ϕ$), three neutral Majorana right handed fermions ($N_{1},\ N_{2},\ N_{3}$), two left handed components of the exotic charged leptons $(F_{eL},\ F_{μL})$ as well as $F_τ$ are all odd under the $Z_{2}$, all of which are not charged under the $U(1)_{F}$. With these new p…
The inert doublet model, a minimal extension of the Standard Model by a second higgs doublet with no direct couplings to quarks or leptons, is one of the simplest scenarios that can explain the dark matter. In this paper, we study in detail the impact of dark matter annihilation into three-body final state on the phenomenology of the inert doublet model. We find that this new annihilation mode dominates, in a relevant portion of the parameter space, over those into two-body final states considered in previous analysis. As a result, the computation of the relic density is modified and the viabl…
Non-minimal Higgs sectors are strongly constrained by the agreement of the measured couplings of the 125 GeV Higgs with Standard Model predictions. This agreement can be explained by an approximate $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry under which the additional Higgs bosons are odd. This allows the additional Higgs bosons to be approximately inert, meaning that they have suppressed VEVs and suppressed mixing with the Standard Model Higgs. In this case, single production of the new Higgs bosons is suppressed, but electroweak pair production is unsuppressed. We study the phenomenology of a minimal 2 Higgs do…
We investigate the phenomenology of the light charged and neutral scalars in Inert Doublet Model at future $e^+ e^-$ colliders with center of mass energies of 0.5 and 1 TeV, and integrated luminosity of 500~fb$^{-1}$. The analysis covers two production processes, $e^{+}e^{-} \rightarrow H^{+}H^{-}$ and $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow AH$, and consists of signal selections, cross section determinations as well as dark matter mass measurements. Several benchmark points are studied with focus on $H^{\pm} \rightarrow W^{\pm}H$ and $A \rightarrow ZH$ decays. It is concluded that the signal will be well obse…
We study collider phenomenology of inert triplet scalar dark matter at the LHC. We discuss possible decay of Higgs boson to dark matter candidate and apply current experimental data for invisible Higgs decay and $R_{γγ}$ to constrain parameter space of our model. We also investigate constraints on dark matter coming from forthcoming measurement, $R_{Zγ}$ and mono-Higgs production. We analytically calculate the annihilation cross section of dark matter candidate into $2γ$ and $Zγ$ and then use FermiLAT data to put constraints on parameter space of Inert Triplet Model. We found that this limit c…
The Inert Doublet Model (IDM) is a two doublet extension of the Higgs-Brout-Englert sector of the Standard Model with a Z_2 symmetry in order to prevent FCNC. If the Z_2 symmetry is not spontaneously broken, the lightest neutral extra scalar is a dark matter candidate. We briefly review the phenomenology of the model, emphasizing its relevance for the issue of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) and the prospects for detection of dark matter.
The inert Zee model is an extension of the Zee model for neutrino masses to allow for a solution to the dark matter problem that involves two vector-like fields, a doublet and a singlet of ${\rm SU(2)_L}$, and two scalars, also a doublet and a singlet of ${\rm SU(2)_L}$, all of them being odd under an exact ${\rm Z_2}$ symmetry. The introduction of the ${\rm Z_2}$ guarantees one-loop neutrino masses, forbids tree-level Higgs-mediated flavor changing neutral currents and ensures the stability of the dark matter candidate. Due to the natural breaking of lepton numbers in the inert Zee model, we …
The inert Zee model is an extension of the Zee model for neutrino masses to allow for a solution to the dark matter problem that involves two vector-like fields, a doublet and a singlet of $SU(2)_L$, and two scalars, also a doublet and a singlet of $SU(2)_L$, all of them being odd under an exact $Z_2$ symmetry. The introduction of the $Z_2$ guarantees one-loop neutrino masses, forbids tree-level Higgs-mediated flavor changing neutral currents and ensures the stability of the dark matter candidate. Due to the natural breaking of lepton numbers in the inert Zee model and encouraged by the ambiti…
The Inert Doublet Model (IDM) is one of the simplest extensions of the Standard Model that can provide a viable dark matter (DM) candidate. Despite its simplicity, it predicts a versatile phenomenology both for cosmology and for the Large Hadron Collider. We briefly summarize the status of searches for IDM dark matter in direct DM detection experiments and the LHC, focusing on the impact of the latter on the model parameter space. In particular, we discuss the consequences of the Higgs boson discovery as well as those of searches for dileptons accompanied by missing transverse energy during th…
Following the discovery of a Higgs boson, there has been renewed interest in the general 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM). A model with One Inert Doublet plus One Higgs Doublet (I(1+1)HDM), where one of the scalar doublets is "inert" (since it has no vacuum expectation value and does not couple to fermions) has an advantage over the 2HDM since it provides a good Dark Matter (DM) candidate, namely the lightest inert scalar. Motivated by the existence of three fermion families, here we consider a model with two scalar doublets plus one Higgs doublet (I(2+1)HDM), where the two scalar doublets are ine…
We present a detailed study of dark matter phenomenology in low-scale left-right symmetric models. Stability of new fermion or scalar multiplets is ensured by an accidental matter parity that survives the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the gauge group by scalar triplets. The relic abundance of these particles is set by gauge interactions and gives rise to dark matter candidates with masses above the electroweak scale. Dark matter annihilations are thus modified by the Sommerfeld effect, not only in the early Universe, but also today, for instance, in the Center of the Galaxy. Majorana candid…
We perform a comprehensive analysis of the most distinctive and important phenomenological implications of the recently proposed mechanism of sequential loop generation of strong hierarchies in the Standard Model (SM) fermion mass spectra. This mechanism is consistently realized at the level of renormalizable interactions in an extended variant of the Inert Higgs Doublet model, possessing the additional $Z_{2}^{(1)}\times Z_{2}^{(2)}$ discrete and $U_{1X}$ gauge family symmetries, while the matter sectors of the SM are extended by means of $SU_{2L}$-singlet scalars, heavy vector-like leptons a…
The inert doublet model is a well-motivated extension of the Standard Model that contains a dark matter candidate and modifies the dynamics of the electroweak symmetry breaking. In order to detail its phenomenology, we perform a comprehensive study of cosmic phase transitions and gravitational wave signals implied by the framework, accounting for the latest results of collider experiments. We require the neutral inert scalar to constitute, at least, a subdominant part of the observed dark matter abundance. While most of the phase transitions proceed through a single step, we identify regions o…
We consider a model for the Higgs sector with two scalar doublets and a broken $Z_2$ symmetry, the Stealth Doublet Model, where the $Z_2$ symmetry is manifest in the Yukawa sector but broken by the scalar potential. This model can be seen as a generalization of the Inert Doublet Model. One of the doublets is the Higgs doublet that participates in electroweak symmetry breaking and couples to fermions. The other doublet does not couple to fermions at tree level and does not acquire a vacuum expectation value. The broken $Z_2$ symmetry leads to interesting phenomenology such as mixing between the…
The inert doublet model (IDM) is a minimal extension of the Standard Model (SM) that can account for the dark matter in the universe. Naturalness arguments motivate us to study whether the model can be embedded into a theory with dynamically generated scales. In this work we study a classically scale invariant version of the IDM with a minimal hidden sector, which has a $U(1)_{\text{CW}}$ gauge symmetry and a complex scalar $Φ$. The mass scale is generated in the hidden sector via the Coleman-Weinberg (CW) mechanism and communicated to the two Higgs doublets via portal couplings. Since the CW …
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) and axions are arguably the most compelling dark matter candidates in the literature. Could they coexist as dark matter particles? More importantly, can they be incorporated in a well motivated framework in agreement with experimental data? In this work, we show that this two component dark matter can be realized in the Inert Doublet Model in an elegant and natural manner by virtue of the spontaneous breaking of a Peccei-Quinn $U(1)_{PQ}$ symmetry into a residual $Z_2$ symmetry. The WIMP stability is guaranteed by the $Z_{2}$ symmetry and a new dark…
We perform a comprehensive analysis of several phenomenological aspects of the renormalizable extension of the inert 3-3-1 model with sequentially loop-generated SM fermion mass hierarchy. Special attention is paid to the study of the constraints arising from the experimental data on the $ρ$ parameter, as well as those ones resulting from the charged lepton flavor violating process $μ\to eγ$ and dark matter. We also study the single $Z'$ production via Drell-Yan mechanism at the LHC. We have found that $Z'$ gauge bosons heavier than about $4$ TeV comply with the experimental constraints on the…
We examine the Inert Doublet Model in light of the discovery of a Higgs-like boson with a mass of roughly 126 GeV at the LHC. We evaluate one-loop corrections to the scalar masses and perform a numerical solution of the one-loop renormalization group equations. Demanding vacuum stability, perturbativity, and S-matrix unitarity, we compute the scale up to which the model can be extrapolated. From this we derive constraints on the model parameters in the presence of a 126 GeV Higgs boson. We perform an improved calculation of the dark matter relic density with the Higgs mass fixed to the measure…
We study extensions of the Standard Model (SM) in which copies of the SM scalar SU(2) doublet are added to the Higgs sector. These scalar doublets either acquire a Vacuum Expectation Value (VEV) and hence are active or do not develop a VEV and are inert. We consider CP-violation (CPV) in both the active and inert sector. As an example of a model with CPV in the active sector, we present a Type-I 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) with two active doublets and show Large Hadron Collider (LHC) signals of such a scenario. The amount of CPV in this case is very limited due to constraints coming from Elec…
We discuss theoretical and phenomenological aspects of two-Higgs-doublet extensions of the Standard Model. In general, these extensions have scalar mediated flavour changing neutral currents which are strongly constrained by experiment. Various strategies are discussed to control these flavour changing scalar currents and their phenomenological consequences are analysed. In particular, scenarios with natural flavour conservation are investigated, including the so-called type I and type II models as well as lepton-specific and inert models. Type III models are then discussed, where scalar flavo…
We analyze a model for the Higgs sector with two scalar doublets and a $Z_2$ symmetry that is manifest in the Yukawa sector but broken in the potential. Thus, one of the doublets breaks the electroweak symmetry and has tree-level Yukawa couplings to fermions, whereas the other doublet has no vacuum expectation value and no tree-level couplings to fermions. Since the $Z_2$ parity is broken the two doublets can mix, which leads to a distinct and novel phenomenology. This Stealth Doublet Model can be seen as a generalization of the Inert Doublet Model with a broken $Z_2$ symmetry. We outline the …
Collider, space, and Earth based experiments are now able to probe several extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics which provide viable dark matter candidates. Direct and indirect dark matter searches rely on inputs of astrophysical nature, such as the local dark matter density or the shape of the dark matter profile in the target in object. The determination of these quantities is highly affected by astrophysical uncertainties. The latter, especially those for our own Galaxy, are ill-known, and often not fully accounted for when analyzing the phenomenology of particle physics mod…
