We consider the positivity bounds for WIMP scalar dark matter with effective Higgs-portal couplings up to dimension-8 operators. Taking the superposed states for Standard Model Higgs and scalar dark matter, we show that the part of the parameter space for the effective couplings, otherwise unconstrained by phenomenological bounds, is ruled out by the positivity bounds on the dimension-8 derivative operators. We find that dark matter relic density, direct and indirect detection and LHC constraints are complementary to the positivity bounds in constraining the effective Higgs-portal couplings. In the effective theory obtained from massive graviton or radion, there appears a correlation between dimension-8 operators and other effective Higgs-portal couplings for which the strong constraint from direct detection can be evaded. Nailing down the parameter space mainly by relic density, direct detection and positivity bounds, we find that there are observable cosmic ray signals coming from the dark matter annihilations into a pair of Higgs bosons, $WW$ or $ZZ$.
Light scalar fields that couple to matter through the Higgs portal mediate long range fifth forces. We show how the mixing of a light scalar with the Higgs field can lead to this fifth force being screened around macroscopic objects. This behaviour can only be seen by considering both scalar fields as dynamical, and is missed if the mixing between the Higgs field and the scalar field is not taken into account. We explain under which conditions the naive "integrating out" procedure fails, i.e. when the mass matrix of the Higgs-scalars system has a nearly vanishing mass eigenvalue. The resulting…
The clockwork mechanism can explain interactions which are dimensionally very weak without the need for very large mass scales. We present a model in which the clockwork mechanism generates the very small Higgs portal coupling and dark matter particle mass necessary to explain cold dark matter via the freeze-in mechanism. We introduce a TeV-scale scalar clockwork sector which couples to the Standard Model via the Higgs portal. The dark matter particle is the lightest scalar of the clockwork sector. We show that the freeze-in mechanism is dominated by decay of the heavy clockwork scalars to lig…
We consider the Higgs portal $Z_2$ scalar model as the minimal extension of the Standard Model (SM) to incorporate the dark matter. We find that the dark matter mass is bounded to be lighter than 1000\,GeV within the framework that we have proposed earlier, where the Higgs inflation occurs above the SM cutoff $Λ$, thanks to the fact that the Higgs potential becomes much smaller than its typical value in the SM: $V\llΛ^4$. We can further fix the dark matter mass to be $400\text{GeV}< m_\text{DM}<470\text{GeV}$ if we impose that the cutoff is at the string scale $Λ\sim10^{17}\text{GeV}$ and that…
The simplest Higgs-portal dark matter model is studied in the light of dark matter self-interacting effects on the formation of large scale structures. We show the direct detection limits on the resonant and large mass regions. Finally, we also compare these limits with those at the LHC and Xenon 1T experiments.
We show that the Higgs portal interactions involving extra dark Higgs field can save generically the original Higgs inflation of the standard model (SM) from the problem of a deep non-SM vacuum in the SM Higgs potential. Specifically, we show that such interactions disconnect the top quark pole mass from inflationary observables and allow multi-dimensional parameter space to save the Higgs inflation, thanks to the additional parameters (the dark Higgs boson mass $m_ϕ$, the mixing angle $α$ between the SM Higgs $H$ and dark Higgs $Φ$, and the mixed quartic coupling) affecting RG-running of the …
The Higgs field mass term, being superrenomalizable, has a unique status within the standard model. Through the opening it affords, $SU(3) \times SU(2) \times U(1)$ singlet fields can have renormalizable couplings to standard model fields. We present examples that are neither grotesque nor unnatural. A possible consequence is to spread the Higgs particle resonance into several weaker ones, or to afford it additional, effectively invisible decay channels.
We show that fermionic dark matter (DM) which communicates with the Standard Model (SM) via the Higgs portal is a viable scenario, even if a SM-like Higgs is found at around 125 GeV. Using effective field theory we show that for DM with a mass in the range from about 60 GeV to 2 TeV the Higgs portal needs to be parity violating in order to be in agreement with direct detection searches. For parity conserving interactions we identify two distinct options that remain viable: a resonant Higgs portal, and an indirect Higgs portal. We illustrate both possibilities using a simple renormalizable toy …
To solve the hierarchy problem, extra-dimensional models must explain why the new dimensions stabilize to the right size, and the known mechanisms for doing so require bulk scalars that couple to the branes. Because of these couplings the energetics of dimensional stabilization competes with the energetics of the Higgs vacuum, with potentially observable effects. These effects are particularly strong for one or two extra dimensions because the bulk-Higgs couplings can then be super-renormalizable or dimensionless. Experimental reach for such extra-dimensional Higgs `portals' are stronger than …
The Higgs portal of the Standard Model provides the opportunity for coupling to a very light scalar field $ϕ$ via the super-renormalizable operator $ϕ(H^\dagger H)$. This allows for the existence of a very light scalar dark matter that has coherent interaction with the Standard Model particles and yet has its mass protected against radiative corrections. We analyze ensuing constraints from the fifth-force measurements, along with the cosmological requirements. We find that the detectable level of the fifth-force can be achieved in models with low inflationary scales, and certain amount of fine…
We address the notorious metastability of the standard model (SM) and promote it to a model building task: What are the new ingredients required to stabilize the SM up to the Planck scale without encountering subplanckian Landau poles? Using the SM extended by vector-like fermions (VLFs), we chart out the corresponding landscape of Higgs stability. We find that the gauge portal mechanism, triggered by new SM charge carriers, opens up sizeable room for stability in a minimally invasive manner. We also find models with Higgs criticality, and Yukawa portals opening up at stronger coupling. Severa…
We consider a strongly interacting twin Higgs (SITH) model where an ultraviolet completion of twin Higgs mechanism is realized by a strongly coupled approximately scale invariant theory. Besides the Standard Model (SM) and twin sectors, the low energy effective theory contains a relatively light scalar called a dilaton --- the pseudo Goldstone boson of spontaneously broken scale invariance. The dilaton provides a unique portal between the SM and twin sectors whose phenomenology could provide an important probe of the twin Higgs mechanism. As a concrete example, we consider a holographic twin H…
The nature of dark matter and the fundamental quantum structure of spacetime could be directly linked in the asymptotic-safety framework. A toy model for the visible Higgs-Yukawa sector of the Standard Model, coupled to a dark sector through a portal coupling, provides a very first example for a model that simultaneously i) could become asymptotically safe at non-vanishing portal coupling, ii) could feature a strongly enhanced predictive power with calculable values for all interactions and thereby iii) give rise to calculable relations between the masses of the dark particles, their self-inte…
The measured values of the Higgs and top quark masses imply that the Standard Model potential is very likely to be unstable at large Higgs values. This is particularly problematic during inflation, which sources large perturbations of the Higgs. The instability could be cured by a threshold effect induced by a scalar with a large vacuum expectation value and directly connected to the Standard Model through a Higgs portal coupling. However, we find that in a minimal model in which the scalar generates inflation, this mechanism does not stabilize the potential because the mass required for infla…
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 propose a supersymmetric extension of the standard model whose Higgs sector induces a spontaneous supersymmetry breaking by itself. Unlike the minimal extension, the current Higgs mass bound can be evaded even at the tree-level without the help of the soft breaking terms due to the usual hidden sector, as is reminiscent of the next to minimal case. We also have a possibly light pseudo-goldstino in our visible sector in addition to extra Higgs particles, both of which stem from supersymmetry breaking dynamics. In such a setup of visible supersymmetry breaking, we may see a part of supersymme…
We present a minimal extension of the Standard Model (SM) providing a consistent picture of particle physics from the electroweak scale to the Planck scale and of cosmology from inflation until today. Three right-handed neutrinos $N_i$, a new color triplet $Q$ and a complex SM-singlet scalar $σ$, whose vacuum expectation value $v_σ\sim 10^{11}$ GeV breaks lepton number and a Peccei-Quinn symmetry simultaneously, are added to the SM. At low energies, the model reduces to the SM, augmented by seesaw generated neutrino masses and mixing, plus the axion. The latter solves the strong CP problem and…
We show that the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole model in the hidden sector with Higgs portal interaction makes a viable dark matter model, where monopole and massive vector dark matter (VDM) are stable due to topological conservation and the unbroken subgroup $U(1)_X$. We show that, even though observed CMB data requires the dark gauge coupling to be quite small, a right amount of VDM thermal relic can be obtained via $s$-channel resonant annihilation for the mass of VDM close to or smaller than the half of SM higgs mass, thanks to Higgs portal interaction. Monopole relic density turns out to be s…
The correlation between the invisible Higgs branching ratio ($B_h^{\rm inv} $) vs. dark matter (DM) direct detection ($σ_p^{\rm SI}$) in Higgs portal DM models is usually presented in the effective field theory (EFT) framework. This is fine for singlet scalar DM, but not in the singlet fermion DM (SFDM) or vector DM (VDM) models. In this paper, we derive the explicit expressions for this correlation within UV completions of SFDM and VDM models with Higgs portals, and discuss the limitation of the EFT approach. We show that there are at least two additional hidden parameter in $σ_p^{\rm SI}$ in…
In a number of Higgs-portal models, an $SU(2)$ isospin-singlet scalar boson generically appears at the electroweak scale and can mix with the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson with a mixing angle $α$. This singlet scalar boson can have renormalizable couplings to a pair of dark matter particles, vectorlike leptons or quarks, or new gauge bosons, thereby modifying the Higgs signal strengths in a nontrivial way. In this work, we perform global fits to such models using the most updated LHC Higgs-boson data and discuss the corresponding implications on Higgs-portal-type models. In particular we fin…
This article is an exploration of gamma ray signals of annihilating Higgs-portal singlet scalar and vector dark matter. Gamma ray signals are considered in the context of contributions from annihilations of singlets in the galactic halo to the Isotropic Gamma Ray Background (IGRB), in the context of the Galactic center excess, and in the context of observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We find that Higgs-portal singlets of both species with a mass of $~$65 GeV can explain the Galactic center excess with reasonable accuracy, but that this mass range is in tension with current direct detect…
We study self-interacting dark matter coupled to the Standard Model via the Higgs portal. We consider a scenario where dark matter is a thermal relic with strong enough self interactions that can alleviate the problems of collisionless cold dark matter. We study constraints from direct detection searches, the LHC, and Big Bang nucleosynthesis. We show that the tension between these constraints and the need for sufficiently strong self-interactions with light mediators can be alleviated by coupling the mediator to either active or sterile neutrinos. Future direct detection data offers great pot…
LHC constraints on Higgs-portal WIMPs are studied. Scalar, vector and anti-symmetric tensor fields are considered. They are assumed to be heavier than a half of the Higgs boson mass. We investigate 8 TeV LHC results on signatures of the vector boson fusion, mono-jet and associated production of the $Z$ boson, which proceed via virtual exchange of the Higgs boson. We show that Higgs-portal interactions of the vector and tensor WIMPs are constrained to be less than 0.43 and 0.16, respectively, while those for the scalar are very weak. Prospects of the 14 TeV LHC are also discussed.
We study the relationship between the strength of fifth forces and the origin of scale breaking in the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. We start with a light scalar field that is conformally coupled to a toy SM matter sector through a Weyl rescaling of the metric. After appropriately normalizing the fields, the conformally coupled scalar only interacts directly with the would-be Higgs field through kinetic-mixing and Higgs-portal terms. Thus, for the first time, we describe the equivalence of conformally coupled scalar-tensor modifications of gravity and Higgs-portal theories, and we f…
We study effects from new colored states and the Higgs portal on gluon fusion production. We isolate possible loop contributions from new colored scalars, fermions, and vectors, incorporating effects from Higgs portal-induced scalar mixing, leading to dramatic effects on gluon fusion and branching fractions. Higgs identification must generally allow for these effects, and using our results, possible tensions from fits to the Standard Model expectation can be relieved by inclusion of New Physics effects.
We study an extension of the Inert Higgs Doublet Model (IHDM) by three copies of right handed neutrinos and heavy charged leptons such that both the inert Higgs doublet and the heavy fermions are odd under the $Z_2$ symmetry of the model. The neutrino masses are generated at one loop in the scotogenic fashion. Assuming the neutral scalar of the inert Higgs to be the dark matter candidate, we particularly look into the region of parameter space where dark matter relic abundance is primarily governed by the inert Higgs coupling with the leptons. This corresponds to tiny Higgs portal coupling of …
A statistically significant excess of gamma rays has been reported and robustly confirmed in the Galactic Center over the past decade. Large local dark matter densities suggest that this Galactic Center Excess (GCE) may be attributable to new physics, and indeed it has been shown that this signal is well-modelled by annihilations dominantly into $b\bar{b}$ with a WIMP-scale cross section. In this paper, we consider Majorana dark matter annihilating through a Higgs portal as a candidate source for this signal, where a large CP-violation in the Higgs coupling may serve to severely suppress scatt…
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 propose a new portal coupling to dark matter by taking advantage of the nonminimally coupled portal sector to the Ricci scalar. Such a portal sector conformally induces couplings to the trace of the energy-momentum tensor of matters including highly secluded dark matter particles. The portal coupling is so feeble that dark matter is produced by freeze-in processes of scatterings and/or the decay of the mediator. We consider two concrete realizations of the portal: conformally induced Higgs portal and conformally induced mediator portal. The former case is compatible with the Higgs inflation…
We present Higgs-Portal dark matter (DM) models to explain the reported Galactic Center GeV gamma-ray excess. Naive effective theories are inconsistent with direct detection constraint for the relevant parameter range. Simple extended models with dark gauge symmetries can easily accommodate the gamma-ray excess through the Higgs-Portal coupling while satisfying various constraints.
The discovery of the Higgs boson opens the door to new physics interacting via the Higgs Portal, including motivated scenarios relating to baryogenesis, dark matter, and electroweak naturalness. We systematically explore the collider signatures of singlet scalars produced via the Higgs Portal at the 14 TeV LHC and a prospective 100 TeV hadron collider. We focus on the challenging regime where the scalars are too heavy to be produced in the decays of an on-shell Higgs boson, and instead are produced primarily via an off-shell Higgs. Assuming these scalars escape the detector, promising channels…
The WIMPzilla hypothesis is that the dark matter is a super-weakly-interacting and super-heavy particle. Conventionally, the WIMPzilla abundance is set by gravitational particle production during or at the end of inflation. In this study we allow the WIMPzilla to interact directly with Standard Model fields through the Higgs portal, and we calculate the thermal production (freeze-in) of WIMPzilla dark matter from the annihilation of Higgs boson pairs in the plasma. The two particle-physics model parameters are the WIMPzilla mass and the Higgs-WIMPzilla coupling. The two cosmological parameters…
The hypothesis of dark matter interacting with the standard model uniquely via the Higgs portal is severely challenged by experiments. However, if dark matter is a fermion, the Higgs-portal interaction implies the presence of mediators, which can change the phenomenology significantly. This article discusses the impact of weakly-interacting mediators on the dark-matter relic abundance, direct detection, and collider searches. At the LHC, a typical signature of Higgs-portal fermion dark matter features soft leptons and missing energy, similarly to gaugino production in models with supersymmetry…
We consider a Dirac singlet fermion as thermal dark matter for explaining the X-ray line in the context of a supersymmetric Higgs-portal model or a generalized Dirac NMSSM. The Dirac singlet fermion gets a mass splitting due to their Yukawa couplings to two Higgs doublets and their superpartners, Higgsinos, after electroweak symmetry breaking. We show that a correct relic density can be obtained from thermal freeze-out, due to the co-annihilation with Higgsinos for the same Yukawa couplings. We discuss the phenomenology of the Higgsinos in this model such as displaced vertices at the LHC.
The Higgs portal to scalar Dark Matter is considered in the context of non-linearly realised electroweak symmetry breaking. We determine the interactions of gauge bosons and the physical Higgs particle $h$ to a scalar singlet Dark Matter candidate $S$ in an effective description. The main phenomenological differences with respect to the standard scenario can be seen in the Dark Matter relic abundance, in direct/indirect searches and in signals at colliders.
Gamma-Rays and Gravitational Waves from Inelastic Higgs Portal Dark Matter
University of Wisconsin, Madison（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校）；Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室）；University of Chicago（芝加哥大学）；Argonne National Laboratory（阿贡国家实验室）
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 …
The clockwork mechanism allows extremely weak interactions and small mass scales to be understood in terms of the structure of a theory. A natural application of the clockwork mechanism is to the freeze-in mechanism for dark matter production. Here we consider a Higgs portal freeze-in dark matter model based on a scalar clockwork sector with a mass scale which is less than the Higgs boson mass. The dark matter scalar is the lightest scalar of the clockwork sector. Freeze-in dark matter is produced by the decay of thermal Higgs bosons to the clockwork dark matter scalars. We show that the mass …
We investigate an extension of the Standard Model (SM) with a U(1)' gauge symmetry, which is spontaneously broken by a complex scalar singlet and where the new gauge boson is a stable dark matter candidate via a Z2 flavor symmetry. The possibility of generating a strongly first order electroweak phase transition (EWPT) needed for the electroweak baryogenesis mechanism in this model is studied using a gauge independent method. Our result shows a considerable parameter space where both successful dark matter phenomenologies and a strongly first order EWPT can be achieved.
Mono-$X$ signatures are a powerful collider probe of the nature of dark matter. We show that mono-Higgs and mono-$Z$ may be key signatures of pseudo-scalar portal interactions between dark matter and the SM. We demonstrate this using a simple renormalizable version of the portal, with a Two-Higgs-Doublet-Model as electroweak symmetry breaking sector. Mono-$Z$ and mono-Higgs signatures in this scenario are of resonant type, which constitutes a novel type of dark matter signature at LHC.
With the assistance of two extra groups, i.e., an extra hidden gauge group $SU(2)_D$ and a global $U(1)$ group, we propose a two component dark matter (DM) model. After the symmetry $SU(2)_D\times U(1)$ being broken, we obtain both the vector and scalar DM candidates. The two DM candidates communicate with the standard model (SM) via three Higgs as multi-Higgs portals. The three Higgs are mixing states of the SM Higgs, the Higgs of the hidden sector and real part of a supplement complex scalar singlet. We study relic density and direct detection of DM in three scenarios. The resonance behavior…
We study the Higgs portal from the Standard-Model to a hidden sector and examine which elements of the extended theory can be discovered and explored at the LHC. Our model includes two Higgs bosons covering parameter regions where the LHC will be sensitive to two, one or none of the particles at typical discovery luminosities for Standard Model Higgs production.
Searches for invisible Higgs decays at the Large Hadron Collider constrain dark matter Higgs-portal models, where dark matter interacts with the Standard Model fields via the Higgs boson. While these searches complement dark matter direct-detection experiments, a comparison of the two limits depends on the coupling of the Higgs boson to the nucleons forming the direct-detection nuclear target, typically parameterized in a single quantity $f_N$. We evaluate $f_N$ using recent phenomenological and lattice-QCD calculations, and include for the first time the coupling of the Higgs boson to two nuc…
In this proceeding, we present frequentist and Bayesian results from a global fit of effective vector and Majorana fermion Higgs portal dark matter (DM) models using the $\mathsf{GAMBIT}$ software. We systematically explore the parameter space of these models using advanced sampling techniques to simultaneously satisfy the observed DM abundance, Higgs invisible decay, and indirect and direct detection limits. In addition, we take account of a set of nuisance parameters arising from Standard Model, nuclear physics, DM halo and velocity distribution. For the vector DM model viable solutions are …
In the Higgs portal framework, the Higgs field generally mixes with the Standard Model singlet leading to the existence of two states, one of which is identified with the 125 GeV scalar observed at the LHC. In this work, we analyse direct and indirect constraints on the second mass eigenstate and the corresponding mixing angle. The existence of the additional scalar can be beneficial as it can stabilise the otherwise-metastable electroweak vacuum. We find parameter regions where all of the bounds, including the stability constraints, are satisfied. We also study prospects for observing the dec…
We explore an extension of the Standard Model by an additional U (1) gauge group and a complex scalar Higgs portal. As the scalar is charged under this gauge factor this simple model supplies a vector dark matter candidate satisfying the observed relic abundance and limits from direct dark matter searches. An additional Higgs-like state, that may be heavier or lighter than the observed Higgs, is present and satisfies LEP and LHC bounds whilst allowing for absolute stability of the electroweak vacuum in a range of parameter space.
We investigate an inflationary model involving a gauge singlet scalar and fermionic dark matter. The mixing between the singlet scalar and the Higgs boson provides a portal to dark matter. The inflaton could either be the Higgs boson or the singlet scalar, and slow roll inflation is realized via its non-minimal coupling to gravity. In this setup, the effective scalar potential is stabilized by the mixing between two scalars and coupling with dark matter. We study constraints from collider searches, relic density and direct detection, and find that dark matter mass should be around half the mas…
The simplest Higgs-portal scalar dark matter model, in which a real scalar singlet is added to the standard model, has been revisited, by taking into account the constraints from perturbativity, electroweak vacuum stability in the early Universe, dark matter direct detection, and Higgs invisible decay at the LHC. We show that the {\it resonant mass region} is totally excluded and the {\it high mass region} is reduced to a narrow window $1.1$ ~TeV $\leq m_{s} \leq$ $ 2.55$~ TeV, which is slightly reduced to $1.1$~TeV $\leq m_{s} \leq$ $ 2.0$~ TeV if the perturbativity is further imposed. This {…
We study a model of spin-1 dark matter which interacts with the Standard Model predominantly via exchange of Higgs bosons. We propose an alternative UV completion to the usual Vector Dark Matter Higgs Portal, in which vector-like fermions charged under SU(2)$_W \times$ U(1)$_Y$ and under the dark gauge group, U(1)$^\prime$, generate an effective interaction between the Higgs and the dark matter at one loop. We explore the resulting phenomenology and show that this dark matter candidate is a viable thermal relic and satisfies Higgs invisible width constraints as well as direct detection bounds.
