2008/08/31 by Sarah Andreas, Thomas Hambye, Michel H. G. Tytgat · 198 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Branching fraction #CMB cold spot #Cosmic microwave background #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark energy #Dark matter #Higgs boson #Large Hadron Collider #Light dark matter #Nuclear physics #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Scalar (mathematics) #Scalar field dark matter #WIMP #Weakly interacting massive particles #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2008/10/034
published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2008(10), 034 (Institute of Physics) · 5 pages, 5 figures. Matches the published version. One figure modified. Conclusions unchanged
arxiv created 2008/10/20 · openalex publication_date 2008/10/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In the WIMP scenario, there is a one-to-one relation between the dark matter (DM) relic density and spin-independent direct detection rate if both the annihilation of DM and its elastic scattering on nuclei go dominantly through Higgs exchange. In particular, for DM masses much smaller than the Higgs boson mass, the ratio of the relevant cross sections depends only on the DM mass. Assuming DM mass and direct detection rate within the ranges allowed by the recent DAMA collaboration results—taking account of the channelling effect on energy threshold and the null results of the other direct detection experiments—gives a definite range for the relic density. For scalar DM models, like the Higgs portal models or the inert doublet model, the relic density range turns out to be in agreement with WMAP. This scenario implies that the Higgs boson has a large branching ratio to pairs of DM particles, a prediction which might challenge its search at the LHC.