2013/11/22 by Clifford Cheung, David Sanford
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computational Physics and Python Applications #Coupling (piping) #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark matter #Electroweak interaction #Higgs boson #Independent and identically distributed random variables #Mixing (physics) #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Scalar (mathematics) #Scalar field dark matter #Thermal #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2014/02/011
published as JCAP02(2014)011 · 42 pages, 19 figures
arxiv created 2013/11/22 · openalex publication_date 2014/02/06 · arxiv updated 2014/02/12 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We explore simplified models of mixed dark matter (DM), defined here to be a stable relic composed of a singlet and an electroweak charged state. Our setup describes a broad spectrum of thermal DM candidates that can naturally accommodate the observed DM abundance but are subject to substantial constraints from current and upcoming direct detection experiments. We identify ``blind spots'' at which the DM-Higgs coupling is identically zero, thus nullifying direct detection constraints on spin independent scattering. Furthermore, we characterize the fine-tuning in mixing angles, i.e. well-tempering, required for thermal freeze-out to accommodate the observed abundance. Present and projected limits from LUX and XENON1T force many thermal relic models into blind spot tuning, well-tempering, or both. This simplified model framework generalizes bino-Higgsino DM in the MSSM, singlino-Higgsino DM in the NMSSM, and scalar DM candidates that appear in models of extended Higgs sectors.