English

Probing a minimal dark gauge sector via microlensing of compact dark objects

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2026-02-26 v2 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

We introduce a minimal Dark Standard Model (DSM) consisting of a single spin-0 particle with dark U(1)U(1) gauge symmetry, and completely decoupled from the visible sector. Characterized only by the scalar mass μ\mu and the dark charge qq, this framework naturally gives rise to a rich phenomenology, including stable solitonic configurations that behave as dark "mini-MACHOs". We numerically build and evolve these gauged scalar-field solitons, derive their mass-radius relations, and identify a critical charge beyond which no gravitationally bound configurations exist. By combining these results with microlensing surveys that exclude compact objects heavier than the asteroid-mass scale (M1011MM\lesssim 10^{-11}M_\odot), we obtain the constraint μ10eV\mu\gtrsim 10\,\rm eV for viable configurations, depending on qq. Our results represent a step forward in showing that purely gravitational observations can constrain the internal parameters of a dark gauge sector, and provide a framework for exploring broader DSM scenarios through future probes such as gravitational wave detections.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.00701,
  title  = {Probing a minimal dark gauge sector via microlensing of compact dark objects},
  author = {Juan Barranco and Argelia Bernal and Víctor Jaramillo and Darío Núñez and Milton Ruiz},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.00701},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

5+2 pages. Updated references and figures