Related papers: $Z_2$ SIMP Dark Matter
We present an extension of the SM involving three triplet fermions, one triplet scalar and one singlet fermion, which can explain both neutrino masses and dark matter. One triplet of fermions and the singlet are odd under a $Z_2$ symmetry,…
Well known scaling laws among the structural properties of the dark and the luminous matter in disc systems are too complex to be arisen by two inert components that just share the same gravitational field. This brings us to critically…
Dark matter is one of the most important open problems in particle physics and cosmology. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) appear as an appealing solution, providing the right relic density with a cross-section at the…
The existence of Dark Matter (DM) in the form of Strongly Interacting Massive Particles (SIMPs) may be motivated by astrophysical observations that challenge the classical Cold DM scenario. Other observations greatly constrain, but do not…
In the early 1990's, an analysis was completed by several theorists of the available mass/cross-section parameter space for unusual particle candidates to solve the dark matter problem, e.g. strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs).…
We revisit the possibility of producing Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter via a freeze-in mechanism triggered by a supercooled first-order phase transition (FOPT) in the early universe. Unlike traditional freeze-out and…
It has recently been shown that if the dark matter is in thermal equilibrium with a sector that is highly decoupled from the Standard Model, it can freeze-out with an acceptable relic abundance, even if the dark matter is as heavy as ~1-100…
We present a class of dark matter models, in which the dark matter particle is a feebly interacting massive particle (FIMP) produced via the decay of an electrically charged and/or colored parent particle. Given the feeble interaction, dark…
Mirror matter is a stable self-collisional dark matter candidate. If parity is a conserved unbroken symmetry of nature, there could exist a parallel hidden (mirror) sector of the Universe composed of particles with the same masses and…
We present a model of self-interacting dark matter based on QCD-like theories and inspired by the proximity of $a_0(980\pm 20)$ to the $K\bar{K}(990)$ threshold. Dark matter is comprised of dark pions which self-scatter via the $\sigma$…
We summarize here our studies \cite{Chu:2022xuh,Chu:2023jyb,Chu:2024rrv} on two distinct scenarios for MeV-mass thermal dark matter freeze-out. First, we determine the minimal viable mass for dark matter below tens of MeV, considering…
We propose a simple extension of the Standard Model (SM) which has a viable dark matter (DM) candidate, as well as can explain the generation of tiny neutrino masses. The DM is an electroweak (EW) singlet scalar $S$, odd under an imposed…
We generalize models invoking a spin-2 particle as a mediator between the dark sector and the Standard Model. We show that a massive spin-2 messenger can efficiently play the role of a portal between the two sectors. The dark matter is then…
We present a new model for two-component scalar dark matter (DM), consisting of two complex scalar fields. In this model, both the DM components are stable due to the remaining $Z_4$ gauge symmetry, which is the remnant of the $U(1)^\prime$…
Light vector mediators can naturally induce velocity-dependent dark matter self-interactions while at the same time allowing for the correct dark matter relic abundance via thermal freeze-out. If these mediators subsequently decay into…
The dark matter may consist not of one elementary particle but of different species, each of them contributing a fraction of the observed dark matter density. A major theoretical difficulty with this scenario --dubbed multi-component dark…
We investigate a new type of dark matter with couplings to ordinary matter naturally suppressed by at least one order of magnitude compared to weak interactions. Despite the extra-weak interactions massive particles of this type (XWIMPs)…
We investigate the phenomenological viability of a recently proposed class of composite dark matter models where the relic density is determined by 3 to 2 number-changing processes in the dark sector. Here the pions of the strongly…
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…
Dark matter semi-annihilation is a process through which two dark matter candidates annihilate to a single dark matter particle and a non-dark matter particle. Such processes are common when the symmetry stabilizing the dark matter differs…