The $B-L$ Supersymmetric Standard Model (BLSSM) is an ideal testing ground of the spin nature of Dark Matter (DM) as it offers amongst its candidates both a spin-1/2 (the lightest neutralino) and spin-0 (the lightest right-handed sneutrino) state. We show that the mono-$Z$ channel can be used at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to diagnose whether a DM signal is characterised within the BLSSM by a fermionic or (pseudo)scalar DM particle. Sensitivity to either hypothesis can be obtained after only 100 fb$^{-1}$ of luminosity following Runs 2 and 3 of the LHC.
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.
We explore the LHC phenomenology of dark matter (DM) pair production in association with a 125 GeV Higgs boson. This signature, dubbed `mono-Higgs, appears as a single Higgs boson plus missing energy from DM particles escaping the detector. We perform an LHC background study for mono-Higgs signals at $sqrt{s} = 8$ and $14$ TeV for four Higgs boson decay channels: $gammagamma$, $b bar b$, and $ZZ^* to 4ell$, $ellell j j$. We estimate the LHC sensitivities to a variety of new physics scenarios within the frameworks of both effective operators and simplified models. For all these scenarios, the $gammagamma$ channel provides the best sensitivity, whereas the $bbar b$ channel suffers from a large $t bar t$ background. Mono-Higgs is unlike other mono-$X$ searches ($X$=jet, photon, etc.), since the Higgs boson is unlikely to be radiated as initial state radiation, and therefore probes the underlying DM vertex directly.
We consider simplified models for dark matter (DM) at the LHC, focused on mono-Higgs, -Z, or -b produced in the final state. Our primary purpose is to study the LHC reach of a relatively complete set of simplified models for these final states, while comparing the reach of the mono-X DM search against direct searches for the mediating particle. We find that direct searches for the mediating particle, whether in di-jets, jets+MET, multi-b+MET, or di-boson+MET, are usually stronger. We draw attention to the cases that the mono-X search is strongest, which include regions of parameter space in inelastic DM, two Higgs doublet, and squark mediated production models with a compressed spectrum.
Detectors with low thresholds for electron recoil open a new window to direct searches of sub-GeV dark matter (DM) candidates. In the past decade, many strong limits on DM-electron interactions have been set, but most on the one which is spin-independent (SI) of both dark matter and electron spins. In this work, we study DM-atom scattering through a spin-dependent (SD) interaction at leading order (LO), using well-benchmarked, state-of-the-art atomic many-body calculations. Exclusion limits on the SD DM-electron cross section are derived with data taken from experiments with xenon and germanium detectors at leading sensitivities. In the DM mass range of 0.1 - 10 GeV, the best limits set by the XENON1T experiment: $sigma_e^{textrm{(SD)}}<10^{-41}-10^{-40},textrm{cm}^2$ are comparable to the ones drawn on DM-neutron and DM-proton at slightly bigger DM masses. The detectors responses to the LO SD and SI interactions are analyzed. In nonrelativistic limit, a constant ratio between them leads to an indistinguishability of the SD and SI recoil energy spectra. Relativistic calculations however show the scaling starts to break down at a few hundreds of eV, where spin-orbit effects become sizable. We discuss the prospects of disentangling the SI and SD components in DM-electron interactions via spectral shape measurements, as well as having spin-sensitive experimental signatures without SI background.
The fermionic Z-portal dark matter model suffers from severe constraints from direct detection experiments. However, a narrow parameter space around the Z-funnel region is beyond the reach due to the resonance annihilation. In this paper, we provide an intriguing collider prospect for probing the Z-funnel dark matter mass range at the future lepton colliders including the beam polarization feature. We have done a comprehensive analysis for mono-photon signal at the colliders for such a dark matter. A realistic estimation for the 90% C.L. constraints with the systematic beam uncertainties has also been provided.