No Arabic abstract
Dark matter particles may interact with other dark matter particles via a new force mediated by a dark photon, $A^{prime}$, which would be the dark-sector analog to the ordinary photon of electromagnetism. The dark photon can obtain a highly suppressed mixing-induced coupling to the electromagnetic current, providing a portal through which dark photons can interact with ordinary matter. This review focuses on $A^{prime}$ scenarios that are potentially accessible to accelerator-based experiments. We summarize the existing constraints placed by such experiments on dark photons, highlight what could be observed in the near future, and discuss the major experimental challenges that must be overcome to improve sensitivities.
We consider analysis targets at the International Linear Collider in which only a single photon can be observed. For such processes, we have developed a method which uses likelihood distributions using the full event information (photon energy and angle). The method was applied to a search for neutralino pair production with a photon from initial state radiation (ISR) in the case of supergravity in which the neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. We determine the cross section required to observe the neutralino pair production with ISR as a function of the neutralino mass in the range of 100 to 250 GeV.
This document outlines a set of simplified models for dark matter and its interactions with Standard Model particles. It is intended to summarize the main characteristics that these simplified models have when applied to dark matter searches at the LHC, and to provide a number of useful expressions for reference. The list of models includes both s-channel and t-channel scenarios. For s-channel, spin-0 and spin-1 mediation is discussed, and also realizations where the Higgs particle provides a portal between the dark and visible sectors. The guiding principles underpinning the proposed simplified models are spelled out, and some suggestions for implementation are presented.
The potential for detecting DM at the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is investigated at mbox{$sqrt{s}=$ 3 TeV}. The sensitivity of the search is estimated by computing the 95% confidence level upper limit cross section as a function of the dark matter mass. Left-handed (right-handed) polarised Pem beams increase (decrease) respectively the Standard Model backgrounds and are essential to characterize the WIMPs properties and control the systematic errors. Using right-handed polarised Pem beams is decreasing significantly the 95% confidence level cross section. Using the ratio of the energy distributions for left-handed and right-handed polarised Pem beams, systematic errors cancel out. Computing the 95% confidence level upper limit cross section using the ratio requires a model assumption to compute the expected number of signal events. Exclusion limits for dark matter are derived using dark matter Simplified Models for two values of the e-e-mediator vertex coupling, a mediator width of 10 GeV and for a fixed value of the mediator-DM-DM coupling. For a mediator mass of 3.5 TeV, the measurement of the differential distribution of the significance as a function of the photon energy for the process mbox{Pem Pep $to$ X X PGg} allows the discrimination between different dark matter mediators and the measurement of the WIMP mass to nearly half the centre-of-mass energy. For a mbox{1 TeV} WIMP, the mass is determined with a 1% accuracy.
The vector boson fusion (VBF) event topology at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) allows efficient suppression of dijet backgrounds and is therefore a promising target for new physics searches. We consider dark matter models which interact with the Standard Model through the electroweak sector: either through new scalar and pseudoscalar mediators which can be embedded into the Higgs sector, or via effective operators suppressed by some higher scale, and therefore have significant VBF production cross-sections. Using realistic simulations of the ATLAS and CMS analysis chain, including estimates of major error sources, we project the discovery and exclusion potential of the LHC for these models over the next decade.
Over the past decade, extensive studies have been undertaken to search for photon signals from dark matter annihilation or decay for dark matter particle masses above $sim1$ GeV. However, due to the lacking sensitivity of current experiments at MeV-GeV energies, sometimes dubbed the MeV gap, dark matter models with MeV to sub-GeV particle masses have received little attention so far. Various proposed MeV missions (like, e.g., e-ASTROGAM or AMEGO) are aimed at closing this gap in the mid- or long-term future. This, and the absence of clear dark matter signals in the GeV-TeV range, makes it relevant to carefully reconsider the expected experimental instrumental sensitivities in this mass range. The most common two-body annihilation channels for sub-GeV dark matter are to neutrinos, electrons, pions or directly to photons. Among these, only the electron channel has been extensively studied, and almost exclusively in the context of the 511 keV line. In this work, we study the prospects for detecting MeV dark matter annihilation in general in future MeV missions, using e-ASTROGAM as reference, and focusing on dark matter masses in the range 1 MeV-3 GeV. In the case of leptonic annihilation, we emphasise the importance of the often overlooked bremsstrahlung and in-flight annihilation spectral features, which in many cases provide the dominant gamma-ray signal in this regime.