Constraining light thermal inelastic dark matter with NA64

Mongillo, Martina; Abdullahi, Asli; Banto Oberhauser, Benjamin; Crivelli, Paolo; Hostert, Matheus; Massaro, Daniele; Molina Bueno, Laura; Pascoli, Silvia

Abstract

A vector portal between the Standard Model and
the dark sector is a predictive and compelling framework
for thermal dark matter. Through co-annihilations, models
of inelastic dark matter (iDM) and inelastic Dirac dark matter (i2DM) can reproduce the observed relic density in the
MeV to GeV mass range without violating cosmological limits. In these scenarios, the vector mediator behaves like a
semi-visible particle, evading traditional bounds on visible
or invisible resonances, and uncovering new parameter space
to explain the muon (g − 2) anomaly. By means of a more
inclusive signal definition at the NA64 experiment, we place
new constraints on iDM and i2DM using a missing energy
technique. With a recast-based analysis, we contextualize
the NA64 exclusion limits in parameter space and estimate
the reach of the newly collected and expected future NA64
data. Our results motivate the development of an optimized
search program for semi-visible particles, in which fixed target experiments like NA64 provide a powerful probe in
the sub-GeV mass range.

Citation

Mongillo, M., Abdullahi, A., Banto Oberhauser, B., Crivelli, P., Hostert, M., Massaro, D., …Pascoli, S. (2023). Constraining light thermal inelastic dark matter with NA64. The European Physical Journal C, 83(5), Article 391. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11536-5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 18, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 10, 2023
• Publication Date: May 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 12, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 12, 2024
• Journal: The European Physical Journal C
• Print ISSN: 1434-6044
• Publisher: SpringerOpen
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 83
• Issue: 5
• Article Number: 391
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11536-5
• Keywords: Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous); Engineering (miscellaneous)
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2252591