Collider search of light dark matter model with dark sector decay *

We explore the possibility that the dark matter relic density is not produced by a thermal mechanism directly, but by the decay of other heavier dark-sector particles which themselves can be produced by the thermal freeze-out mechanism. Using a concrete model with light dark matter from dark sector decay, we study the collider signature of the dark sector particles associated with Higgs production processes. We find that future lepton colliders could be a better place to probe the signature of this kind of light dark matter model than hadron colliders such as LHC. Also, we find that a Higgs factory with center-of-mass energy 250 GeV has a better potential to resolve the signature of this kind of light dark matter model than a Higgs factory with center-of-mass energy 350 GeV.

Automated summary

This study explores the possibility that the dark matter relic density is not directly produced by a thermal mechanism, but by the decay of other heavier dark-sector particles. Using a concrete model, the collider signature of the dark sector particles associated with Higgs production processes is studied, and it is found that future lepton colliders could be a better place to probe the signature of this kind of light dark matter model than hadron colliders such as LHC. Furthermore, it is found that a Higgs factory with a center-of-mass energy of 250 GeV has a better potential to resolve the signature of this kind of light dark matter model than a Higgs factory with a center-of-mass energy of 350 GeV.