Fake Dark Matter at Colliders

TL;DR

This paper discusses the possibility that missing energy signals at colliders, typically attributed to dark matter, could instead be caused by standard model neutrinos in certain supersymmetric models with R-parity violation, complicating dark matter detection.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of fake dark matter at colliders, showing how standard model neutrinos can mimic dark matter signals, and discusses methods to distinguish between true and fake dark matter.

Findings

Neutrino-induced missing energy can imitate dark matter signals.

Supersymmetric R-parity violating models can produce fake dark matter signatures.

Strategies to differentiate fake dark matter from genuine signals are outlined.

Abstract

If the dark matter (DM) consists of a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP), it can be produced and studied at future collider experiments like those at the LHC. The production of collider-stable WIMPs is characterized by hard scattering events with large missing transverse energy. Here we point out that the discovery of this well-characterized DM signal may turn out to be a red herring. We explore an alternative explanation -- fake dark matter -- where the only sources of missing transverse energy are standard model neutrinos. We present examples of such models, focusing on supersymmetric models with R-parity violation. We also briefly discuss means of differentiating fake dark matter from the production of new collider-stable particles.