SO(10) SUSY GUTs with mainly axion cold dark matter: implications for cosmology and colliders

TL;DR

This paper explores SO(10) SUSY GUT models with axion dark matter, predicting specific collider signatures and cosmological implications, including light gluinos and axion detection prospects.

Contribution

It introduces a model combining SUSY GUTs with axion dark matter, addressing relic density issues and collider phenomenology.

Findings

Predicted light gluino mass of 300-500 GeV.

Dark matter composed of axions and axinos matching observed abundance.

Potential detection of gluinos at LHC or Tevatron.

Abstract

Supersymmetric grand unified theories based on the gauge group SO(10) are highly motivated. In the simplest models, one expects t-b-\tau Yukawa coupling unification, in addition to gauge, matter and Higgs unification. Yukawa unification only occurs with very special GUT scale boundary conditions, leading to a spectra with ~10 TeV first and second generation scalars, TeV-scale third generation scalars, and light gauginos. The relic density of neutralino cold dark matter is calculated to be 10^2-10^4 times higher than observation. If we extend the theory with the PQWW solution to the strong CP problem, then instead a mixture of axions and axinos comprises the dark matter, with the measured abundance. Such a solution solves several cosmological problems. We predict a rather light gluino with m(gluino)~300-500 GeV that should be visible in either Tevatron or forthcoming LHC run 1 data. We would also expect ultimately a positive result from relic axion search experiments.