A Tight Connection Between Direct and Indirect Detection of Dark Matter through Higgs Portal Couplings to a Hidden Sector

TL;DR

This paper explores a hidden sector extension of the Standard Model with a scalar dark matter candidate and a light scalar mediator, linking direct and indirect detection methods through Higgs portal couplings and cosmic ray observations.

Contribution

It introduces a new model with a complex scalar dark matter and a light scalar mediator, analyzing its detection prospects and constraints from current experiments.

Findings

The model explains cosmic ray excesses via Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation.

It predicts large dark matter-nucleon cross-sections detectable in direct searches.

Parameter space is constrained by CDMS-II, PAMELA, and FermiLAT data.

Abstract

We present a hidden Abelian extension of the Standard Model including a complex scalar as a dark matter candidate and a light scalar acting as a long range force carrier between dark matter particles. The Sommerfeld enhanced annihilation cross-section of the dark matter explains the observed cosmic ray excesses. The light scalar field also gives rise to potentially large cross-sections of dark matter on nucleon, therefore providing an interesting way to probe this model simultaneously at direct and indirect dark matter search experiments. We constrain the parameter-space of the model by taking into account CDMS-II exclusion limit as well as PAMELA and FermiLAT data.