SLIM at LHC: LHC search power for a model linking dark matter and neutrino mass

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the Large Hadron Collider's potential to discover a new scalar sector linked to a dark matter-neutrino mass model, focusing on specific production channels and their detectability.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of LHC search strategies for scalar particles in a model connecting dark matter and neutrino masses, including background estimation and significance calculation.

Findings

Signal significance can exceed 5 sigma at 30 fb^{-1} for 14 TeV LHC.

Potential to extract flavor structure of Yukawa couplings.

Prospects discussed for current 7 TeV LHC run.

Abstract

Recently a model has been proposed that links dark matter and neutrino masses. The dark matter candidate which is dubbed as SLIM has a mass of MeV scale and can show up at low energy experiments. The model also has a high energy sector which consists of a scalar doublet, $(\phi^-, \phi^0)$. We discuss the potential of the LHC for discovering the new scalars. We focus on the $\phi^+\phi^-$ and $\phi^{\pm} \phi^0$ production and the subsequent decay of the charged scalar to a charged lepton and the SLIM which appears as missing energy. Identifying the background, we estimate the signal significance and find that it can exceed $5 \sigma$ at 30 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ for the 14 TeV run at the LHC. We comment on the possibility of extracting the flavor structure of the Yukawa couplings which also determine the neutrino mass matrix. Finally, we discuss the prospects of this search at the current 7 TeV run of the LHC.