Light Neutralino in the MSSM: a playground for dark matter, flavor physics and collider experiments

TL;DR

This paper explores the parameter space of the MSSM where a light neutralino could serve as dark matter, consistent with experimental constraints, and discusses how upcoming collider and low-energy experiments can test these scenarios.

Contribution

It identifies two viable regions in the MSSM parameter space for light neutralino dark matter, highlighting their testability with current and future experiments.

Findings

Two MSSM regions satisfy all experimental constraints.

The large tan beta region includes neutralinos as light as 8 GeV.

Upcoming collider and low-energy experiments can fully test these scenarios.

Abstract

We investigate the constraints to the light neutralino dark matter scenario in the minimal supersymmetric standard model from available experimental observations such as decays of B and K meson, relic dark matter abundance, and the search for neutralino and Higgs production at colliders. We find that two regions of the MSSM parameter space fulfill all the constraints: a fine-tuned strip with large tan beta where the lightest neutralino can be as light as 8 GeV, and a low tan beta region providing a neutralino mass larger than 16 GeV. The large tan beta strip, which can be compatible with recently reported signals from direct detection experiments, can be fully tested by means of low-energy observables and, in particular, by B_s -> mu mu and Higgs bosons searches at the LHC within the upcoming months.