A dark force for baryons

TL;DR

This paper proposes a fundamental link between baryonic and dark matter through a spontaneously broken baryon gauge symmetry, suggesting a unified origin and exploring experimental constraints on a GeV-scale dark force.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model connecting baryons and dark matter via a baryon gauge symmetry, with detailed phenomenological analysis and experimental constraints.

Findings

Baryonic dark force can be consistent with current experimental data.

Dark matter candidate likely has a mass around the GeV scale.

Model predicts a light mediator compatible with collider and detection constraints.

Abstract

We suggest the existence of a fundamental connection between baryonic and dark matter. This is motivated by both the stability of these two types of matter as well as the observed similarity of their present-day densities. A unified genesis of baryonic and dark matter is natural in models in which the baryon number is promoted to a spontaneously broken local gauge symmetry. This is illustrated in a specific class of SUSY models using the Affleck-Dine mechanism. The dark matter candidate in these scenarios is charged under the baryon gauge symmetry and must have a mass around the GeV scale to give the correct present-day abundance. We discuss constraints from B-factories, LEP, mono-jet searches at the Tevatron, and dark matter direct detection experiments. A baryonic dark force is shown to be consistent with all data for mediators as light as the GeV scale.