Direct Detection of Dark Matter Degenerate with Colored Particles in Mass

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential for direct detection of dark matter particles that are nearly degenerate in mass with new colored particles below the TeV scale, highlighting the challenges at colliders and the prospects for detection via scattering experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a scenario where dark matter is degenerate with colored particles, showing enhanced detection cross sections and feasibility for direct detection experiments.

Findings

Spin-independent and spin-dependent couplings are enhanced.

Scattering cross sections may reach current experimental bounds.

Collider detection is challenging due to soft QCD jets.

Abstract

In this Letter we explore the direct detection of the dark matter in the universe, assuming the dark matter particles are degenerate in mass with new colored particles below TeV scale. The scenario with such a mass spectrum is difficult to be confirmed or excluded by the present analysis at the LHC experiments because the QCD jets in the cascade decay of the new particles produced in the proton-proton collision are too soft to be triggered in the event selection. It is shown that both of the spin-independent and spin-dependent couplings of the dark matter with a nucleon are enhanced and the scattering cross section may reach even the current bound of the direct detection experiments. Then such a degenerate scenario may be tested in the direct detection experiments.