Thermal Dark Matter from a Confining Sector

TL;DR

This paper investigates a class of composite dark matter models where the dark matter particle is a baryon-like bound state and a pseudo-Goldstone boson, allowing for correct relic abundance at lower masses and exploring detection prospects.

Contribution

It introduces a model where approximate symmetry decouples dark matter mass from confinement scale, enabling viable thermal relics at lower masses than typical composite models.

Findings

Correct thermal relic abundance achieved for lower dark matter masses.

Parameter space identified in an SU(2) gauge group model.

Discussion of experimental detection prospects.

Abstract

We study a class of dark matter models in which the dark matter is a baryon-like composite particle of a confining gauge group and also a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson associated with the breaking of an enhanced chiral symmetry group. The approximate symmetry decouples the dark matter mass from the confinement scale of the new gauge group, leading to correct thermal relic abundances for dark matter masses far below the unitary bound, avoiding the typical conclusion of thermally produced composite dark matter. We explore the available parameter space in a minimal example model based on an SU(2) gauge group, and discuss prospects for experimental detection.