Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter: Direct Detection vis-a-vis LHC (2013 update)

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the complementarity of collider and direct detection experiments in identifying Kaluza-Klein dark matter within Universal Extra Dimensions, emphasizing the importance of combined constraints for comprehensive exploration.

Contribution

It provides an updated analysis of collider and direct detection sensitivities to KK dark matter, highlighting the impact of mass splittings on detection prospects and the benefits of combined experimental approaches.

Findings

Collider sensitivity decreases with small mass splittings.

Direct detection rates increase with small mass splittings.

Combined constraints significantly improve dark matter parameter space coverage.

Abstract

We present updated results on the complementarity between high-energy colliders and dark matter direct detection experiments in the context of Universal Extra Dimensions (UED). In models with relatively small mass splittings between the dark matter candidate and the rest of the (colored) spectrum, the collider sensitivity is diminished, but direct detection rates are enhanced. UED provide a natural framework to study such mass degeneracies. We discuss the detection prospects for the KK photon $\gamma_1$ and the KK $Z$-boson $Z_1$, combining the expected LHC reach with cosmological constraints from WMAP/Planck, and the sensitivity of current or planned direct detection experiments. Allowing for general mass splittings, neither colliders, nor direct detection experiments by themselves can explore all of the relevant KK dark matter parameter space. Nevertheless, they probe different parameter space regions, and the combination of the two types of constraints can be quite powerful.