Dilepton constraints in the Inert Doublet Model from Run 1 of the LHC

TL;DR

This paper recasts LHC Run 1 searches for leptons and missing energy to set new constraints on inert scalars in the Inert Doublet Model, extending previous limits and testing dark matter scenarios.

Contribution

It demonstrates how existing LHC analyses can be reinterpreted to constrain the IDM, especially in regions inaccessible to direct detection experiments.

Findings

LHC Run 1 data constrains inert scalars beyond LEP limits.

Constraints are effective even with very small Higgs-inert scalar coupling.

Recasting analyses extends the testability of the IDM in dark matter blind spots.

Abstract

Searches in final states with two leptons plus missing transverse energy, targeting supersymmetric particles or invisible decays of the Higgs boson, were performed during Run 1 of the LHC. Recasting the results of these analyses in the context of the Inert Doublet Model (IDM) using MadAnalysis 5, we show that they provide constraints on inert scalars that significantly extend previous limits from LEP. Moreover, these LHC constraints allow to test the IDM in the limit of very small Higgs-inert scalar coupling, where the constraints from direct detection of dark matter and the invisible Higgs width vanish.