Non-Abelian dark matter and dark radiation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel dark matter model featuring non-Abelian gauge interactions, dark radiation, and their cosmological implications, including effects on structure formation and potential resolution of cosmological tensions.

Contribution

It proposes a new class of dark matter models with non-Abelian gauge multiplets and dark radiation, exploring their phenomenology and cosmological consequences.

Findings

Dark matter cross sections are modified by multiplicity factors.

Dark gluons contribute as dark radiation affecting the CMB.

Dark radiation coupling damps large scale structure.

Abstract

We propose a new class of dark matter models with unusual phenomenology. What is ordinary about our models is that dark matter particles are WIMPs, they are weakly coupled to the Standard Model and have weak scale masses. What is unusual is that they come in multiplets of a new "dark" non-Abelian gauge group with milli-weak coupling. The massless dark gluons of this dark gauge group contribute to the energy density of the universe as a form of weakly self-interacting dark radiation. In this paper we explore the consequences of having i.) dark matter in multiplets ii.) self-interacting dark radiation and iii.) dark matter which is weakly coupled to dark radiation. We find that i.) dark matter cross sections are modified by multiplicity factors which have significant consequences for collider searches and indirect detection, ii.) dark gluons have thermal abundances which affect the CMB as dark radiation. Unlike additional massless neutrino species the dark gluons are interacting and have vanishing viscosity and iii.) the coupling of dark radiation to dark matter represents a new mechanism for damping the large scale structure power spectrum. A combination of additional radiation and slightly damped structure is interesting because it can remove tensions between global $\Lambda$CDM fits from the CMB and direct measurements of the Hubble expansion rate ($H_0$) and large scale structure ($\sigma_8$).