Dark Matter Annihilation Decay at The LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores the formation and decay of dark matter bound states at the LHC, focusing on how their annihilation produces detectable signals, especially in models with strong DM self-interactions like Higgsinos and SIDM.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of Darkonium formation at the LHC and analyzes its potential signals, providing calculations of production rates and future experimental constraints.

Findings

Darkonium can be produced at the LHC in models with large DM self-couplings.

Annihilation of Darkonium produces force mediators detectable via heavy resonance searches.

Projected constraints can limit or discover models with strong DM self-interactions.

Abstract

Collider experiments provide an opportunity to shed light on dark matter (DM) self-interactions. In this work, we study the possibility of generating DM bound states -- the Darkonium -- at the LHC and discuss how the annihilation decay of the Darkonium produces force carriers. We focus on two popular scenarios that contain large DM self-couplings: the Higgsinos in the $\lambda$-SUSY model, and self-interacting DM (SIDM) framework. After forming bound states, the DM particles annihilate into force mediators, which decay into the standard model particles either through a prompt or displaced process. This generates interesting signals for the heavy resonance search. We calculate the production rate of bound states and study the projected future constraints from the existing heavy resonance searches.