Exploring the Inert Doublet Model through the dijet plus missing transverse energy channel at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential of the dijet plus missing transverse energy channel at the LHC to detect scalar particles of the Inert Doublet Model, especially for masses up to 400 GeV, using optimized cuts and high luminosity.

Contribution

It introduces a new search strategy for the IDM at the LHC focusing on the dijet + missing energy channel, including background analysis and optimization techniques.

Findings

Potential to probe IDM up to 400 GeV mass range.

Light dark matter scenario with 65 GeV mass can be detected with 2σ significance.

High luminosity enhances discovery prospects for IDM particles.

Abstract

In this study of the Inert Doublet Model (IDM), we propose that the dijet + missing transverse energy channel at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be an effective way of searching for the scalar particles of the IDM. This channel receives contributions from gauge boson fusion, and $t-$channel production, along with contributions from $H^+$ associated production. We perform the analysis including study of the Standard Model (SM) background with assumed systematic uncertainty, and optimise the selection criteria employing suitable cuts on the kinematic variables to maximise the signal significance. We find that with high luminosity option of the LHC, this channel has the potential to probe the IDM in the mass range of up to about 400 GeV, which is not accessible through other leptonic channels. In a scenario with light dark matter of mass about 65 GeV, charged Higgs in the mass range of around 200 GeV provides the best possibility with a signal significance of about $2\sigma$ at an integrated luminosity of about 3000 fb$^{-1}$.