Dark Matter and the Higgs in Natural SUSY

TL;DR

This paper introduces an extension to the MSSM with a dark sector that simultaneously addresses the Higgs mass and dark matter detection challenges, predicting testable signals for upcoming experiments.

Contribution

It proposes a minimal dark sector extension of the MSSM that naturally explains the Higgs mass and provides a viable dark matter candidate, linking relic abundance to direct detection signals.

Findings

Dark sector loops raise the Higgs mass to 125 GeV.

The dark matter candidate is mostly singlet and thermally relic.

Next-generation direct detection experiments will fully test the model.

Abstract

Null results from dark matter (DM) direct detection experiments and the 125 GeV Higgs both pose serious challenges to minimal supersymmetry. In this paper, we propose a simple extension of the MSSM that economically solves both problems: a "dark sector" consisting of a singlet and a pair of $SU(2)$ doublets. Loops of the dark sector fields help lift the Higgs mass to 125 GeV consistent with naturalness, while the lightest fermion in the dark sector can be viable thermal relic DM, provided that it is mostly singlet. The DM relic abundance is controlled by s-wave annihilation to tops and Higgsinos, leading to a tight relation between the relic abundance and the spin-dependent direct detection cross section. As a result, the model will be fully probed by the next generation of direct detection experiments. Finally we discuss the discovery potential at LHC Run II.