Dark matter in (partially) composite Higgs models

TL;DR

This paper develops models where dark matter consists of pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons arising from strongly interacting fermion theories, linking composite Higgs mechanisms with stable dark matter candidates.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for composite and partially composite Higgs models with stable pNGB dark matter, incorporating minimal electroweak symmetry breaking and novel symmetry protections.

Findings

Dark matter stability is ensured by a U(1) symmetry.

Relic density is achieved via thermal freeze-out, symmetric in particle-antiparticle pairs.

Model example demonstrates the interplay between Higgs compositeness and dark matter phenomenology.

Abstract

We construct composite and partially composite Higgs models with complex pseudo-Nambu--Goldstone (pNGB) dark matter states from four-dimensional gauge-Yukawa theories with strongly interacting fermions. The fermions are partially gauged under the electroweak symmetry, and the dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking sector is minimal. The pNGB dark matter particle is stable due to a $\mathrm{U}(1)$ technibaryon-like symmetry, also present in the technicolor limit of the models. However, the relic density is particle anti-particle symmetric and due to thermal freeze-out as opposed to the technicolor limit where it is typically due to an asymmetry. The pNGB Higgs is composite or partially composite depending on the origin of the Standard Model fermion masses, which impacts the dark matter phenomenology. We illustrate the important features with a model example invariant under an SU(4)$\times$ SU(2) $\times$ $\mathrm{U}(1)$ global symmetry.