# Pseudo Nambu-Goldstone Dark Matter: Examples of Vanishing Direct Detection Cross Section

## TL;DR

This paper explores models where dark matter interactions with nucleons are suppressed, showing that extending the scalar sector with singlets and imposing certain symmetries can naturally lead to zero direct detection signals.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that specific symmetry extensions in the scalar sector can produce pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons as dark matter with vanishing direct detection cross sections.

## Key findings

- Vanishing direct detection cross section achieved through symmetry extensions.
- Pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons can serve as dark matter candidates.
- Models explain the lack of nuclear recoil signals in experiments.

## Abstract

We consider cases where the dark matter-nucleon interaction is naturally suppressed. We explicitly show that by extending the standard model scalar sector by a number of singlets, can lead to a vanishing direct detection cross section, if some softly broken symmetries are imposed in the dark sector. In particular, it is shown that if said symmetries are $SU(2)$ ($SU(N)$) and $U(1) \times S_N$, then the resulting pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons can constitute the dark matter of the Universe, while naturally explaining the missing signal in nuclear recoil experiments.