# Revisiting the Dark Photon Explanation of the Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment

## TL;DR

This paper explores a semi-visible decay mode of the dark photon, which could explain the muon g-2 anomaly and evade current experimental bounds, suggesting new directions for re-analysis and future searches.

## Contribution

It introduces a model with inelastic dark matter coupling to dark photons, leading to semi-visible decays that weaken existing bounds and can account for the muon g-2 discrepancy.

## Key findings

- Semi-visible decay modes can evade current experimental bounds.
- Large mass splittings enhance semi-visible decay rates.
- Dark photon parameter space can still explain muon g-2 anomaly.

## Abstract

A massive $U(1)^{\prime}$ gauge boson known as a "dark photon" or $A^{\prime}$, has long been proposed as a potential explanation for the discrepancy observed between the experimental measurement and theoretical determination of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, ($g_{\mu} - 2$) anomaly. Recently, experimental results have excluded this possibility for a dark photon exhibiting exclusively visible or invisible decays. In this work, we revisit this idea and consider a model where $A^{\prime}$ couples inelastically to dark matter and an excited dark sector state, leading to a more exotic decay topology we refer to as a semi-visible decay. We show that for large mass splittings between the dark sector states this decay mode is enhanced, weakening the previous invisibly decaying dark photon bounds. As a consequence, $A^{\prime}$ resolves the $g_{\mu} - 2$ anomaly in a region of parameter space the thermal dark matter component of the Universe is readily explained. Interestingly, it is possible that the semi-visible events we discuss may have been vetoed by experiments searching for invisible dark photon decays. A re-analysis of the data and future searches may be crucial in uncovering this exotic decay mode or closing the window on the dark photon explanation of the $g_{\mu} - 2$ anomaly.