The Dark Side of 4321

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether a unified model can explain both dark matter and B-physics anomalies, proposing a 4321 gauge model with a fermionic multiplet that aligns with relic density and detection constraints.

Contribution

It introduces a 4321 gauge model with a fermionic multiplet that simultaneously addresses dark matter relic abundance and B-physics discrepancies.

Findings

Model naturally fits dark matter relic density

Parameter space aligns with B-physics anomalies

Dark matter candidate is a WIMP with co-annihilation dynamics

Abstract

The evidence of Dark Matter (DM) is one of the strongest observational arguments in favour of physics beyond the Standard Model. Despite expectations, a similar evidence has been lacking so far in collider searches, with the possible exception of $B$-physics discrepancies, a coherent set of persistent deviations in a homogeneous dataset consisting of $b \to c$ and $b \to s$ semi-leptonic transitions. We explore the question whether DM and the $B$ discrepancies may have a common origin. We do so in the context of the so-called 4321 gauge model, a UV-complete and calculable setup that yields a $U_1$ leptoquark, the by far most successful single mediator able to explain the $B$ anomalies, along with other new gauge bosons, including a $Z^\prime$. Adding to this setup a 'minimal' DM fermionic multiplet, consisting of a ${\bf 4}$ under the 4321's $SU(4)$, we find the resulting model in natural agreement with the relic-density observation and with the most severe direct-detection bounds, in the sense that the parameter space selected by $B$ physics is also the one favoured by DM phenomenology. The DM candidate is a particle with a mass in the WIMP range, freeze-out dynamics includes a co-annihilator (the 'rest' of the ${\bf 4}$ multiplet), and the most important gauge mediator in the DM sector is the $Z^\prime$.