Physics performance for Dark Matter searches at $\sqrt{s}=$ 3 TeV at CLIC using mono-photons and polarised beams

TL;DR

This study evaluates the potential of the CLIC collider at 3 TeV to detect dark matter via mono-photon events with polarized beams, demonstrating improved sensitivity and mediator discrimination capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a method using polarized beams and energy distribution ratios to enhance dark matter detection sensitivity and mediator characterization at CLIC.

Findings

Right-handed polarization reduces background significantly.

Energy distribution ratios cancel systematic errors.

WIMP mass can be measured with 1% accuracy for 1 TeV mass.

Abstract

The potential for detecting DM at the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is investigated at \mbox{$\sqrt{s}=$ 3 TeV}. The sensitivity of the search is estimated by computing the 95\% confidence level upper limit cross section as a function of the dark matter mass. Left-handed (right-handed) polarised \Pem beams increase (decrease) respectively the Standard Model backgrounds and are essential to characterize the WIMPs properties and control the systematic errors. Using right-handed polarised \Pem beams is decreasing significantly the 95\% confidence level cross section. Using the ratio of the energy distributions for left-handed and right-handed polarised \Pem beams, systematic errors cancel out. Computing the 95\% confidence level upper limit cross section using the ratio requires a model assumption to compute the expected number of signal events. Exclusion limits for dark matter are derived using dark matter Simplified Models for two values of the e-e-mediator vertex coupling, a mediator width of 10 GeV and for a fixed value of the mediator-DM-DM coupling. For a mediator mass of 3.5 TeV, the measurement of the differential distribution of the significance as a function of the photon energy for the process \mbox{\Pem \Pep $\to$ X X \PGg} allows the discrimination between different dark matter mediators and the measurement of the WIMP mass to nearly half the centre-of-mass energy. For a \mbox{1 TeV} WIMP, the mass is determined with a 1\% accuracy.