A Flavour Inspired Model for Dark Matter

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model linking scalar leptoquarks, which explain anomalies in rare b-hadron decays, to a dark sector with a dark matter candidate, analyzing its relic density and detection prospects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model connecting leptoquark-induced flavor anomalies with a dark matter candidate, exploring its phenomenology and detection prospects.

Findings

Dark matter candidate relic density consistent with observations.

Direct detection rates are below the neutrino floor.

Gamma-ray telescopes can probe the model's parameter space.

Abstract

The discrepancies between data on rare $b$-hadron decays, controlled by the underlying neutral-current transitions $b\to s\ell^+\ell^- (\ell = e, \mu)$, and the corresponding Standard Model predictions constitute one of the most intriguing hints for new physics. Leptoquarks are prime candidates to solve these anomalies and, in particular, the scalar leptoquark, $S_3$, triplet under $SU(2)_L$ with hypercharge $Y=-1/3$, provides a very good fit to data. Here, for the first time, we entertain the possibility that the same scalar leptoquark, responsible for the LFU anomalies, is the portal to a dark sector consisting of two additional vector-like fermions, one of which is a candidate for the cosmological dark matter. We study two scenarios, where the dark matter candidate belongs to an $SU(2)_L$ singlet and triplet respectively, and discuss the theory parameter space in the context of the dark matter candidate's relic density and prospects for direct and indirect dark matter searches. Direct detection rates are highly suppressed, and generically below the neutrino floor. Current observations with, and future prospects for, high-energy gamma-ray telescopes such as HESS and the Cherenkov Telescope Array are much more promising, as they already provide powerful constraints on the models under consideration, and will potentially probe the full parameter space in the future.