Dark matter in the Scotogenic model with spontaneous lepton number violation

TL;DR

This paper explores a variant of the Scotogenic model where spontaneous lepton number breaking introduces a majoron, affecting neutrino mass generation and dark matter phenomenology, especially for fermionic dark matter detection.

Contribution

It extends the Scotogenic model by adding a singlet scalar that breaks lepton number spontaneously, introducing a majoron and analyzing its impact on dark matter and flavor phenomenology.

Findings

Majoron modifies dark matter detection prospects.

Fermionic dark matter relic abundance analyzed.

Phenomenological implications of spontaneous lepton number breaking.

Abstract

Scotogenic models constitute an appealing solution to the generation of neutrino masses and to the dark matter mystery. In this work we consider a version of the Scotogenic model that breaks lepton number spontaneously. At this scope, we extend the particle content of the Scotogenic model with an additional singlet scalar which acquires a non-zero vacuum expectation value and breaks a global lepton number symmetry. As a consequence, a massless Goldstone boson, the majoron, appears in the particle spectrum. We discuss how the presence of the majoron modifies the phenomenology, both in flavor and dark matter observables. We focus on the fermionic dark matter candidate and analyze its relic abundance and prospects for both direct and indirect detection.