Dark Sector Glueballs at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new phenomenological model for dark glueball hadronization, enabling realistic predictions for dark glueball signals at the LHC, including heavy states and long-lived signatures, expanding search strategies.

Contribution

A novel dark glueball hadronization model inspired by the Lund string model, allowing for detailed LHC phenomenology predictions including heavy glueball states and long-lived signatures.

Findings

Reproduces thermal distribution of hadron species

Predicts production of heavier glueball states

Identifies parameter regions for emerging and semivisible jets

Abstract

We study confining dark sectors where the lightest hadrons are glueballs. Such models can provide viable dark matter candidates and appear in some neutral naturalness scenarios. In this work, we introduce a new phenomenological model of dark glueball hadronization inspired by the Lund string model. This enables us to make realistic predictions for dark glueball phenomenology at the LHC for the first time. Our model reproduces the expected thermal distribution of hadron species as an emergent consequence of hadronization dynamics. The ability to predict the production of glueball states heavier than the lightest species significantly expands the reach of long-lived glueball searches in MATHUSLA compared to previous simplified estimates. We also characterize regions of parameter space where emerging and/or semivisible jets could arise from pure-glue dark sectors, thereby providing new benchmark models that motivate searches for these signatures.