Constraining anti-baryonic dark matter through correlated nucleon decay signatures

TL;DR

This paper explores how anti-baryonic dark matter could cause baryon number violation, leading to nucleon decay signatures, and uses experimental bounds to constrain dark matter properties.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking dark matter-induced baryon violation with nucleon decay signatures and derives constraints from experimental decay bounds.

Findings

Nucleon decay processes depend on dark matter density.

Di-nucleon decay processes are independent of dark matter density.

Experimental bounds constrain dark matter mass and local density.

Abstract

Baryon number violation in the visible sector induced by anti-baryonic dark matter provides a viable mechanism for low-scale baryogenesis. Two of the most sensitive probes of this scenario are neutron decay processes such as $n \to \bar{\nu} + \text{invisible}$ and $n \to \pi^0 + \text{invisible}$. In this work, we discuss the possible spontaneous breaking of baryon symmetry in the dark sector and the generation of di-nucleon decay processes such as $nn \to \bar{\nu}\bar{\nu}$ and $nn \to \pi^0\pi^0$ at one-loop, arising from the operators responsible for induced nucleon decays. While the induced nucleon decay rates in this model depend on the dark matter density, di-nucleon decay processes do not, providing a complementary probe of the new physics. We thus use nucleon and di-nucleon decay bounds to constrain the local density and mass of the anti-baryonic dark matter.