Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study a two-component dark matter scenario comprising a stable pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB) and its nearly degenerate long-lived quasi-pNGB partner. An approximate scalar symmetry relates their masses and suppresses the tree-level Higgs-mediated elastic scattering of the excited state through the small mass splitting. Their coupled thermal evolution yields comparable relic populations, while requiring the observed total abundance fixes the dark scalar symmetry-breaking scale and hence the dark gauge coupling. At the studied benchmark, an excited fraction of approximately one half survives under the adopted evolution assumptions. The quasi-pNGB excited state can therefore produce exothermic nuclear recoils despite a suppressed tree-level elastic signal. As an application, we examine the high-energy LUX-ZEPLIN event. For relic compatible parameters, the recoil normalization fixes the kinetic mixing, allowing this interpretation to be tested by independent mediator searches.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Sheikh, Riasat, Toma, Takashi, Tsumura, Koji
Institutions: Kyushu University, Kanazawa University
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221034565