Vector dark matter and LHC constraints, including a 95 GeV light Higgs boson

Abstract

We study LHC searches for an extension of the Standard Model (SM) by exploiting an additional Abelian UD(1) gauge symmetry and a complex scalar Higgs portal. As the scalar is charged under this gauge symmetry, a vector dark matter (VDM) candidate can satisfy the observed relic abundance and limits from direct dark matter (DM) searches. The ATLAS and CMS experiments have developed a broad search program for the DM candidates, including associate production of Higgs boson, Z boson, and top quark that couple to DM. In this paper, we perform an extensive analysis to constrain the model by using these experiments at LHC. It can be seen that the LHC results can exclude some parts of the parameter space that are still allowed by relic density and the direct detection searches. Using the LHC results, all scalar Higgs portal masses are excluded for the light VDM. Furthermore, exclusion limits on the parameter space of the model by using the new results of the CMS and ATLAS Collaborations for a new light Higgs boson with mass ∼95  GeV are provided. Published by the American Physical Society 2024