[Paper Review] Dark Sectors 2016 Workshop: Community Report

Alexander, Jim, M. Battaglieri+202 more|CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology)|Aug 30, 2016

Computational Physics and Python Applications1 references130 citations

TL;DR

Summarizes the scientific importance, status, milestones, and experimental opportunities in dark sectors, outlining complementary goals for the coming decade.

ABSTRACT

This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016, summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration, and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the next 5-10 years.

Motivation & Objective

• Motivate and define the scientific importance of dark sector searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model.
• Outline the vector portal and other portal interactions as guiding frameworks for experiments.
• Identify key milestones and target parameter spaces to guide next-generation dark-sector experiments.
• Advocate a multi-faceted, international program combining accelerators, fixed-target, and direct-detection efforts.

Proposed method

• Present the dark sector framework centered on portal interactions, especially the vector portal via kinetic mixing.
• Describe minimal models with dark photons and dark matter candidates to illustrate experimental targets.
• Define important milestones and target parameter spaces to test thermal dark matter and related scenarios.
• Discuss complementarities among experimental approaches and the need for multiple, parallel efforts.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What are the most compelling targets in parameter space for sub-GeV dark sectors tied to the vector portal?
• RQ2 How can experiments optimize sensitivity to dark photons and light dark matter across accelerator, fixed-target, and direct-detection platforms?
• RQ3 What is the role of portal interactions in connecting dark sectors to the Standard Model and cosmology?
• RQ4 How should future experiments be organized to maximize discovery potential in a diverse dark-sector landscape.

Key findings

• A broad, multi-faceted program is needed to comprehensively explore dark sectors and their connections to cosmology and precision measurements.
• The vector portal via kinetic mixing provides a natural and representative framework for light dark matter and mediators.
• Milestones and targeted parameter spaces are identified to guide future experiments and test simple thermal dark matter scenarios.
• Complementarity among collider, fixed-target, beam-dump, and direct-detection approaches is essential to cover the broad dark-sector landscape.
• Even in the absence of a discovery, the program will significantly narrow viable dark-matter models and dark-sector scenarios.