Neutralino and gravitino dark matter with low reheating temperature

We examine a scenario in which the reheating temperature $T_R$ after inflation is so low that it is comparable to, or lower than, the freeze out temperature of ordinary WIMPs. In this case the dark matter relic abundance is reduced, thus relaxing the impact of the usually strong constraint coming from the requirement that the universe does not overclose. We first re-examine the dynamics of freezeout during reheating. Next we apply a Bayesian approach to study the parameter space of the MSSM with ten free parameters, the CMSSM and the singlino-dominated regions of the NMSSM. In each case we find dramatic departures from the usually considered regime of high $T_R$, with important implications for direct detection dark matter searches. In the MSSM we examine WIMP mass range up to ~5 TeV, and find regions of bino dark matter over the whole mass range, and of higgsino dark matter with mass over a similar range but starting from the ~1 TeV value of the standard high $T_R$ scenario. We show that the prospects for bino detection strongly depend on $T_R$, while the higgsino is for the most part detectable by future one-tonne detectors. The wino, which is excluded in the standard scenario, becomes allowed again if its mass is roughly above 3.5 TeV, and can be detectable. In the CMSSM, the bino and higgsino mass ranges become more constrained although detection prospects remain similar. In the Next-to-MSSM at low enough $T_R$ wide ranges of singlino-dominated parameter space of the model become cosmologically allowed. We also study the contribution to the DM relic density from direct and cascade decays of the inflaton. Finally, we consider the case of a gravitino as dark matter. We find strong bounds from overclosure and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, and derive lower limits on $T_R$ which depend on the gravitino mass and on the nature of the lightest ordinary superpartner.Comment: section and references adde

Axino dark matter with low reheating temperature

We examine axino dark matter in the regime of a low reheating temperature T_R after inflation and taking into account that reheating is a non-instantaneous process. This can have a significant effect on the dark matter abundance, mainly due to entropy production in inflaton decays. We study both thermal and non-thermal production of axinos in the context of the MSSM with ten free parameters. We identify the ranges of the axino mass and the reheating temperature allowed by the LHC and other particle physics data in different models of axino interactions. We confront these limits with cosmological constraints coming the observed dark matter density, large structures formation and big bang nucleosynthesis. We find a number of differences in the phenomenologically acceptable values of the axino mass and the reheating temperature relative to previous studies. In particular, an upper bound on the axino mass becomes dependent on T_R, reaching a maximum value at T_R~10^2 GeV. If the lightest ordinary supersymmetric particle is a wino or a higgsino, we obtain lower a limit of approximately 10 GeV for the reheating temperature. We demonstrate also that entropy production during reheating affects the maximum allowed axino mass and lowest values of the reheating temperature.Comment: v2: improved discussion of warm dark matter bounds, results for stau LOSP adde

Gravitino dark matter with constraints from Higgs boson mass and sneutrino decays

We investigate gravitino dark matter produced thermally at high temperatures and in decays of a long-lived sneutrino. We consider the Non-Universal Higgs Model and a generalized gauge mediation model, and in each case identify sneutrino LOSP regions of the parameter space consistent with the mass of the Higgs-like boson observed at the LHC. We apply relevant collider and cosmological bounds, including constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and from warm dark matter on large scale structures. Generally, we find allowed values of the reheating temperature TR below 10^9 GeV, i.e. somewhat smaller than the values needed for thermal leptogenesis, even with a conservative lower bound of 122 GeV on the Higgs mass. Requiring mass values closer to 126 GeV implies TR below 10^7 GeV and the gravitino mass less than 10 GeV.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figures, version published in JHE

FASER: ForwArd Search ExpeRiment at the LHC

New physics has traditionally been expected in the high-$p_T$ region at high-energy collider experiments. If new particles are light and weakly-coupled, however, this focus may be completely misguided: light particles are typically highly concentrated within a few mrad of the beam line, allowing sensitive searches with small detectors, and even extremely weakly-coupled particles may be produced in large numbers there. We propose a new experiment, ForwArd Search ExpeRiment, or FASER, which would be placed downstream of the ATLAS or CMS interaction point (IP) in the very forward region and operated concurrently there. Two representative on-axis locations are studied: a far location, $400~\text{m}$ from the IP and just off the beam tunnel, and a near location, just $150~\text{m}$ from the IP and right behind the TAN neutral particle absorber. For each location, we examine leading neutrino- and beam-induced backgrounds. As a concrete example of light, weakly-coupled particles, we consider dark photons produced through light meson decay and proton bremsstrahlung. We find that even a relatively small and inexpensive cylindrical detector, with a radius of $\sim 10~\text{cm}$ and length of $5-10~\text{m}$, depending on the location, can discover dark photons in a large and unprobed region of parameter space with dark photon mass $m_{A'} \sim 10~\text{MeV} - 1~\text{GeV}$ and kinetic mixing parameter $\epsilon \sim 10^{-7} - 10^{-3}$. FASER will clearly also be sensitive to many other forms of new physics. We conclude with a discussion of topics for further study that will be essential for understanding FASER's feasibility, optimizing its design, and realizing its discovery potential.Comment: 35 Pages, 12 figures. Version 2, references added, minor change

Low fine tuning in the MSSM with higgsino dark matter and unification constraints

We examine the issue of fine tuning in the MSSM with GUT-scale boundary conditions. We identify specific unification patterns and mass relations that can lead to a significant lowering of the fine tuning due to gauginos, scalars, and the \mu\ parameter, relative to the simplest unification conditions. We focus on a phenomenologically interesting region that is favored by the Higgs mass and the relic density where the dark matter is a nearly pure higgsino with mass given by \mu~1 TeV while the scalars and gauginos have masses in the multi-TeV regime. There, we find that the fine tuning can be reduced to the level of a few percent. Despite the gluino mass in the ballpark of 2 TeV, resulting mass spectra will be hard to explore at the LHC, but good prospects for detection come from dark matter direct detection experiments. Finally, we demonstrate with a specific example how the conditions and mass relations giving low fine tuning can originate in the context of supergravity and Grand Unified Theories.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures. Figure 2 added, minor changes. Version published in JHE

Looking forward to test the KOTO anomaly with FASER

The search for light and long-lived particles at the LHC will be intensified in the upcoming years with a prominent role of the new FASER experiment. In this study, we discuss how FASER could independently probe such scenarios relevant for new physics searches at kaon factories. We put an emphasis on the proposed explanations for the recently observed three anomalous events in the KOTO experiment. The baseline of FASER precisely corresponds to the proposed lifetime solution to the anomaly that avoids the NA62 bounds on charged kaons. As a result, the experiment can start constraining relevant models within the first few weeks of its operation. In some cases, it can confirm a possible discovery with up to 10000 spectacular high-energy events in FASER during LHC Run 3. Further complementarities between FASER and kaon factories, which employ FASER capability to study di-photon signatures, are illustrated for the model with axion-like particles dominantly coupled to $SU(2)_W$ gauge bosons.Comment: Version published in PR