Resonant Self-Interacting Dark Matter from Dark QCD.

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Small-scale structure formation in the universe presents challenges for standard Cold Dark Matter models.
• The Standard Model's Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) provides a framework for understanding particle interactions and spectra.
• Analogies between Standard Model QCD and potential dark matter sectors offer new avenues for theoretical exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present novel models of dark matter that resolve small-scale structure problems.
• To explore resonant self-interacting dark matter within QCD-like dark sectors.
• To investigate experimental probes for these proposed dark matter models.

Main Methods:

• Developing models of resonant self-interacting dark matter based on analogies to Standard Model QCD meson spectra.
• Introducing a simple model with dark mesons composed of light quarks, analogous to the ϕ-K-K system, for thermal freeze-out.
• Considering asymmetric dark matter with heavy and light dark quarks, analogous to the ϒ(4S)-B-B system, for resonant self-interaction.

Main Results:

• Successful formulation of QCD-inspired dark matter models that exhibit resonant self-interactions.
• Identification of specific model scenarios (e.g., ϕ-K-K and ϒ(4S)-B-B analogies) for dark matter.
• Discussion of potential experimental signatures and feasibility using lattice QCD results.

Conclusions:

• QCD-like dark sectors offer a promising framework for resolving small-scale structure issues in cosmology.
• Resonant self-interactions in dark matter, inspired by QCD, provide a viable mechanism for dark matter behavior.
• Further investigation and experimental searches are warranted to test these theoretical models.