New sensitivity of LHC measurements to Composite Dark Matter Models

We present sensitivity of LHC differential cross-section measurements to so-called “stealth dark matter” scenarios occurring in an <math display="inline"><mi>SU</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><msub><mi>N</mi><mi>D</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math> dark gauge group, where constituents are charged under the Standard Model and <math display="inline"><msub><mi>N</mi><mi>D</mi></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>2</mn></math> or 4. The low-energy theory contains mesons which can be produced at the LHC, and a scalar baryon dark matter (DM) candidate which cannot. We evaluate the impact of LHC measurements on the dark meson masses. Using existing lattice results, we then connect the LHC explorations to DM phenomenology, in particular considering direct-detection experiments. We show that current LHC measurements constrain DM masses in the region of 3.0–5.5 TeV. We discuss potential pathways to explore these models further at the LHC.