Topological Dark Matter in the Little Higgs Models

Abstract

We show that certain little Higgs models with symmetry breaking SU(N) -> SO(N) for N >= 4 admit topologically stable solitons that may contribute to cosmological dark matter. We have constructed a spherically symmetric soliton and estimated its mass in the case of SU(5) -> SO(5). Its lower bound is found to be around 10.3 TeV. Whether this particle is a fermion or a boson depends on the value of an integer-valued parameter of the underlying theory, analogous to the number of colors of QCD. In either case, the particle is neutral. If it is a fermion, it is a Majorana particle, which could take part in a seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses.