Z_p scalar dark matter from multi-Higgs-doublet models

Abstract

In many models, stability of dark matter particles is protected by a conserved Z_2 quantum number. However dark matter can be stabilized by other discrete symmetry groups, and examples of such models with custom-tailored field content have been proposed. Here we show that electroweak symmetry breaking models with N Higgs doublets can readily accommodate scalar dark matter candidates stabilized by groups Z_p with any $p \le 2^{N-1}$, leading to a variety of kinds of microscopic dynamics in the dark sector. We give examples in which semi-annihilation or multiple semi-annihilation processes are allowed or forbidden, which can be especially interesting in the case of asymmetric dark matter.