Right-handed Neutrino Dark Matter in a U(1) Extension of the Standard Model

Abstract

We consider minimal $U(1)$ extensions of the Standard Model in which one of the right-handed neutrinos is charged under the new gauge symmetry and plays the role of dark matter. In particular, we perform a detailed phenomenological study for the case of a $U(1)_{(B-L)_3}$ flavoured $B-L$ symmetry. If perturbativity is required up to high-scales, we find an upper bound on the dark matter mass of $m_\chi\lesssim2$ TeV, significantly stronger than that obtained in simplified models. Furthermore, if the $U(1)_{(B-L)_3}$ breaking scalar has significant mixing with the SM Higgs, there are already strong constraints from direct detection. On the other hand, there remains significant viable parameter space in the case of small mixing, which may be probed in the future via LHC $Z^\prime$ searches and indirect detection. We also comment on more general anomaly-free symmetries consistent with a TeV-scale RH neutrino dark matter candidate, and show that if two heavy RH neutrinos for leptogenesis are also required, one is naturally led to a single-parameter class of $U(1)$ symmetries.