Return of the CHAMPs: A clockwork portal to charged dark matter

Abstract

While Dark Matter (DM) is conventionally assumed to be chargeless, the possibility of a charged massive particle (CHAMP) as the DM particle remains alive. With phenomenological constraints on the charge being very severe, such a scenario is often sought to be dismissed, citing naturalness. We demonstrate here that such a (mini)charged DM can be realized within the clockwork paradigm, without the need to invoke unnaturally small parameters. The model is examined against constraints, theoretical and experimental, and the phenomenologically admissible parameter space is delineated. Several intriguing tests, at the LHC as well as at future direct and indirect detection experiments, are pointed out.