Dark matter in composite Higgs models with a scotogenic EFT

Abstract

We discuss a class of Composite Higgs models with a fermionic UV completion that can explain the dark matter relic density. The resulting low-energy theory resembles so-called scotogenic models. A residual $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry implies that one of the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons is stable and therefore is a viable dark matter candidate. As a concrete example, we take a model based on the $\mathrm{SU}(6)/\mathrm{Sp}(6)$ coset, which in principle contains four dark matter candidates. However, only three of them can produce a relic density consistent with observations. We perform a MCMC study focusing on dark matter observables to explore the available parameter space of the effective theory. In particular, we find that spin-1 resonances play an important role in a substantial part of the parameter space. Finally, we comment on possible LHC signatures of this model class.