Spin 3/2 Particle as a Dark Matter Candidate: an Effective Field Theory Approach

Abstract

There is no indication so far on the spin of dark matter particles. We consider the possibility in this work that a spin-3/2 particle acts as dark matter. Employing the approach of effective field theory, we list all possible 4-fermion effective interactions between a pair of such fields and a pair of ordinary fermion fields. We investigate the implications of the proposal on the relic density, the antiproton to proton flux ratio in cosmic rays, and the elastic scattering off nuclei in direct detection. While the relic density and flux ratio are sensitive to all interactions albeit at different levels, the direct detection is only sensitive to a few of them. Using the observed data and experimental bounds, we set constraints on the relation of couplings and dark particle mass. In particular, we find that some mass ranges can already be excluded by jointly applying the observed relic density on the one side and the measured antiproton to proton flux ratio or the upper bounds from direct detection on the other.

v1: 18 pages including 6 figs; v2: 19 pages including 6 figs, added more refs, fixed wrong labels (to experiments) in figs. 3 and 4, corrected typos; v3: 19 pages, slight clarifications in response to referee's comments, added more refs, identical to the proofread version for jhep except for the format of refs

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• Generalized Halo Independent Comparison of Direct Dark Matter Detection Data
• The Coannihilation Codex
• Higher Spin Dark Matter
• S-wave scattering of strangeness -3 baryons
• Dark matter of any spin -- an effective field theory and applications
• The case for decaying spin-3/2 dark matter
• On-shell effective theory for higher-spin dark matter
• Direct Dark Matter Detection - A spin 3/2 WIMP candidate
• Comprehensive Constraints on a Spin-3/2 Singlet Particle as a Dark Matter Candidate
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• Exploring Spin-3/2 Dark Matter with Effective Higgs Couplings
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• Minimal Consistent Dark Matter models for systematic experimental characterisation: Fermion Dark Matter
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• Spin-3/2 dark matter in a simple $t$-channel model
• Higgsphobic and fermiophobic Z' as a single dark matter candidate
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• Localization of Gravitino Field on Thin Branes
• Hidden Spin-3/2 Field in the Standard Model
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• Neutrino specific spin-3/2 dark matter
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