Not so Coy Dark Matter explains DAMA (and the Galactic Center excess)

Abstract

We study a Dirac Dark Matter particle interacting with ordinary matter via the exchange of a light pseudo-scalar, and analyze its impact on both direct and indirect detection experiments. We show that this candidate can accommodate the long-standing DAMA modulated signal and yet be compatible with all exclusion limits at $99_S$ % CL. This result holds for natural choices of the pseudo-scalar-quark couplings (e.g.~flavor-universal), which give rise to a significant enhancement of the Dark Matter-proton coupling with respect to the coupling to neutrons. We also find that this candidate can accommodate the observed 1-3 GeV gamma-ray excess at the Galactic Center and at the same time have the correct relic density today. The model could be tested with measurements of rare meson decays, flavor changing processes, and searches for axion-like particles with mass in the MeV range.

5+4 pages, 1+1 figure; Added constraints from the KIMS experiment and from the electron and muon anomalous magnetic moment; references added; conclusions unchanged; matches version published in PRL (with a different title)

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• Dark Matter Results from 225 Live Days of XENON100 Data
• Search for Low-Mass WIMPs with SuperCDMS
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• Global fits of the dark matter-nucleon effective interactions
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• Search for Gamma-ray Emission from Dark Matter Annihilation in the Large Magellanic Cloud with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
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• Towards a Supersymmetric Description of the Fermi Galactic Center Excess
• SUSY explanation of the Fermi Galactic Center Excess and its test at LHC Run-II
• NMSSM explanations of the Galactic center gamma ray excess and promising LHC searches
• $SU(2{)}_X$ Vector DM and Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess
• Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess through a Dark Shower
• Analysis of the theoretical bias in dark matter direct detection
• Extending LHC Coverage to Light Pseudoscalar Mediators and Coy Dark Sectors
• TASI 2014 Lectures: The Hunt for Dark Matter
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• Tau Portal Dark Matter models at the LHC
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