Speaker
Description
The existence of a dark matter (DM) model with a rich dark sector could be the reason why WIMP DM has evaded its detection so far. For instance, colored co-annihilation naturally leads to the prediction of heavier DM masses. Moreover, non-perturbative effects such as Sommerfeld corrections and bound state formation must be considered to accurately predict the DM relic abundance. In the context of simplified t-channel DM models with a colored mediator, I will show the importance of correctly considering these non-perturbative effects for accurately inferring the viable model parameters. In particular, I will stress how parts of the parameter space thought to be excluded by direct detection experiments and LHC searches remain still viable. Additionally, I illustrate that long-lived particle searches and searches for bound-state resonances at the LHC can play a crucial role in probing such a model and how future direct detection experiments will be able to close almost all of the remaining windows for DM produced via the freeze-out mechanism, making it a highly-testable scenario.