Dark matter as the source of neutrino mass: theory overview and experimental prospects

Abstract

We review theoretical frameworks in which small neutrino masses arise radiatively through interactions with a dark sector that also accounts for cosmological dark matter (DM). A prototype is provided by scotogenic schemes, that extend the inert Higgs doublet model to include dark fermions. We outline their key features and limitations, discussing the advantages of the revamped scotogenic extension. The phenomenological signatures of fermionic and bosonic scotogenic dark matter are discussed, along with scoto-seesaw models that merge scotogenic and seesaw mechanisms. We also consider scenarios where the dark sector seeds a low-scale seesaw. These frameworks can accommodate dark matter as Weakly or Feebly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs or FIMPs). While hidden dark sector models are inherently difficult to exclude, visible dark sector schemes should be confirmed--or ruled out--by forthcoming dark matter, collider, and lepton flavor violation studies.