Javier Castellano Ruiz

arXiv2021

A warped scalar portal to fermionic dark matter

We argue that extensions of the SM with a warped extra dimension, together with a new $\mathbb{Z}_2$-odd scalar singlet, provide a natural explanation not only for the hierarchy problem but also for the nature of fermion bulk masses and the observed dark matter relic abundance. In particular, the Kaluza-Klein excitations of the new scalar particle, which is required to naturally obtain fermion bulk masses through Yukawa-like interactions, can be the leading portal to any fermion propagating into the bulk of the extra dimension and playing the role of dark matter. Moreover, such scalar excitations will necessarily mix with the Higgs boson, leading to modifications of the Higgs couplings and branching ratios, and allowing the Higgs to mediate the coannihilation of the fermionic dark matter. We study these effects and explore the viability of fermionic dark matter in the presence of these new heavy scalar mediators both in the usual freeze-out scenario and in the case where the freeze-out happens during an early period of matter domination.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Dynamical origin of flavor hierarchies in a warped extra dimension

Extensions of the Standard Model featuring a warped extra dimension compactified on an $S^1/\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold, in which the fermions and gauge bosons live in the bulk of the fifth dimension, offer one of the most compelling mechanisms for addressing both the hierarchy problem and the flavor puzzle of the Standard Model. However, the five-dimensional mass terms of bulk fermions must be odd functions on the orbifold, and as such they should be described by a field depending on the coordinate of the extra dimension. We demonstrate the feasibility of dynamically generating these fermion bulk masses with a bulk scalar field in warped extra dimensions. The bulk scalar acquires a vacuum expectation value, which is odd under the orbifold symmetry and gives rise to the fermion bulk masses through non-universal Yukawa-like interactions. Like in the conventional Randall-Sundrum setup, the localization of the different fermion zero modes along the extra dimension naturally explains the observed flavor structure and four-dimensional mass hierarchy of the SM fermions. We study the phenomenological implications of the backreaction on the metric and the modified fermion profiles due to the bulk scalar field on electroweak precision and flavor observables. Using up-to-date data, we show that the contributions to the $S$, $T$, and $ε_K$ parameters require the mass of the first Kaluza-Klein gluon resonance to be of order 14 and 10 TeV in the minimal and the custodial model, respectively, regardless of the effect of the backreaction. Furthermore, effective flavor-changing interactions among the SM fermions induced by the bulk scalar are discussed. We also comment on the potential impact of the Higgs portal interaction of the bulk scalar on the couplings of the Higgs boson.

hep-ph↗