Maria Gonçalves | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Dark Matter in Multi-Singlet Extensions of the Standard Model

We study the simplest extensions of the Standard Model (SM) that provide Dark Matter (DM) candidates, built with the addition of real singlets and new $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetries. In this type of models the interactions between SM particles are not altered except for the new interactions stemming from the portal couplings that link the SM Higgs with the DM candidates. In the extension with just one singlet, DM masses below about 3.5 TeV are already excluded by the combination of relic density and direct detection (DD) constraints, except in the resonant case where the DM mass is close to half the Higgs mass, making them undetectable at the LHC. Adding just one more real singlet with an independent $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetry opens up a new mass window for one of the DM candidates and decreases the lower bound on the mass of the other. Adding more singlets with independent $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetries will not change this picture dramatically. If instead we add new singlets all odd under the same $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetry, the allowed mass region for the DM candidate (i.e., the lightest dark sector scalar) will span the entire mass range from half the Higgs mass to the TeV scale. In principle, such light particles could be probed at the LHC in mono-$X$ searches. Although they are still out of reach with the current LHC DM searches, there are good chances to probe the models in some final states at the High-Luminosity (HL-LHC) stage of the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Reassessing CP Violation in the C2HDM with Machine Learning

We provide a study of the parameter space of the complex 2-Higgs Doublet Model (C2HDM), focusing on signs of large CP-violating couplings of the 125 GeV Higgs boson with the fermions. The study is performed utilizing Machine Learning (ML) techniques developed recently for parameter space exploration, including an Evolutionary Strategy Algorithm and Novelty Reward. We give particular attention to the electron electric dipole moment (eEDM). We confirm that the recently found kite diagrams are crucial for the outcome of the analysis. Moreover, their use also mitigates the dependence of the results on the scale and scheme choice of the masses in the loop diagrams. We furthermore point out that, already at the current level of experimental precision, the Barr-Zee diagrams with charm quark loops must be taken into account. The combined use of kite diagrams and ML techniques allows for the resurrection of large fermion CP-odd couplings for Type-II and Flipped C2HDM when the 125 GeV Higgs coincides with the second lightest neutral scalar. This arises due to cancellations, typically of the per-mil order, which, moreover, will still be possible for a foreseeable eEDM precision down to $10^{-33}$ e.cm. For these cases, the constraints on the CP-odd couplings arises from the precision LHC measurements.

hep-ph↗