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Pankaj Borah

Publications and source records attributed to Pankaj Borah.

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LZ nuclear recoil event from inelastic singlet-doublet scalar dark matter

We study the possibility of explaining the recently reported high-energy nuclear recoil event by the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) collaboration within the framework of singlet-doublet scalar dark matter (DM). Considering DM to be the CP even mass eigenstate formed out of a scalar doublet and a real scalar singlet, both being odd under an unbroken $Z_2$ symmetry, we find the parameter space of the model consistent with correct relic abundance and direct-detection limits on elastic scattering rates. A large part of the parameter space can also lead to inelastic up-scattering of DM with a rate and recoil energy consistent with the recent LZ event. Depending upon the singlet-doublet mixing, the model allows a much wider range of currently allowed parameter space compared to the pure scalar doublet DM limit. Presence of $Z_2$-odd right-handed neutrinos also leads to other interesting phenomenology related to the origin of light neutrino masses and leptogenesis.

hep-ph

Primordial Magnetogenesis and Gravitational Waves from ALP-assisted Phase Transition

Sufficiently strong first-order phase transitions (FOPTs) in the early Universe can simultaneously produce an observable stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) and a large-scale primordial magnetic field (PMF). The recent $3.8\sigma$ evidence for a non-zero intergalactic magnetic field from anisotropic pair-halo searches using \textit{Fermi}-LAT data further motivates a cosmological origin. We investigate an FOPT-origin of both cosmic signatures, namely, PMF and SGWB, and their correlation, within a minimal axion-like particle (ALP) framework in which a global $U(1)$ symmetry is spontaneously broken through radiative corrections, with the ALP sector coupled to the Standard Model (SM) via a Higgs-portal. We compute the present-day PMF amplitude and coherence length for both maximally helical and non-helical configurations, accounting for inverse cascade effects. For maximally helical configurations, we find peak field strengths up to $B_0 \sim 10^{-9}$ G at coherence length $\lambda_0 \sim 10^{-3}-10^{-1}$ Mpc, consistent with lower bounds on the IGMF inferred from blazar observations by MAGIC, H.E.S.S. and {\it Fermi}-LAT. We show that the ALP parameter region consistent with $\gamma$-ray blazar data (assuming maximally helical fields) simultaneously produces stochastic GW signals detectable at future space-based interferometers, such as LISA, etc., over the ALP decay constant range $10^3~\text{GeV} \lesssim f_a \lesssim 10^5~\text{GeV}$. We demonstrate that these correlated constraints can be directly mapped onto effective ALP couplings to SM particles, e.g., photons, gluons, and fermions. This establishes a multi-messenger complementarity between cosmological observables and laboratory/astrophysical ALP searches, with combined constraints preferring relatively heavy ALPs, $m_a \gtrsim 0.1~\text{GeV}$, accessible to next-generation intensity and energy-frontier experiments.

hep-ph

Unveiling the inert Triplet desert region with a pNGB Dark Matter and its Gravitational Wave signatures

In this work, we extend the scalar sector of the conventional hyperchargeless inert triplet model (ITM) to include a second dark matter (DM) candidate, which appears to be a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB). The usual ITM with an extended scalar sector offers a DM candidate along with novel signatures at different experiments, e.g., colliders, gravitational wave detectors, etc. Nevertheless, hitherto unseen experimental detections have placed stringent constraints on the ITM parameter space. Moreover, triplet masses lighter than $1.9$ TeV, consistent with the existing or upcoming collider sensitivity reach, are already excluded from the DM observable, as they yield an underabundant relic density due to a strong $SU(2)_L$ gauge annihilation. Inclusion of a pNGB DM, via a complex $SU(2)_L$ scalar singlet and through the soft-breaking of a $U(1)$ symmetry, helps to revive the sub-TeV regime of the triplet DM. This resurgence relies on a proficient conversion between the two DM species. Using this inter-conversion, with the triplet DM as the lighter one between the two, we show that it is possible to push the triplet DM contribution to $50\% - 60\%$ of the total relic density. This offers a significant improvement over the traditional ITM with a single DM candidate, where the same can at most reach $10\% - 20\%$. Besides, the concerned bipartite DM framework also offers the possibility of a first-order phase transition along various constituent field directions. Among these, the one along the real $SU(2)_L$ singlet direction can be a strong one which subsequently yields detectable gravitational wave signals at the upcoming space-based gravitational wave detectors such as LISA, BBO, DECIGO, etc., alongside distinctive and complementary signatures at the various DM and collider quests.

hep-ph

Prospecting bipartite Dark Matter through Gravitational Waves

We explore the gravitational wave probes of a two-component dark matter framework, consisting of an $SU(2)_L$ triplet scalar and a Standard Model singlet fermion. The triplet scalar dark matter typically remains underabundant in the region below $\sim 1.9$ TeV, due to the strong $SU(2)_L$ gauge mediated interactions. We introduce a second dark matter component, an $SU(2)_L$ singlet vector-like Dirac fermion, to address this deficit in the dark matter relic abundance within a sub-TeV range. A key aspect of the proposed setup is the potential dark matter inter-conversion between the two components, which impacts the dark matter freeze-out dynamics and relic density of individual dark matter components. In such a scenario, we examine the properties of electroweak phase transition and identify the regions of parameter space that exhibit strong first-order phase transition. We estimate the resulting gravitational wave spectrum and its detectability, which could be probed through the conventional power-law-integrated sensitivity limits and the recently proposed peak-integrated sensitivity curves. Our analysis reveals that a novel region of the model's parameter space, compatible with dark matter observables, can generate a detectable gravitational wave spectrum, observable by upcoming space-based gravitational wave detectors such as LISA, BBO, DECIGO, and DECIGOcorr, while also offering complementary detection prospects in the dark matter and collider experiments.

hep-ph

Electroweak Phase Transition in a Right-Handed Neutrino Superfield Extended NMSSM

Supersymmetric models with singlet extensions can accommodate single- or multi-step first-order phase transitions (FOPT) along the various constituent field directions. Such a framework can also produce Gravitational Waves, detectable at the upcoming space-based interferometers, e.g., U-DECIGO. We explore the dynamics of electroweak phase transition and the production of Gravitational Waves in an extended set-up of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) with a Standard Model singlet right-handed neutrino superfield. We examine the role of the new parameters compared to NMSSM on the phase transition dynamics and observe that the occurrence of a FOPT, an essential requirement for Electroweak Baryogenesis, typically favours a right-handed sneutrino state below 125 GeV. Our investigation shows how the analysis can offer complementary probes for physics beyond the Standard Model besides the collider searches.

hep-ph