Revisiting Scalar and Pseudoscalar Couplings with Nucleons

Understand

Certain dark matter interactions with nuclei are mediated possibly by a scalar or pseudoscalar Higgs boson.

• The estimation of the corresponding cross sections requires a correct evaluation of the couplings between the scalar or pseudoscalar Higgs boson and the nucleons.
• Progress has been made in two aspects relevant to this study in the past few years.
• First, recent lattice calculations show that the strange-quark sigma term $\sigma_s$ and the strange-quark content in the nucleon are much smaller than what are expected previously.