Gravitational Vector Dark Matter

Understand

A new dark sector consisting of a pure non-abelian gauge theory has no renormalizable interaction with SM particles, and can thereby realise gravitational Dark Matter (DM).

• Gauge interactions confine at a scale $\Lambda_{\rm DM}$ giving bound states with typical lifetimes $\tau \sim M_{\rm Pl}^4/\Lambda^5_{\rm DM}$ that can be DM candidates if $\Lambda_{\rm DM} $ is below 100 TeV.
• Furthermore, accidental symmetries of group-theoretical nature produce special gravitationally stable bound states.
• In the presence of generic Planck-suppressed operators such states become long-lived: SU$(N)$ gauge theories contain bound states with $\tau \sim M_{\rm Pl}^8/\Lambda^9_{\rm DM}$; even longer lifetimes $\tau= (M_{\rm Pl}/\Lambda_{\rm DM})^{2N-4}/\Lambda_{\rm DM}$ arise from SO$(N)$ theories with $N \ge 8$, and possibly from $F_4$ or $E_8$.