Complementarity of high energy and high intensity experiments for dark photon benchmarks

Abstract: Physical phenomena that are unexplained by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, are the subject of the area of research known as physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). BSM physics contains many Dark Matter (DM) theories which have emerged; from particles such as axions, neutrinos, and Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), to primordial black holes and others. The range of experiments at the frontiers of research are equipped to probe model parameter space with different sensitivites. The energy frontier, exemplified by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), reaches the TeV energy scale and beyond. The intensity frontier looks for rare processes and precision deviations. The cosmic frontier searches astrophysical data. Some rely on invisble signatures, and some require visible SM decays of DM. There is a great deal of experimental complementarity, and cross-frontier collaboration needs to be prioritized. Minimal WIMP based models within the reach of current experiments are presented. The model benchmarks allow for the comparison of limits on the ability to constrain model parameters, to be made between experiments. These limits can be scaled between different couplings within a model, or even between models, provided that only the cross section varies and is known in each case. Limits set for more general vector models could be scaled to dark photon limits, the possibility of which is discussed. The acceptances are confirmed to be the same between the two models considered in this paper. Thermal relic bounds are also imposed, and comparisons are made for each model in an appropriate plane on the y-axis known as the yield parameter. In addition, a heat map approach to plotting the Dark Matter and mediator masses is presented, with a focus on the minimum coupling limit imposed by the relic density. This approach facilitates visualization on one plot the viable regions of mass-mass parameter space in order not to overproduce DM, for each model considered. A brief outlook is given on the current state of cross-frontier collaboration, in a number of efforts, all with the aim of exploiting complementarity in DM searches.