Speaker
Description
The dark pion, $\pi_{D}$, is generally the lightest meson of strongly interacting dark sectors, which makes it a popular dark matter candidate. However, it is facing the challenge of simultaneously reproducing the relic abundance and satisfying constraints on dark matter self-interaction from the Bullet Cluster. This challenge can be overcome by considering additional light mesons of the dark sector, such as the vector meson $\rho_{D}$. In such a set-up, the $3\pi_{D}\rightarrow\pi_{D}\rho_{D}$ annihilation channel dominates the freezeout of the $\pi_{D}$, allowing higher $\pi_{D}$ masses and weaker self-interactions. Additionally, the $\rho_{D}$ is forced to decay into standard model states, revealing the possibility of exciting novel signatures, such as displaced vertices and emerging and semi-visible jets.
