Journal of High Energy Physics (Jul 2024)

Scalar dark matter explanation of the excess in the Belle II B + → K ++ invisible measurement

  • Xiao-Gang He,
  • Xiao-Dong Ma,
  • Michael A. Schmidt,
  • German Valencia,
  • Raymond R. Volkas

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2024)168
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2024, no. 7
pp. 1 – 19

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Recently Belle II reported the first measurement of B + → K + + invisible(inv), which is 2.7σ above the standard model (SM) prediction. If confirmed, this calls for new physics beyond SM. In the SM, the invisible particles are neutrino-anti-neutrino pairs. There are more possibilities when going beyond the SM. In this work, we focus on decays to dark matter (DM) and show that the B → K + inv excess from Belle II and DM relic density can be simultaneously explained in a simple extension of the SM. The model introduces a real scalar singlet ϕ acting as a DM candidate, and two heavy vector-like quarks Q, D with the same quantum numbers as the SM left-handed quark doublet and right-handed down-type quark singlet, respectively. All these new particles are odd under a ℤ2 symmetry while the SM particles are even. The model can successfully explain the Belle II anomaly and DM relic density for TeV-scale heavy quarks with hierarchical Yukawa couplings involving b and s quarks. At the same time, it can easily satisfy other flavour physics constraints. Direct detection searches utilizing the Migdal effect constrain some of the parameter space.

Keywords