Dark matter in the CP-violating NMSSM

Abstract

Abstract In the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model there is a strong correlation between the mass terms corresponding to the singlet Higgs and the singlino interaction states, both of which are proportional to the parameter $$\kappa $$ κ . If this parameter is complex, explicit CP-violation occurs in the Higgs as well as the neutralino sectors of the model at the tree level, unlike in the minimal scenario. A small magnitude of $$\kappa $$ κ typically yields a $${{\mathcal {O}}}$$ O (10) GeV lightest neutralino with a dominant singlino component. In such a scenario, the phase of $$\kappa $$ κ , beside modifying the properties of the five Higgs bosons, can also have a crucial impact on the phenomenology of the neutralino dark matter. In this study we perform a first investigation of this impact on the relic abundance of the dark matter solutions with sub-100 GeV masses, obtained for parameter space configurations of the model that are consistent with a variety of current experimental data.