Dark Tools

16 Jun 2025, 07:00 → 19 Jun 2025, 21:00 Europe/Brussels

Aula C (Dipartimento di Fisica)

Mattia Di Mauro (INFN Torino), Chiara Arina (IRMP)

This workshop explores the multidisciplinary study of dark matter through direct and indirect detection, collider searches, and cosmological observations, with a focus on their integration with widely used dark matter tools. Participants will gain insights into the current status of dark matter research and the tools that underpin advancements in the field.

The program features hands-on sessions for practical engagement with these tools and round-table discussions to explore future developments, to align them with the evolving needs of the dark matter community.

There will be several sessions for 10-minute presentations by young researchers. PhD students and researchers interested in presenting are kindly suggested to submitt an abstract here.

Please be cautious, as multiple scamming attempts are targeting the participants of this event. All official communications will come directly from one of the organizers. Accommodation is not provided, and each participant is responsible for arranging their own lodging. Do not respond to scam emails offering accommodation.

Scientific Organising committee:

• Mattia di Mauro (INFN Torino)
• Nicolao Fornengo (Unito)
• Chiara Arina (UCLouvain, CP3)
• Olivier Mattelear (UCLouvain, CP3)
• Benjamin Fuks (Sorbonne Université, LPTHE, Paris)
• Genevieve Belanger (LAPTh, CNRS, USMB, Annecy)
• Fawzi Boudjema (LAPTh, CNRS, USMB, Annecy)
• Torsten Bringmann (Oslo University)
• Andreas Goudelis (LPC, CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand)
• Nazila Mahmoudi (IP2I, Lyon)
• Tracy Slatyer (MIT)

 

Logistics committee:

• Stéphanie Landrain (UCLouvain, accountant)
• Carinne Mertens (UCLouvain, secretary)

 

Confirmed speakers

• Spyros Argyropoulos (Aristotele University of Thessaloniki)
• Laura Baudis (University of Zurich)
• David Cerdeno  (IFT, UAM, Madrid)
• Marco Cirelli (Sorbonne Université, LPTHE, Paris)
• Alessandro Cuoco (Università di Torino, INFN)
• Nicolao Fornengo (Università di Torino, INFN)
• Yoann Génolini (LAPTh Annecy)
• Jan Heisig (RWTH Aachen)
• Felix Kahlhoefer (KIT)
• Marco Regis (Università di Torino, INFN)
• Tracy Slatyer (MIT)

 

Tools presented:

• DarkSUSY  (Torsten Bringmann)
• FeynRules (Benjamin Fuks)
• LanHep and CalcHep (Alexander Belyaev)
• MadDM (Daniele Massaro and Gian Marco Lucchetti)
• MadGraph (Olivier Mattelear and Luca Beccatini)
• MARTY and DarkPack (Niels Fardeau and Marco Palmiotto)
• micrOMEGAs (Andreas Goudelis)

For each tool, there will be an introductory talk covering its main functionality, followed by a two-hour tutorial session to make participants actually learn and understand how it works. Each session will be conducted by one of the tool's developers.

 

Monday 16 June

1 Welcome

darktools_intro.pdf

Overview talks

morning talks, overview on dark matter searches and models, chair: Mattia di Mauro

Convener: Mattia Di Mauro (INFN Torino)

2 General Review about DM: evidences, candidates and searches

In this overview talk I will try not to bore the surely already expert audience with some basic facts about Dark Matter, including evidences, candidates and searches, in order to set the tone for the more technical discussions that will follow.

Speaker: Marco CIRELLI (LPTHE CNRS/Sorbonne Paris)

10.DMcandidates.DarkTools.pdf

3 Cosmological evidence for dark matter

Speaker: Tracy Slatyer (MIT)

DarkTools_CosmicProbes_Slatyer_PDF.pdf

10:40 Coffee break

Overview talks

morning talks, overview on dark matter searches and models, chair: Mattia di Mauro

Convener: Dr Chiara Arina (IRMP)

4 Dark Matter relic density

Speaker: Jan Heisig (CP3 - UC Louvain)

Heisig_Dark_Tools_2025.pdf

5 Radio signals of non-WIMP dark matter

Speaker: Marco Regis (Università Torino)

Regis_DarkTools_2025.pdf

12:40 Lunch

Tools talks

Convener: Torsten Bringmann (Oslo University)

6 FRIedmann Solver for Black Hole Evaporation in the Early-universe (FRISBHEE)

In this talk I will present the FRIedmann Solver for Black Hole Evaporation in the Early-universe (FRISBHEE). This tool is used to calculate the phenomenological effects of having a distribution of light primordial black holes in an expanding Universe. The tool can calculate observables assuming just the Standard Model particle content or extensions. Evaporating black holes are expected to produce all particles regardless of charges and couplings and can readily produce the correct relic abundance.

Speaker: Andrew Cheek (CP3, UCLouvain)

FRISBHEE.pdf

FRISBHEE.pptx

7 Marty and DarkPack

Speakers: Marco Palmiotto (Oslo University), Niels Fardeau (Lyon University)

darkpack_marty.pdf

Hands-on session

Convener: Torsten Bringmann (Oslo University)

8 Hands-on LanHEP and CalcHEP: Efficient Implementation and Exploration of Dark Matter Models

Practical guidance will be given on how to implement and explore BSM dark matter models using LanHEP and CalcHEP.

Part I covers LanHEP, a tool for automatically generating Feynman rules from a Lagrangian. You'll learn how to produce model files in CalcHEP, CompHEP, and UFO formats, with a focus on CalcHEP output for use in micrOMEGAs. Examples will include the Inert Doublet Model and Fermionic Portal Vector Dark Matter models, walking through the full process from Lagrangian to simulation.

Part II focuses on CalcHEP for model exploration. You'll see how to inspect interactions, produce symbolic outputs, compute cross sections, simulate events, and perform multidimensional scans with CalcHEP routines and batch files. The session will demonstrate how to test the model, explore parameter space, and extract physical predictions efficiently using CalcHEP.

This session is for BSM model builders and phenomenologists looking for a hands-on, efficient workflow for model implementation, analysis, and seamless integration with micrOMEGAs.

Speaker: Alexander Belyaev (University of Southampton and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)

Dark_Tools-LanHEP-CalcHEP_Belyaev.pdf

16:00 Coffee break

9 MARTY and DarkPACK: how to compute relic density in user-defined models

DarkPACK is a new program dedicated to the computation of the dark matter relic density in a user-defined model. Written in C++, DarkPACK is designed to be modular, efficient, and user-friendly. It relies on MARTY to build the model; and it aims to simplify as much as possible the steps from the Lagrangian density to the computation of dark matter observables. In this workshop, we shall show how to build models with MARTY, and then compute the relic density of a given model with DarkPACK, starting from its MARTY file.

Speaker: Marco Palmiotto (University of Oslo)

16:00 Coffee break

Research talks

Convener: Jan Heisig (RWTH Aachen)

10 RelExt: A New Dark Matter Tool for the Exploration of Dark Matter Models

We present the C++ program RelExt for Standard Model (SM) extensions that feature a Dark Matter (DM) candidate. The tool allows to efficiently scan the parameter spaces of these models to find parameter combinations that lead to relic density values which are compatible with the measured value within the uncertainty specified by the user. The code computes the relic density for freeze-out (co-)annihilation processes. The user can choose between several pre-installed models or any arbitrary other model featuring a discrete Z2 symmetry, by solely providing the corresponding FeynRules model files. The code automatically generates the required (co-)annihilation amplitudes and thermally averaged cross sections, including the total widths in the s-channel mediators, and solves the Boltzmann equation to determine the relic density.

Speaker: Johann Plotnikov (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (ITP))

RelExt_DarkTools_plotnikov.pdf

11 Beyond Kinetic Equilibrium: DRAKE for two-component dark sectors

The traditional tools to calculate the relic abundance of dark matter (DM) typically solve the Boltzmann equation at an integrated level---reducing the evolution of the phase space density to that of the number density---and in doing so are crucially reliant upon the assumption of chemical decoupling of DM preceding its kinetic decoupling from the Standard Model heat bath. However, this condition is known to be violated in well-motivated physics scenarios, for e.g. with resonant annihilation. The Mathematica based code DRAKE was developed to enable the computation of the time evolution of a (single component) DM phase-space density, or its lowest moments, and to thereby obtain the DM relic abundance produced outside of kinetic equilibrium. In full generality, the dark sector can be comprised of multiple particles, one or more of which can make up the total observed DM abundance. In such scenarios, the existence of multiple number changing processes (for example within the dark sector) further challenges the assumption of kinetic equilibrium of DM during freeze-out, and thereby poses challenges to the standard relic abundance calculation. In this short talk, I will present the developments in the code DRAKE as a tool for calculating the evolution of the phase space densities of two coupled, dark state particles, in scenarios where their kinetic equilibrium cannot be guaranteed apriori. As an example of the implementation of this extended version of DRAKE for 2 component dark sector, I will briefly present results from representative phenomenological studies where we find that departure from kinetic equilibrium can alter the predictions for the total DM abundance from O(10%) to more than 100%.

Speaker: Shiuli Chatterjee (National Centre for Nuclear Research, Warsaw)

DRAKE2.pdf

12 Unlocking the Inelastic Dark Matter Window with Vector Mediators

Despite robust cosmological and astrophysical evidence for the existence of non-baryonic Dark Matter (DM), its microscopic nature remains a mystery. Among the several possible scenarios, light DM candidates thermally produced in the early Universe are especially interesting, as they are both theoretically motivated and experimentally accessible. In this context, inelastic dark matter (iDM) models offer a compelling framework, since they can avoid cosmological bounds as well as indirect and direct detection searches. While most literature assume a secluded dark photon mediator, in this work we investigate the broader case of general vector mediators that can couple directly to baryon and lepton numbers. We explore the consequences of such a choice in the relic density computation, as well as for the cosmological and experimental bounds, showing that, especially for anomaly-free gauge groups with non-universal couplings to leptons, we can unlock new windows of the parameter space yet unexplored by experiments. This work is accompanied by the numerical Python package ReD-DeLiVeR, developed for computing decay widths (including several hadronic channels), relic abundances, process rates, and thermal targets for user-defined gauge charges and dark matter candidates.

Speaker: Ana Luisa Foguel (University of São Paulo)

general_mediators_iDM_DarkTools_pdf.pdf

Tuesday 17 June

Overview talks

morning talks, overview on dark matter searches and models, chair: Mattia di Mauro

Convener: Genevieve Belanger (LAPTh)

13 (Some) Theoretical Considerations on Direct Dark Matter Searches

In this talk I will address the theoretical aspects related to direct dark matter detection. I will review the different DM signatures, the main challenges for the (near) future, and tackle issues such as parameter reconstruction, the associated uncertainties and strategies to identify the dark matter.

Speaker: David Cerdeño (IFT-UAM/CSIC)

2025-06-DarkTools-Torino_compressed (1).pdf

14 Direct dark matter detection: where are we and where are we going?

The fundamental nature of dark or invisible matter remains one of the great mysteries of our time. A leading hypothesis is that dark matter is made of new elementary particles, with proposed masses and interaction cross sections spanning an enormous range. Among these, particles with masses in the MeV-TeV range could be directly observed via scatters with atomic nuclei or electrons in ultra-low background detectors operated deep underground. After an introduction to the principles of direct dark matter detection, I will discuss the most promising experimental techniques, addressing their current and future science reach, as well as their complementarity.

Speaker: Laura Baudis (University of Zurich)

baudis_torino2025.pdf

10:30 Coffee break

Overview talks

morning talks, overview on dark matter searches and models, chair: Mattia di Mauro

Convener: Genevieve Belanger (LAPTh)

15 Indirect detection of dark matter with cosmic radiation

Annihilation or decay of Dark Matter (DM) can produce Standard Model particles, and in particular photons, which can be searched for in suitable astrophysical environments and reveal the, still unknown, DM properties.
I will review the current status of DM indirect searches with cosmic radiation, from radio to gamma-rays, with a focus on the latter, discussing the most promising targets and results, as well as the astrophysical backgrounds and future directions.

Speaker: Alessandro Cuoco (University of Turin & INFN)

Dark Tools_Torino_June2025.pdf

16 Indirect detection of dark matter with cosmic-rays

Speaker: Yoann Génolini (LAPTH)

Presentation_DT_Yoann _Genolini.pdf

12:30 Lunch

Tools talks

Convener: Andreas Goudelis (Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont Auvergne (LPCA), CNRS)

17 DarkSUSY

Speaker: Torsten Bringmann (Oslo University)

DarkSUSY_overview.pdf

18 MadGraph

Speaker: Olivier Mattelaer (CP3)

25_06_DarkTools.pdf

Hands-on session

Convener: Andreas Goudelis (Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont Auvergne (LPCA), CNRS)

19 DarkSUSY tutorial

Speaker: Torsten Bringmann (Oslo University)

DarkSUSY_getting_started.pdf

16:00 Coffee break

20 MadGraph_aMC@NLO tutorial

Speaker: Luca Beccatini (UCLouvain and Unibo)

MadGraph_Tutorial.pdf

Research talks

Convener: Tracy Slatyer (MIT)

21 Prospects of probing weak-scale Dark Matter in future MeV telescopes

Weak-scale Dark Matter (DM) particles annihilating into lepton-rich channels in the Galaxy not only produce $\gamma$-rays via prompt radiation, but also generate abundant energetic $e^\pm$, which subsequently emit through inverse Compton scattering or bremsstrahlung (collectively called `secondary-radiation photons'). While the prompt $\gamma$-rays concentrate at high-energy, the secondary emission falls in the MeV range, which a number of upcoming experiments (e.g., AMEGO, E-ASTROGAM and MAST) will be able to probe. I shall discuss the sensitivity of these future telescopes for weak-scale DM, focusing for definiteness on observations of the galactic center. I shall show that they have the potential of probing a wide region of the DM parameter space which is currently unconstrained, precisely thanks to the significant leverage provided by their sensitivity to secondary emissions. I shall also comment on astrophysical and methodological uncertainties, and compare with the reach of future high-energy $\gamma$-ray experiments.

Speaker: Dr Arpan Kar (LPTHE, CNRS & Sorbonne University)

AKar_DarkTools_2025.pdf

22 Observations of the dark matter halo of the Andromeda Galaxy with INTEGRAL/SPI

The Andromeda galaxy (M31) is a promising target for the indirect search of dark matter (DM) due to its proximity and expected massive DM halo. It functions as test case for a Milky Way (MW) like galaxy as the isotropic emission from the MW halo itself cannot be detected with a coded mask telescope like INTEGRAL/SPI. MeV data can put strong limits on DM models from the MeV up to the TeV mass range since weakly interacting massive particles also produce a significant flux of secondary MeV photons from inverse Compton scattering and positron annihilation.
We use the spectrum obtained from observations of M31 with SPI in order to constrain different DM models. From the 511 keV emission from positron annihilation, we estimate the pair production rate in M31 to put a lower mass limit on thermal DM. We take the uncertainty of the DM distribution into account by considering different density profiles and substructure boosting.

Speaker: Laura Eisenberger (University of Würzburg)

darktools_M31talk_Eisenberger.pdf

23 Dark Matter Scattering Constraints From Stars Surrounding Sgr A*

Dark matter can be captured in stars and annihilate, providing the star with a new energy source in addition to nuclear fusion. This significantly changes stellar evolution at the Galactic Center, where the dark matter density is extremely high. As dark matter burning replaces nuclear fusion partially or completely, stars become longer-lived, as they use up hydrogen more conservatively, or even become immortal, as dark matter is re-supplied continuously. We use the stellar evolution code MESA to precisely model stellar evolution in dark-matter burning scenarios. We show that this results in several prominent features that distinguish stellar populations in dark matter dense environments from populations without dark matter. This may offer an explanation for the unusual age and mass distributions of stars at the Galactic Center. In some scenarios, the dark matter annihilation power can become so intense to disrupt star formation entirely, allowing us to derive constraints on dark matter-nucleon cross sections and density profiles based on stellar observations close to the Galactic Center.

Speaker: Isabelle John

IsabelleJohn_DarkTools_Turin_2025.pdf

24 Multi-Component Dark Matter from Minimal Flavor Violation

Minimal Flavor Violation (MFV) offers an appealing framework for exploring physics beyond the Standard Model. Interestingly, within the MFV framework, a new colorless field that transforms non-trivially under a global SU(3)3 quark flavor group can naturally be stable. Such a new field is thus a promising dark matter candidate, provided it is electrically neutral. We extend the MFV framework for dark matter and demonstrate that dark matter can naturally be multi-component across a broad parameter space. For illustration, we consider a gauge singlet, flavor triplet scalar field and identify parameter spaces for multi-component dark matter, where only the lightest flavor component is absolutely stable and heavy flavor components are decaying with lifetimes sufficiently longer than the age of the universe. Phenomenological, cosmological and astrophysical aspects of multi-component flavored dark matter are briefly discussed.

Speaker: Keyun Wu (University de Barcelona)

MFV-torino.pdf

25 General Framework for Flavored Dark Matter Models

The null results of dark matter searches targeting weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) put increasing pressure on the simplest realizations of WIMP models. In response, we explore an extended dark sector with a non-trivial flavor structure within the Dark Minimal Flavor Violation (DMFV) framework. These models extend the standard dark matter paradigm by introducing flavor-dependent interactions between dark matter and the Standard Model. Flavored dark matter models offer a rich phenomenology, linking dark matter properties to the flavor structure of the visible sector, which leads to distinctive signatures in cosmology, direct detection, flavor observables, and collider experiments. We therefore develop a framework using established phenomenology tools to perform an automated systematic study of the phenomenology of different DMFV models. Using this framework, we analyze the viable parameter space of a specific flavored dark matter model and identify which constraints have a significant impact on the parameter space. Furthermore, we discuss potential new opportunities for searches for the model at colliders.

Speaker: Lena Rathmann

DarkTools2025_Rathmann.pdf

20:30 Social Dinner

Wednesday 18 June

Overview talks

morning talks, overview on dark matter searches and models, chair: Mattia di Mauro

Convener: Olivier Mattelaer (CP3)

26 Dark sectors at accelerators

In this talk I will review searches for dark matter and other dark sector particles both at the energy frontier (using hadron colliders) and at the intensity frontier (using electron-positron colliders and beam-dump experiments). The focus will be on recent developments regarding model-building (strongly-interacting dark sectors, dark sectors with long-lived excited states or feebly-interacting mediators) and the corresponding phenomenology (dark showers, displaced vertex searches and exotic signatures). I will conclude with a short review of recent results, reinterpretation efforts and simulation tools.

Speaker: Felix Kahlhoefer (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

DarkTools.pdf

27 Dark matter searches at collider, experimental overview

Speaker: Spyros Argyropoulos (Aristotele University of Thessaloniki)

DarkTools2025.pdf

10:30 Coffee break

Overview talks

morning talks, overview on dark matter searches and models, chair: Mattia di Mauro

Convener: Tracy Slatyer (MIT)

28 Dark Matter, future directions

Speaker: Nicolao Fornengo (Unito)

Fornengo_DarkTools2025.pdf

29 Round table

12:30 Lunch

Tools talks

Convener: Benjamin Fuks (LPTHE / Sorbonne Université)

30 MadDM

Speaker: Daniele Massaro (CERN)

Massaro_TALK_DarkTools_2025.pdf

31 micrOMEGAs

Speaker: Andreas Goudelis (LPC)

AndreasDarkTools2025talk.pdf

Hands-on session

32 MadDM tutorial

Speaker: Gian Marco Lucchetti (Unibo)

MadDM_install_and_tutorials.pdf

16:00 Coffee break

33 micrOMEGAs tutorial

Speaker: Andreas Goudelis (Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont Auvergne (LPCA), CNRS)

AndreasDarkTools2025hands-on.pdf

Research talks

Convener: Mattia Di Mauro (INFN Torino)

34 Toward a universal coalescence model for antideuteron production

Cosmic antideuterons offer a unique window for dark matter searches, but their prediction still suffers from uncertainties in coalescence models. A recent Wigner-function-based approach using the Argonne v₁₈ wavefunction has greatly improved the modeling of antideuteron production from dark matter annihilation and decay. In this talk, we introduce a new project, still at an early stage, which aims to test the same coalescence framework in proton-proton collisions relevant for the secondary production of antideuterons in the Galaxy. Our goal is to assess the possible universality of coalescence parameters across different production processes and energy regimes. This would help improve the reliability of background estimates in future searches with GAPS and AMS-02.

Speaker: Lorenzo Stefanuto (University of Turin)

Dark_Tools_LS (1).pdf

35 Antideuteron production from beauty hadron decay: a path for collider searches

The nature of dark matter remains unknown. In the particle hypothesis, the detection of antinuclei by space-borne experiments near Earth has been identified as a potential smoking gun for dark matter signals. Due to their astrophysical background being highly suppressed for kinetic energies below 1 GeV/c, antinuclei represent an attractive search channel. Recently, theoretical efforts have been made to introduce new channels for antinuclei production via beauty-hadrons decays. These channels could contribute to the signal of Dark Matter but have never been observed and require experimental validation. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) offers the ideal environment for these studies and for the determination of the branching ratio of beauty hadron decay to anti-nuclei; however, to drive the research in this field, reliable estimates of the possible branching ratios are needed. In this contribution we present a prediction of the $\overline{\Lambda}_b \rightarrow \overline{\rm{d}} + X$ and $\rm{B}^-\rightarrow \overline{d} + X$ branching ratios. \texttt{PYTHIA} is used to simulate the production of these particles and their respective decays. A state-of-the-art coalescence model is applied to the resulting antinucleons to produce antideuterons. Based on this first estimate of the branching ratios, we also discuss the feasibility of measuring these new channels at the LHC.

Speaker: Marta Razza (INFN Bologna, University of Bologna)

presentazioneTORINO.pdf

36 Antinuclei production from weakly decaying $b$-hadrons

In this talk, we present a tuning of PYTHIA and a coalescence model that leads to realistic predictions of antinuclei production. This tuning is validated against LEP data including the fragmentation function of $b$-quarks into into $b$-hadrons, which is crucial for determining the $\bar{\Lambda}_b^0$ multiplicity. The coalescence model is tuned to ALICE data for the $\overline{\text{D}}$ and ${}^3\overline{\text{He}}$ spectra. We obtain a branching ratio for the production of ${}^3\overline{\text{He}}$ from $\bar{\Lambda}_b^0$ decays that is consistent with the recent upper limit measured by LHCb. In the end, we find that the contributions of $\overline{\text{D}}$ and ${}^3\overline{\text{He}}$ from $\bar{\Lambda}_b^0$ decays are negligible compared to prompt production, challenging previous claims in the literarure.

Speaker: Jordan Koechler (INFN Turin)

Antinuclei.pdf

37 Antinuclei from Primordial Black Holes

Light primordial black holes (PBHs) may have originated in the early Universe, and could contribute to the dark matter in the Universe.
Their Hawking evaporation into particles could eventually lead to the production of antinuclei, which
propagate and arrive at Earth as cosmic rays with a flux peaked at GeV energies.
We revisit here the antiproton and antideuteron signatures from PBH evaporation, relying on a lognormal PBH mass distribution, state-of-the-art propagation models, and an improved coalescence model for fusion into antideuterons.
Our predictions are then compared with AMS-02 data on the antiproton flux.
We find that the AMS-02 antiproton data severely constrain the Galactic PBH density, setting bounds that depend significantly on the parameters of the
lognormal mass distribution, and that are comparable to or slightly stronger than bounds set from diverse messengers.
We also discuss prospects for future detection of antideuterons. Given the bounds from AMS-02 antiproton data, we predict that if antideuterons were to be measured by AMS-02 or GAPS, since the secondary contribution is subdominant, they would clearly be a signal of new physics, only part of which could, however, be explained by PBH evaporation.

Speaker: Agnese Tolino (IFIC (CSIC-UV))

Antimatter-signatures-DT-25-Tolino-final-2.pdf

38 (Anti)nuclei production mechanisms and latest constraints from ALICE at the LHC

The formation mechanism of light (anti)nuclei in high-energy hadronic collisions remains an open question that is being actively investigated both from theoretical and experimental perspectives. In particular, the (anti)nuclei production at particle accelerator provides a fundamental input to constrain the flux of antinuclei produced from cosmic ray interactions with the interstellar matter, which constitute the background in indirect dark matter searches.

Thanks to its excellent tracking and particle identification capabilities, since the beginning of its operation, the ALICE experiment at the LHC has carried out a wide range of precise measurements of light (anti)nuclei produced in different collision systems. This presentation will highlight the latest results on the production of light (anti)nuclei at the LHC, including measurements based on the most recent LHC Run 3 data and studies on the formation probability of bound states as a function of final-state charged-particle multiplicity. Results will be discussed in comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art theoretical models.

Speaker: Giovanni Malfattore (University & INFN, Bologna (IT))

Malfattore - Dark Tools.pdf

Thursday 19 June

Tools talks

Convener: Nicolao Fornengo (Unito)

39 FeynRules

Speaker: Benjamin Fuks (LPTHE / Sorbonne Université)

Hands-on session

40 FeynRules

Speaker: Benjamin Fuks (LPTHE / Sorbonne Université)

FR_fuks.pdf

10:30 Coffee break

Tools talks

Convener: Nicolao Fornengo (Unito)

41 t-channel dark matter and madanalysis

Speaker: Luca Panizzi (Unica)

DMt_MA5.pdf

Research talks

42 CosmiXs: Improved spectra for dark matter indirect detection

Speaker: Mattia Di Mauro (INFN Torino)

Darktools_CosmiXs_dimauro.pdf

43 High-Significance Detection of Correlation Between the Unresolved Gamma-Ray Background and the Large-Scale Cosmic Structure

Our understanding of the γ-ray sky has improved dramatically in the past decade,
however, the unresolved γ-ray background (UGRB) still has a potential wealth of information about the faintest γ-ray sources pervading the Universe. Statistical cross-correlations with tracers of cosmic structure can indirectly identify the populations that most characterize the γ-ray background. We analyse the angular correlation between the γ-ray background and the matter distribution in the Universe as traced by gravitational lensing,leveraging more than a decade of observations from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and 3 years of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We detect a correlation at signal-to-
noise ratio of 8.9. Most of the statistical significance comes from large scales, demonstrating, for the first time, that a substantial portion of the UGRB aligns with the mass clustering of the Universe as traced by weak lensing. Blazars provide a plausible explanation for this signal, especially if those contributing to the correlation reside in halos of large mass (∼ 1014M⊙) and account for approximately 30-40% of the UGRB above 10 GeV. Additionally, we observe
a preference for a curved γ-ray energy spectrum, with a log-parabolic shape being favored over a power-law. We also discuss the possibility of modifications to the blazar model and the inclusion of additional γ-ray sources, such as star-forming galaxies, misalinged active galactic nuclei, or particle dark matter.

Speaker: Bhashin Thakore

Bhashin_Thakore_Dark_Tools.pdf

12:30 Lunch

Research talks

Conveners: Dr Chiara Arina (IRMP), David Cerdeño (IFT-UAM/CSIC)

44 Rekindling s-Wave Dark Matter Annihilation Below 10 GeV with Breit-Wigner Effects

Thermal Dark Matter (DM) below the GeV scale faces strong cosmological and astrophysical constraints, with Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations excluding s-wave annihilation cross-sections for thermal DM below 10 GeV. Such limits can be evaded with velocity dependent cross-sections, for example when DM annihilates near a narrow resonance. In this work, we explore the impact of resonance effects on DM relic formation using a model-independent approach. We then derive constraints on s-wave annihilation models from CMB data and indirect detection observations, highlighting the viability and limitations of resonant production.

Speaker: Margaux Jomain (LAPTh)

Jomain_DarkTools.pdf

45 Freeze-in as a Complementary Process to Freeze-Out

Many Standard Model extensions feature a dark matter (DM) candidate produced via freeze-out, but often fail to account for the full relic density. We show that adding a second DM candidate via the freeze-in mechanism can resolve this issue. In such two-component DM models, the freeze-out particle may remain undetectable due to its low density, while a Feebly Interacting Massive Particle (FIMP) provides the missing contribution. A collider signal without direct or indirect detection could thus hint at a FIMP. The freeze-in DM, due to its small couplings, leaves the rest of the phenomenology unchanged.

Speaker: Karim Elyaouti (Institut für Technologie)

DarkTools-FreezeInFreezeOut-KarimElyaouti.pdf

46 Freeze-in with low reheating temperature

The freeze-in mechanism is an alternative mechanism for dark matter production to standard thermal freeze-out. Freeze-in computations are typically performed assuming a very high initial ("reheating") temperature. However, this temperature is poorly constrained and can take relatively small values. I will discuss dark matter freeze-in in such a scenario and highlight how dark matter production is impacted compared with the "infinite" reheating temperature case.

Speaker: Thomas Reggio (LPCA)

Reggio_Darktool25.pdf

47 Precise relic abundance and photon spectra for general Neutralinos

I will present a Mathematica code, to be made public in the near future, which computes Sommerfeld enhanced annihilation cross-sections to obtain relic densities for neutralino dark matter as well as semi-inclusive photon endpoint spectra up to $\mathcal{O}(1\%)$ corrections.
The main purpose of this tool is to provide reliable, state-of-the-art theory predictions in general, mixed MSSM models to be compared to experimental bounds on the dark matter energy density and indirect detection spectra.

The program can use the wide-spread SLHA file format as input and automatically computes necessary running couplings (2-loop), mass corrections (1-loop), Sommerfeld enhanced annihilation cross-sections (P-wave and $\mathcal{O}(v^2)$ S-wave) and the dark matter thermal relic abundance in an efficient manner. The annihilation cross-sections into exclusive final states are easily accessible and, for photon-spectra near the endpoint, also semi-inclusive results (including NLL electroweak Sudakov resummation) are available.

---

Code-related publications arXiv numbers:
2211.14341 (Sudakov resummation for photon spectra),
1611.00804 (wino-Higgsino mixed DM study),
1601.04718 (inclusion of one-loop mass splittings),
1411.6930 (pMSSM study),
1411.6924 (Sommerfeld treatment),
1303.0200 ($\mathcal{O}(v^2)$-SE annihilation),
1210.7928 (mixed neutralino and chargino annihilation)

Speaker: Stefan Lederer

DarkTools2025_Lederer.pdf

48 Next-to-Leading-Order QCD Corrections to Dark Matter Annihilation into 𝑊 𝑞𝑞 in the CxSM - Light Higgs Scenario

I will present the results for our computation of the next-to-leading-order QCD corrections to the annihilation process of two dark matter particles into a W boson, a massless quark and a massless antiquark. This process contributes to the computation of the dark matter relic density. The calculation has been performed within the framework of the complex singlet extension of the Standard Model which extends the Standard Model scalar sector by a complex singlet and yields an appropriate dark matter candidate. The treatment of the UV and IR divergences that arise in the calculation is briefly addressed. The cross section as well as the relic density are presented at next-to-leading order. The impact of these corrections is analyzed. An outlook on the case with massive quarks in the final state is given.

Speaker: Pavao Brica (Karlsuruhe Institute of Technology)

NLO_QCD_Corrections_to_AA_W_q_q__in_the_CxSM.pdf

49 The cS2HDM as a unified framework for dark matter and electroweak baryogenesis

The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC confirms the Standard Model’s (SM) mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking, yet the SM fails to address key cosmological phenomena such as dark matter (DM) and the matter-antimatter asymmetry. Higgs-portal models with extended scalar sectors offer promising frameworks to bridge this gap. Among them, models incorporating a complex singlet scalar field can host pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (pNG) DM, naturally suppressing direct-detection signals and making them ideal candidates for collider-based DM searches. However, minimal pNG DM models lack ingredients for electroweak baryogenesis. To overcome this, we look at the CP-violating singlet-extended two Higgs doublet model (cS2HDM) which contains both a pNG DM candidate and several sources of CP-violation and could serve as a benchmark for upcoming LHC searches.

Speaker: Pedro Gabriel (CFTC-UL and KIT)

DarkTools_2025_PGabriel.pdf

15:30 Coffee break

50 Unveiling Imprints from Dark Symmetries: Signatures of Axion Portal to Scalar Dark Matter

If dark matter is blind to standard model gauge interactions, the dark sector might not be totally secluded but connect to the visible sector via the introduction of portal interactions. In this talk, I will discuss a novel scenario where an axion-like particle acts as mediator between the SM and a complex scalar singlet dark matter candidate. The identification of physical couplings crucially incorporates a profound connection to the underlying symmetry that stabilizes the dark matter particle. In particular, I will examine the case of non-Abelian discrete symmetries and show how these prevent dark matter portal interactions to be removed via field redefinitions. This choice leaves peculiar imprints on both cosmological evolution and late times phenomenology. I will discuss how dark matter relic abundance is solely determined by freeze-out of semi-annihilations and is independent of portal couplings to the visible sector. While naturally evading direct detection constraints, rich and peculiar indirect detection spectra are uniquely determined by the one-step cascade DM semi-annihilation rate, with visible decay channels of the mediator only affecting the spectral shape.

Based on arXiv:2502.19491 .

Speaker: Tommaso Sassi (Università di Padova, INFN Padova)

DARK_TOOLS_SASSI.pdf

51 Searching axion dark matter with Quantum Technology

Axion-like particles (ALPs) are compelling dark matter candidates, particularly in the "ultralight mass regime." In this talk, I will discuss the theoretical framework for ALP interactions with Standard Model fields, emphasising the renormalization group (RG) running and low-energy matching in quantum field theory. Many quantum sensor experiments are designed to probe very light ALPs, which are especially sensitive to these effects due to large decay constants where running effects become significant. Furthermore, while linear axion interactions are dictated by their pseudoscalar nature, quadratic interactions resemble scalar interactions, leading to distinct experimental signatures. I will explore the discovery potential of various quantum technology-based experiments, including atomic clocks, interferometers, haloscopes, and fifth force searches.

Speaker: Sreemanti Chakraborti (sreemanti.chakraborti@durham.ac.uk)

Turin25_SC.pdf

52 Celestial objects as Leptophilic dark matter detectors

With their large exposures from the heaven, celestial objects serve as natural dark matter detectors. For leptophilic dark matter, interactions with electrons inside these objects can lead to energy loss, allowing dark matter to become gravitationally bound. Using the Sun and observations by Super-Kamiokande, we set world-leading constraints on the dark matter–electron scattering cross section for dark matter masses above 4 GeV. For sub-GeV dark matter, we propose a novel approach by considering Jupiter as a capture target. This leads to the strongest existing constraints on sub-GeV leptophilic dark matter, probing a significant portion of the theoretically motivated parameter space in a class of hidden sector models.

Speaker: Thong T. Q. Nguyen (Stockholm University, OKC)

DarkTools_Thong_15mins.pdf

53 A Material-Independent Upper Bound on the Absorption Rate of Solar Dark Photons

Within the many different possible extensions of the Standard Model (SM) to describe dark matter, the addition of an extra U(1) gauge boson called dark photon is a particularly attractive possibility because of it predictivity and simplicity. These particles interact with the SM solely through kinetic mixing with standard photons and can acquire mass via the Stückelberg mechanism. For sub-keV masses, the absorption of dark photons is a possible detection channel.
Our research aims to identify the optimal detector material to maximize the detection probability, and consists of two steps. First, we determine a material-independent upper limit on the absorption rate of solar dark photons by combining methods from particle, astro- and solid state physics. In a second step, we compare theoretical absorption rates of various materials against this limit to identify materials that come closest to the ideal detection rate. This procedure works independently of the coupling strength between dark photons and the SM.
To calculate the theoretical upper limit, the absorption rate has to be decomposed into the transverse and longitudinal contributions, which can be related to the material’s dielectric function. For the longitudinal component, we use Kramers-Kronig relations to
derive the desired upper limit. We are currently investigating a similar approach for the transverse part. The combined results will guide the selection of materials for detecting dark photons, potentially advancing detection capabilities.

Speaker: Theresa Backes

MaterialIndependentUpperLimit.pdf

15:30 Coffee break

54 Closing