Dark matter from the Fraternal Twin Higgs

Abstract

Twin Higgs theories attempt to solve the little hierarchy problem - why has the LHC not yet observed new states stabilising the EW scale? - by introducing a SM-neutral twin sector, related to the SM by an approximate Z_2 symmetry. The physical Higgs is then a PNGB mixture from both sectors, and acts as a portal between them. In this talk, I will discuss the cosmology of minimal (“fraternal”) Twin Higgs models. Higgs portal interactions establish thermal equilibrium between the SM and twin sector at high temperatures, giving a thermal history with possibilities for both symmetric dark matter (through a “twin WIMP miracle”), and asymmetric dark matter (from twin QCD states which naturally have GeV-scale masses). More generally, relic abundances of cosmologically stable states place constraints on the parameters of the theory, and twin sector phase transitions need to be considered.