- Open Access
Monochromatic neutrinos from scotogenic dark matter
Phys. Rev. D 114, 015040 – Published 27 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7qfy-5w3v
Abstract
The scotogenic model defines a framework for radiative neutrino masses and provides a viable dark matter candidate. Since the scotogenic dark matter is leptophilic, indirect searches appear as an especially interesting possibility. Here we discuss a variation of the usual model with a very distinct dark matter phenomenology. The scotogenic fermion singlets are naturally grouped into pseudo-Dirac pairs of mass of 0.1–1 TeV. We show that the lightest one constitutes a dark matter candidate that near threshold annihilates with a 90% branching ratio into neutrino pairs. The model gives the observed relic abundance consistent with the bounds from direct searches and with all neutrino and charged lepton data. We also show that, for a sub-MeV dark matter particle, the model suggests a scenario that could address the lithium problem.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
References (58)
- E. Ma, Phys. Rev. D 73, 077301 (2006).
- D. Schmidt, T. Schwetz, and T. Toma, Phys. Rev. D 85, 073009 (2012).
- M. Garny, A. Ibarra, and S. Vogl, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 24, 1530019 (2015).
- A. Ibarra, C. E. Yaguna, and O. Zapata, Phys. Rev. D 93, 035012 (2016).
- Y. L. Tang, Phys. Rev. D 97, 035020 (2018).
- A. Beniwal, J. Herrero-García, N. Leerdam, M. White, and A. G. Williams, J. High Energy Phys. 06 (2020) 136.
- T. de Boer, R. Busse, A. Kappes, M. Klasen, and S. Zeinstra, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 08 (2021) 038.
- V. De Romeri, J. Nava, M. Puerta, and A. Vicente, Phys. Rev. D 107, 095019 (2023).
- K. S. Babu, P. S. B. Dev, and A. Thapa, arXiv:2512.25035.
- A. Roy and R. Sahu, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2026) 014.
- Y. Farzan, S. Pascoli, and M. A. Schmidt, J. High Energy Phys. 03 (2013) 107.
- A. Ahriche, A. Jueid, and S. Nasri, Phys. Lett. B 814, 136077 (2021).
- N. F. Bell, J. B. Dent, T. D. Jacques, and T. J. Weiler, Phys. Rev. D 78, 083540 (2008).
- M. Garny, A. Ibarra, and S. Vogl, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2012) 033.
- N. F. Bell, A. J. Brennan, and T. D. Jacques, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 10 (2012) 045.
- K. Fukushima, Y. Gao, J. Kumar, and D. Marfatia, Phys. Rev. D 86, 076014 (2012).
- T. Hambye, K. Kannike, E. Ma, and M. Raidal, Phys. Rev. D 75, 095003 (2007).
- E. Ma, Phys. Rev. D 80, 013013 (2009).
- K. Hikasa, Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2024, 083B02 (2024).
- N. T. N. Nga, N. H. Thao, and P. Van Dong, arXiv:2512.00854.
- J. Fuentes-Martín, M. König, J. Pagès, A. E. Thomsen, and F. Wilsch, Eur. Phys. J. C 83, 662 (2023).
- F. Staub, Comput. Phys. Commun. 185, 1773 (2014).
- A. Vicente, arXiv:1507.06349.
- T. Hahn, Comput. Phys. Commun. 140, 418 (2001).
- R. Mertig, M. Böhm, and A. Denner, Comput. Phys. Commun. 64, 345 (1991).
- V. Shtabovenko, R. Mertig, and F. Orellana, Comput. Phys. Commun. 207, 432 (2016).
- I. Esteban, M. C. Gonzalez-Garcia, M. Maltoni, I. Martinez-Soler, J. P. Pinheiro, and T. Schwetz, J. High Energy Phys. 12 (2024) 216.
- C. M. Ho and R. J. Scherrer, Phys. Lett. B 722, 341 (2013).
- J. Kopp, L. Michaels, and J. Smirnov, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2014) 022.
- J. Herrero-Garcia, E. Molinaro, and M. A. Schmidt, Eur. Phys. J. C 78, 471 (2018).
- A. Ibarra, M. Reichard, and R. Nagai, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2023) 086.
- A. L. Fitzpatrick, W. Haxton, E. Katz, N. Lubbers, and Y. Xu, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 02 (2013) 004.
- N. Anand, A. L. Fitzpatrick, and W. C. Haxton, Phys. Rev. C 89, 065501 (2014).
- M. I. Gresham and K. M. Zurek, Phys. Rev. D 89, 123521 (2014).
- E. Del Nobile, Phys. Rev. D 98, 123003 (2018).
- R. Catena and B. Schwabe, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2015) 042.
- A. Airapetian et al. (HERMES Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 75, 012007 (2007).
- G. Belanger, F. Boudjema, A. Pukhov, and A. Semenov, Comput. Phys. Commun. 176, 367 (2007).
- G. Alguero, G. Belanger, S. Kraml, and A. Pukhov, SciPost Phys. 13, 124 (2022).
- A. Belyaev, N. D. Christensen, and A. Pukhov, Comput. Phys. Commun. 184, 1729 (2013).
- K. Griest and D. Seckel, Phys. Rev. D 43, 3191 (1991).
- S. Das, W. Howe, B. Shuve, D. Tucker-Smith, and R. Yager, Phys. Rev. D 112, 055003 (2025).
- G. Aad et al. (ATLAS Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 06 (2023) 031.
- A. Goudelis, B. Herrmann, and O. Stal, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2013) 106.
- W. Porod and F. Staub, Comput. Phys. Commun. 183, 2458 (2012).
- T. Toma and A. Vicente, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2014) 160.
- J. Aalbers et al. (LUX-ZEPLIN Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 011802 (2025).
- M. Pospelov and J. Pradler, Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 60, 539 (2010).
- M. Kawasaki, K. Kohri, and T. Moroi, Phys. Rev. D 71, 083502 (2005).
- V. Poulin and P. D. Serpico, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 091101 (2015).
- P. de la Torre, M. Gutiérrez, M. Masip, and A. Oliver, Astrophys. J. 995, 154 (2025).
- M. Masip, Astropart. Phys. 97, 63 (2018).
- P. Lipari, Astropart. Phys. 1, 195 (1993).
- S. R. Gozzini, EPJ Web Conf. 319, 03003 (2025).
- R. Abbasi et al. (IceCube Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 108, 102004 (2023).
- T. T. Q. Nguyen, T. Linden, P. Carenza, and A. Widmark, Phys. Rev. D 113, L101305 (2026).
- T. T. Q. Nguyen and T. Linden, arXiv:2602.15113.
- L. Salvati, L. Pagano, M. Lattanzi, M. Gerbino, and A. Melchiorri, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 08 (2016) 022.