https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-025-14697-7
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Direct detection of Higgs portal for light self-interacting dark matter
1
School of Electronic Engineering, Chengdu Technological University, 611730, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
2
Center for Theoretical Physics, Henan Normal University, 453007, Xinxiang, People’s Republic of China
3
Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
4
Department of Physics, Yantai University, 264005, Yantai, People’s Republic of China
Received:
20
May
2025
Accepted:
29
August
2025
Published online:
9
September
2025
Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) can address the small-scale anomalies and previous researches focused on such a SIDM heavier than GeV, for which the self-scattering cross-section is in the quantum resonance region and has a non-trivial velocity dependence. For a SIDM lighter than GeV, the self-scattering cross-section falls within the Born region. In this work, considering the constraints from CMB, BBN and the DM relic density, we investigate the direct detection of the Higgs portal for a sub-GeV SIDM with a scalar mediator. For this end, we consider two approaches: one is the cosmic-ray accelerated dark matter (CRDM) scattering off the nucleon, the other is the electron recoil caused by the halo dark matter. We present direct detection limits for the parameter space of light SIDM and scalar mediator. We find that the detectability in either approach needs a sizable mediator-Higgs mixing angle (
) which is larger than one for the CRDM approach and larger than 
for the electron recoil approach. While the former case cannot be realized in the Higgs-portal light SIDM model with a scalar mediator, the latter case may also be constrained by some astrophysical observations or beam dump experiment. Anyway, even if other constraints are quite stringent, the direct detection may provide independent limits for such a sub-GeV SIDM.
© The Author(s) 2025
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