https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-025-15042-8
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Theoretical and experimental constraints on 
multi-component dark matter models
Departamento de Física, UFMG, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
a
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received:
26
August
2025
Accepted:
4
November
2025
Published online:
25
November
2025
Abstract
A complete assessment of any dark matter model requires confronting its low-energy phenomenology with its high-scale theoretical viability. We undertake such a dual analysis for a class of two-component scalar dark matter models stabilized by symmetries, specifically the 
, 
, and 
frameworks. Each model is tested against the latest observational data, including the Planck relic abundance and stringent direct detection limits from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment. Simultaneously, we evaluate their theoretical integrity up to the GUT and Planck scales by enforcing vacuum stability and perturbative unitarity with one-loop Renormalization Group Equations. This combined approach reveals a rich and varied landscape of possibilities. We demonstrate that the model offers a broadly viable parameter space sustained by efficient semi-annihilation. In stark contrast, the scenario is shown to be highly fine-tuned, with solutions confined to the Higgs resonance. Our most significant finding concerns the model: we show that an apparent conflict between experimental data and high-scale consistency is resolved when the model is viewed as an effective field theory, yielding a concrete prediction for new physics at or below the 
GeV scale. This work provides a definitive guide to the viability of these scenarios and serves as a compelling demonstration of how high-energy consistency checks can yield crucial insights into the nature of dark matter.
© The Author(s) 2025
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Funded by SCOAP3.
