Did LZ see modified gravity?
hep-ph, astro-ph.CO, hep-th
Submitted: 2026-09-14
Updated: 2026-09-14
Comments: 16 pages, 3 figures. Comments are welcome
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: We investigate whether the recently reported high-energy nuclear recoil event by the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) collaboration can be interpreted as a signal of freeze-in dark matter (DM) in a non-standard
Terminology
Abstract
We investigate whether the recently reported high-energy nuclear recoil event by the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) collaboration can be interpreted as a signal of freeze-in dark matter (DM) in a non-standard cosmological history. We consider DM production from the Standard Model thermal bath during an era of modified expansion preceding Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Requiring consistency with the observed DM abundance, cosmological and collider constraints, we identify viable parameter regions that can accommodate the LZ event. Our results demonstrate the potential of direct detection experiments to probe non-standard cosmological histories and, more broadly, alternative theories of gravity.
Sources
- Higgsino Dark Matter Interpretation of the LUX-ZEPLIN 248 keV Nuclear-Recoil Event
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- Dark Matter as the Z_2 Partner of the Standard Model Higgs Boson
- WIMP dark matter candidates and searches - current status and future prospects
- The Waning of the WIMP? A Review of Models, Searches, and Constraints
- Dark Matter at the Kinematic Edge: Interpreting the 248 keV LZ Nuclear-Recoil Candidate
- Inelastic Dark Photon Dark Matter for the LUX-ZEPLIN High-Recoil Event and the Galactic Halo Gamma-Ray Excess
- Sub-TeV Singlino Dark Matter in light from Sagittarius A and LUX-ZEPLIN Nuclear-Recoil Event
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