{
  "abstract": "The LZ experiment has recently reported a $248$ keV nuclear recoil event in a region where backgrounds are expected to be low. A pure higgsino scattering inelastically through a $Z$-boson is an exciting possible interpretation of this event, but at the mass required for thermal freeze-out to account for all dark matter, $m_χ= 1.1$ TeV, it predicts several events in the empty high-energy sideband corresponding to $E_R\\gtrsim350$ keV and is further excluded by searches for high energy neutrinos coming from the Sun by the IceCube detector. We fit the higgsino mass scale and neutral state mass splitting, $m_χ$ and $δ$, to the event and the empty sideband. We additionally recompute solar capture bounds as a function of $m_χ$. The LZ data alone are best fit at low mass, $m_χ\\approx (240,\\,450)$ GeV, but is excluded by solar capture. The parameter space most consistent with the event, the empty sideband and the solar capture bound is $m_χ\\approx (10^5,\\,10^6) $ GeV with $δ\\approx (330,\\,480)$ keV, with some dependence on DM halo modeling. Such a higgsino must be produced by some other method than standard freeze-out; this can be achieved by freezing-out during a period of early matter domination which ends by reheating the universe to temperature $T_{\\rm RH}\\approx 1$ TeV. We give a simple proof of concept model which does this via a Kim-Nilles mechanism and therefore connects to the origin of the Higgsino mass scale and solves the strong CP problem.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Center for Theoretical Physics -a Leinweber Institute ,",
    "Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA 02139 , USA"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.09385",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Langhoff",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2862-9324"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/649m9j307mjyk.bib",
  "cited_by": 41,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.09385",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "649m9j307mjyk",
  "issns": [
    "2331-8422"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.09385",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "licence_label": "CC0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3106|Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212120468",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.09385",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-08",
  "publisher": "Cornell University",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/649m9j307mjyk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:12Z",
      "native_id": "2609.09385",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.09385"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:20:44Z",
      "native_id": "W7212120468",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.09385"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ph",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Heavy Higgsino Interpretation of the LZ Event",
  "title_text": "Heavy Higgsino Interpretation of the LZ Event",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T13:20:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/649m9j307mjyk",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}