Generalized Chiral U(1)B−L with Inelastic Scalar Dark Matter for the LZ 248 keV Event
Abstract
The high-energy nuclear recoil event with ER≃248 keV recently reported by the LZ collaboration, with a background-only significance of 2.6σ, offers an intriguing window into dark matter scattering beyond the conventional elastic picture. We study an inelastic scalar dark matter scenario within a generalized chiral U(1)B−L framework. After symmetry breaking, the dark sector scalar gives rise to two nearly degenerate states with a small mass splitting. The lighter state serves as the dark matter candidate and couples off-diagonally to the Z' boson, leading to endothermic inelastic scattering. The resulting kinematics suppress the contribution from low-velocity dark matter while making the high-velocity tail increasingly relevant for nuclear recoils at higher energies. We identify the parameter space consistent with the observed relic abundance and current experimental constraints, and discuss the inelastic scattering kinematics relevant to the recent LZ observation, together with the complementary collider prospects for the associated Z' boson.
Related
- Inelastic B−L scalar dark matter and the LUX-ZEPLIN event
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- Explaining the LZ High-Energy Recoil Event with Inelastic Sneutrino Dark Matter in Supersymmetry
- Inelastic Dark Matter from a Higher-Dimensional Operator: The LUX-ZEPLIN High-Recoil Event and Thermal Relic
- Solar Capture and Suppressed Annihilation of Inelastic Scalar Dark Matter
BibTeX
@misc{kumar2026generalized,
title = {{Generalized Chiral $U(1)_B-L$ with Inelastic Scalar Dark Matter for the LZ 248 keV Event}},
author = {Ranjeet Kumar and Hemant Kumar Prajapati},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.10827},
eprint = {2609.10827},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10827},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Generalized Chiral U(1)_B−L with Inelastic Scalar Dark Matter for the LZ 248 keV Event
AU - Ranjeet Kumar
AU - Hemant Kumar Prajapati
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.10827
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10827
AB - The high-energy nuclear recoil event with E_R≃248 keV recently reported by the LZ collaboration, with a background-only significance of 2.6σ, offers an intriguing window into dark matter scattering beyond the conventional elastic picture. We study an inelastic scalar dark matter scenario within a generalized chiral U(1)_B−L framework. After symmetry breaking, the dark sector scalar gives rise to two nearly degenerate states with a small mass splitting. The lighter state serves as the dark matter candidate and couples off-diagonally to the Z' boson, leading to endothermic inelastic scattering. The resulting kinematics suppress the contribution from low-velocity dark matter while making the high-velocity tail increasingly relevant for nuclear recoils at higher energies. We identify the parameter space consistent with the observed relic abundance and current experimental constraints, and discuss the inelastic scattering kinematics relevant to the recent LZ observation, together with the complementary collider prospects for the associated Z' boson.
ER -