We investigate the possibility that the dark matter candidate is from a pure non-abelian gauge theory of the hidden sector, motivated in large part by its elegance and simplicity. The dark matter is the lightest bound state made of the confined gauge fields, the hidden glueball. We point out this simple setup is capable of providing rich and novel phenomena in the dark sector, especially in the parameter space of large N . They include self-interacting and warm dark matter scenarios, Bose-Einstein condensation leading to massive dark stars possibly millions of times heavier than our sun giving rise to gravitational lensing effects, and indirect detections through higher dimensional operators as well as interesting collider signatures.

Experimentally, baryon number minus lepton number, B − L, appears to be a good global symmetry of nature. We explore the consequences of the existence of gauge-singlet scalar fields charged under B − Ldubbed lepton-number-charged scalars (LeNCSs)-and postulate that these couple to the standard model degrees of freedom in such a way that B − L is conserved even at the nonrenormalizable level. In this framework, neutrinos are Dirac fermions. Including only the lowest mass-dimension effective operators, some of the LeNCSs couple predominantly to neutrinos and may be produced in terrestrial neutrino experiments. We examine several existing constraints from particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology to the existence of a LeNCS carrying B − L charge equal to two, and discuss the emission of LeNCSs via "neutrino beamstrahlung," which occurs every once in a while when neutrinos scatter off of ordinary matter. We identify regions of the parameter space where existing and future neutrino experiments, including the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, are at the frontier of searches for such new phenomena.

We study the impact of bound state formation on dark matter annihilation rates in models where dark matter interacts via a light mediator, the dark photon. We derive the general cross section for radiative capture into all possible bound states, and point out its nontrivial dependence on the dark matter velocity and the dark photon mass. For indirect detection, our result shows that dark matter annihilation inside bound states can play an important role in enhancing signal rates over the rate for direct dark matter annihilation with Sommerfeld enhancement. The effects are strongest for large dark gauge coupling and when the dark photon mass is smaller than the typical momentum of dark matter in the Galaxy. As an example, we show that for thermal dark matter the Fermi gamma ray constraint is substantially increased once bound state effects are taken into account. We also find that bound state effects are not important for dark matter annihilation during the freeze-out and recombination epochs.

keV-scale gauge-singlet fermions, allowed to mix with the active neutrinos, are elegant dark matter (DM) candidates. They are produced in the early universe via the Dodelson-Widrow mechanism and can be detected as they decay very slowly, emitting X-rays. In the absence of new physics, this hypothesis is virtually ruled out by astrophysical observations. Here, we show that new interactions among the active neutrinos allow these sterile neutrinos to make up all the DM while safely evading all current experimental bounds. The existence of these new neutrino interactions may manifest itself in next-generation experiments, including DUNE.