UC Santa Cruz

Z′ gauge bosons arise in many particle physics models as mediators between the dark and visible sectors. We exploit dark matter (DM) complementarity and derive stringent and robust collider, direct and indirect constraints, as well as limits from the muon magnetic moment. We rule out almost the entire region of the parameter space that yields the right dark matter thermal relic abundance, using a generic parametrization of the Z′-fermion couplings normalized to the standard model Z-fermion couplings for dark matter masses in the 8 GeV-5 TeV range. We conclude that mediators lighter than 2.1 TeV are excluded regardless of the DM mass, and that depending on the Z′-fermion coupling strength much heavier masses are needed to reproduce the DM thermal relic abundance while avoiding existing limits.