The Phenomenology of Quadratically Coupled Ultra Light Dark Matter

Abstract: We discuss models of ultralight scalar Dark Matter (DM) with linear and quadratic couplings to the Standard Model (SM). In addition to studying the phenomenology of linear and quadratic interactions separately, we examine their interplay. We review the different experiments that can probe such interactions and present the current and expected future bounds on the parameter space. In particular, we discuss the scalar field solution presented in [A. Hees, O. Minazzoli, E. Savalle, Y. V. Stadnik and P. Wolf, Phys.Rev.D 98 (2018) 6, 064051], and extend it to theories that capture both the linear and the quadratic couplings of the DM field to the SM. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical aspects and the corresponding challenges for natural models in which the quadratic interactions are of phenomenological importance.