Search for lepton portal dark matter in the PandaX-4T experiment

Abstract: We report a search for a lepton-portal dark matter model, where dark matter couples to a charged lepton in the standard model. This simplified model naturally leads to photon-mediated dark matter interactions with nuclei, making it suitable for direct dark matter detection experiments. Matching to the framework of non-relativistic effective field theory for dark matter, we report the first sensitive search for this model using data from the PandaX-4T commissioning run. Our results yield strong constraints on Dirac fermion dark matter but relatively weaker constraints on Majorana dark matter due to the suppression of effective photon interactions. These constraints complement those obtained from the collider and indirect detection experiments.