Symmetry-Protected Momentum Exchange between Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Abstract: We present a particle physics motivated realization of interacting dark energy in which a radiatively stable dark energy sector couples to weakly interacting massive particle dark matter through pure momentum exchange. The dark energy field arises as a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Boson from a complex scalar singlet charged under a softly broken global $U(1)_S$, while dark matter is identified with an inert scalar doublet stabilized by a discrete $Z_4$ symmetry. This symmetry structure allows renormalizable dark matter-dark energy portal operators; however, requiring the dark energy field to emerge as a radiatively stable pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Boson necessitates their absence, leaving derivative interactions as the leading coupling. As a result, energy transfer between the dark sectors is absent at the background level, while momentum exchange modifies the evolution of cosmological perturbations. We implement the resulting interacting dark energy model self-consistently in the Boltzmann code CLASS and study its impact on the growth of structure. We find that, despite sizeable momentum exchange, the suppression of the clustering amplitude $σ_8$ saturates above the level required to fully resolve current low-redshift tensions. Our results demonstrate that symmetry-protected, momentum-exchange-only dark sector interactions possess an intrinsic limit on structure suppression, providing a theoretically controlled benchmark for interacting dark energy scenarios.