Speaker
Description
Vector-like fermions offer a compelling framework to connect the Standard Model (SM) with the dark sector through Yukawa-type interactions, thereby realizing a class of models known as "Vector-like Fermion Portals". Such constructions can naturally accommodate both single and multi-component dark matter (DM) candidates, while yielding diverse phenomenological signatures across cosmology, flavor physics, and collider experiments. In this talk, I will first outline the general aspects of DM models mediated by vector-like fermion portals, emphasizing the role of Yukawa interactions in determining relic abundance, detection prospects, and flavor constraints. Subsequently, I will discuss two specific realizations: (i) a multi-component setup with a complex scalar DM coupled to the SM through vector-like leptons, and a secluded real scalar pseudo-FIMP (pFIMP) component connected to the visible sector only via the complex scalar DM, where lepton flavor violation and collider searches offer complementary probes; and (ii) a single-component $Z_{3}$ symmetric scalar DM coupled to SM up-type quarks through a vector-like quark, linking the flavor and dark sectors. Together, these studies demonstrate the versatility of vector-like fermion portals in explaining the observed DM abundance while remaining accessible to current and future experimental searches.