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Searches for Top-associated Dark Matter Production at the LHC

T0 review · 0 major / 6 minor · reviewed 2026-08-10 · deepseek-v4-flash

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Pith's one-line read Across ATLAS and CMS searches for dark matter produced with top quarks at the LHC, no statistically significant excess is observed.

desk verdict A well-written conference summary of recent ATLAS/CMS top-associated DM searches; no new physics, but an accurate and honest review that correctly flags its own caveats. read the letter →

arxiv 2501.06072 v1 pith:A7G2LE3E submitted 2025-01-10 hep-ex hep-ph

Dominic Stafford (for the ATLAS , CMS collaborations) This is my paper · ORCID
classification hep-exhep-ph
keywords darkmattertopquarkLHCATLASCMSmissingtransversemomentumsupersymmetrymono-topsignature
topics Dark Matter
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal

The pith

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The reading

This proceedings paper summarizes the latest ATLAS and CMS searches for dark matter produced together with top quarks at the LHC, using the full 13 TeV Run 2 dataset collected from 2015 to 2018. The searches cover mono-top production, dark matter with a top-quark pair, and stop squarks decaying to tops plus neutralinos, and they combine deep neural network taggers with data-driven background estimates. The central claim is that none of these searches observes a statistically significant excess over the Standard Model background. If correct, the paper gives an accurate map of the currently excluded parameter space, including mediator masses up to roughly 3 TeV in mono-top models and stop squark masses up to roughly 1.2 TeV in benchmark supersymmetric scenarios.

What carries the argument

The common handle is missing transverse momentum, $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$, the negative vector sum of all visible transverse momenta, which is attributed to the invisible dark matter recoiling against top quarks. Top quarks are identified as large-radius jets using deep neural networks: ATLAS applies a DNN jet tagger and CMS uses particleNet, a graph neural network, to define top-enriched and top-depleted categories. Signal extraction relies on boosted decision trees (XGBoost in ATLAS) and dedicated neural networks per signal, while backgrounds such as $t\bar{t}$, $Z\to\nu\bar{\nu}$ and $W$+jets are constrained by control regions linked to the signal regions by transfer factors, and the topness variable suppresses dileptonic $t\bar{t}$ backgrounds.

What would settle it

A measurement that found the predicted $t\bar{t}$ or $Z\to\nu\bar{\nu}$ background rates in the high-$p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ signal regions to be off by more than the quoted systematic uncertainties, or an independent reanalysis of the same Run 2 data that produced a signal-like excess above 5 $\sigma$, would refute the no-excess claim.

Watch

Extended reading notes

Core claim

The paper's central claim is that, across all the presented ATLAS and CMS analyses of dark matter produced in association with a single top quark or a top-quark pair, no statistically significant excess over Standard Model expectation is seen in the full Run 2 LHC dataset. The strongest resulting limits exclude vector flavour-changing-neutral-current mediator masses up to about 3 TeV in the mono-top searches, and stop squark masses up to about 1.2 TeV in the search for stop pair production decaying to a top quark and a neutralino. Local excesses around one to two sigma appear in a few signal regions, such as the boosted region of the flavour-violating stop search and the CMS combined single-top plus ttbar search, but none reaches the threshold for evidence.

Load-bearing premise

The 'no significant excess' conclusion assumes that the ATLAS and CMS analyses model all Standard Model backgrounds, especially $t\bar{t}$ and $Z/W$+jets, correctly and that their systematic uncertainties are accurate.

Editorial extensions

If this is right

  • The thermal freeze-out WIMP window with order-one couplings is not confirmed in top-associated channels; vector FCNC mediator masses up to about 3 TeV are excluded in the mono-top searches.
  • Stop squark interpretations are constrained up to about 1.2 TeV for the decay $\tilde{t}\to t\tilde{\chi}^0_1$, and flavour-violating stops decaying to a top and a charm are bounded despite a localized 2$\sigma$ excess.
  • For the simplified pseudoscalar $t\bar{t}$+DM model, the single-lepton channel becomes the most sensitive, and combining it with the 0- and 2-lepton channels improves the overall reach.
  • At Run 3's higher collision energy of 13.6 TeV, sensitivity to high mediator masses should improve because the production cross sections grow with energy.

Reading between the lines

Editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • If the local 2$\sigma$ excesses seen in the flavour-violating stop search and the CMS combined $t$+DM/$t\bar{t}$+DM search persist with more data, a mediator near 200 GeV would be a natural interpretation; the current statistics cannot distinguish that from a fluctuation.
  • Since single-top plus DM cross sections fall more slowly with mediator mass than $t\bar{t}$+DM, future mono-top analyses may become more competitive than pair-production searches at high mediator mass.
  • The pattern of replacing fixed analysis categories with signal-specific neural networks and combined resolved-plus-boosted top taggers could carry over to other compressed-spectrum searches, where boosted topologies are hardest to separate from background.
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Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, and a circularity audit.

Referee Report

0 major / 6 minor

Summary. This paper is a conference proceedings for TOP2024 summarizing recent ATLAS and CMS searches for dark matter produced in association with top quarks at the LHC. It covers mono-top searches, ttbar+DM searches including a CMS measurement of ttbar neutrino kinematics, an ATLAS search for stop squarks decaying to top-charm plus neutralino, and a combined CMS search for single-top+DM and ttbar+DM. The central claim, stated in the abstract and conclusion, is that no statistically significant excess is observed in any of these searches, although local excesses of about 1–2σ are reported in several channels (Sections 2.3, 3.3, and 3.4).

Significance. If taken at face value, the manuscript provides a timely and accurate summary of the current experimental status of top-associated dark matter searches using the full Run 2 dataset. Its main value is as a compact reference for the community, and it correctly identifies the most sensitive analyses and reports the small excesses without overinterpreting them. The author is careful to distinguish observed limits from expected limits and to note differences between the ATLAS and CMS strategies. As a review article it is reliable and well referenced, and the transparent reporting of the 1–2σ excesses is a credit to the author.

minor comments (6)
  1. [Section 2.3] The comparison of ATLAS and CMS limits contains a garbled sentence: “the for a coupling to DM of 0.25 and a DM mass of 1 GeV” should be rephrased to refer to the quark coupling and the intended parameter point, since the preceding text states that the CMS scan uses a quark coupling of 0.25 while the ATLAS scan uses 0.5.
  2. [Section 3.3] The sentence “there is an excess of with a significance of 2 σ” contains a grammatical error; it should read “there is an excess with a significance of 2σ”.
  3. [Figure 10(b) caption] The caption for the second Feynman diagram in Figure 10(b) contains leftover placeholder text (“Figure 31: Diagram 30” and “Figure 32: Diagram 31”) and should be replaced with a proper caption.
  4. [Abstract and Section 4] The phrase “no statistically significant excess” is not defined. Since the body reports local excesses of about 2σ in Sections 3.3 and 3.4, the author should either define the significance threshold used (e.g., 5σ for discovery) or explicitly state that no excess exceeds 2σ local significance, to avoid ambiguity for non-specialist readers.
  5. [Section 3.4] The statement that the ~2σ excess “is consistent with all mediator masses considered” is an over-interpretation; a background fluctuation is also consistent with all mediator masses. It would be safer to say that the excess is not statistically significant and shows no strong mass preference.
  6. [Section 3.2] The text claims that the new ATLAS analysis “only achieves the same level of sensitivity for the compressed region and slightly less for very boosted topologies” compared to the previous analysis; a quantitative statement (e.g., from the limit plot) would help support this comparison.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged · score 0.0 of 10

No significant circularity: the paper is a self-contained conference summary of published ATLAS and CMS searches.

full rationale

The manuscript does not present an original derivation or prediction; it surveys recently published and preliminary ATLAS and CMS analyses of dark matter produced with top quarks. Its central claim, that no search observes a statistically significant excess, is a faithful restatement of the outcomes reported in the cited collaboration papers, and the body even notes small local excesses of about 2 sigma (Sections 2.3, 3.3, and 3.4), which do not contradict the abstract because the conventional significance threshold is much higher. No parameter is fitted and then relabeled as a prediction, no target result is assumed inside an input, and no load-bearing argument rests solely on a self-citation: the reliance on ATLAS and CMS internal papers is the standard evidentiary basis of a review written on behalf of those collaborations. The only caveat is that the paper never defines what significance counts as "statistically significant," which is a clarity issue rather than a circularity issue. The derivation chain, such as it is, is a chain of reporting, not of reasoning from assumptions to conclusions, so no circular step is identifiable.

Assumptions & free parameters 0 free parameters · 0 assumptions · 0 invented entities

This is a review of published experimental results. The paper introduces no new free parameters, axioms, or invented entities. Its claims rest entirely on the cited ATLAS and CMS analyses, which are not reproduced in this proceedings article.

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Cite this review

Pith. "Pith review of Searches for Top-associated Dark Matter Production at the LHC." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/A7G2LE3E

@misc{pith2026250106072,
  author       = {Pith},
  title        = {Pith review of: Searches for Top-associated Dark Matter Production at the LHC},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/A7G2LE3E}},
  note         = {Machine review of arXiv:2501.06072}
}
abstract

Recent searches for dark matter (DM) produced in association with top quarks from the ATLAS and CMS experiments using data collected between 2015 and 2018 are presented. These comprise searches from both experiments for DM in association with a single top quark; an improved ATLAS search for DM in single lepton $t\bar{t}$ final states; an ATLAS search stop squarks decaying to a top quark, a charm quark and neutralinos, and a CMS search for DM produced in association with a pair of top quarks or a single top. These analyses feature novel machine learning and advanced background estimation techniques. No statistically significant excess is observed in any of these searches.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2501.06072 by the authors.

Figure 1
Figure 1. The bullet cluster - a pair of galaxy clusters which have collided, causing [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. The density of DM as a function of time in the thermal freeze-out model. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Production of DM in association with a single top quark via emission of a [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_3.png] view at source ↗
Figures from the paper (16 more)
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Previous limits on t-channel production of DM in association with a top [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_4.png]
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: Signal regions for the ATLAS 0b (left) and 1b (centre) categories, and for [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_5.png]
Figure 7
Figure 7. Figure 7: Limits on different combinations of model parameters: left, the ATLAS [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_7.png]
Figure 8
Figure 8. Figure 8: Production of DM in association with a single top quark via a resonant [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_8.png]
Figure 9
Figure 9. Figure 9: Limits on mono-top+DM as a function of the mass of the mediator, mV , and the DM mass, mχ, (left) and on VLQ production as a function of the VLQ mass, mt , and the universal coupling, κT is R-parity conserving supersymmetry, where a pair of stop squarks are produced, w…
Figure 31
Figure 31. Figure 31: Diagram 30 on with t¯t via a [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p008_31.png]
Figure 32
Figure 32. Figure 32: Diagram 31 16 (b) Production of DM in association with t¯t via a spin-0 mediator. 8 910 20 30 40 50 2 10 2 2×10 m(a) [GeV] −1 10 −1 2×10 −1 3×10 1 2 3 4 10 20 30 theory σ / σ tt0L tt1L tt2L combination expected limits observed limits ATLAS All limits at 95% CL -1 s=13…
Figure 12
Figure 12. Figure 12: The dineutrino transverse momentum, p νν T , distribution for t¯t, corrected for detector effects with the other backgrounds subtracted. the lowest scores used as CRs of the major backgrounds (W boson, single top quark and t¯t production - the last in both single lept…
Figure 13
Figure 13. Figure 13: Limits on stop quark pair production from [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p009_13.png]
Figure 14
Figure 14. Figure 14: Limits on t¯t+DM production via pseudoscalar mediator, in comparison with the previous results from [14] (left) and combined with existing results in the 0 and 2 lepton channels (right). emission of light (typically using tanks of Xenon well-shielded from external rad…
Figure 15
Figure 15. Figure 15: Limits on t¯t+DM production, for the scalar mediator in comparison with leading direct detection experiments (left) and for the pseudoscalar mediator in com￾parison with leading indirect detection experiments (right). 3.3 A charming Alternative: Stop squarks decaying …
Figure 16
Figure 16. Figure 16: Left: Post-fit agreement in the SRs for flavour violating stop quark pro [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p011_16.png]
Figure 17
Figure 17. Figure 17: Diagrams for production of DM in association with a top quark pair or a [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p011_17.png]
Figure 18
Figure 18. Figure 18: The cross section of different tt+DM and t+DM processes as a function of mediator mass for the scalar mediator. signed to suppress contributions from dileptonic t¯t where one lepton is not reconstructed, was used in the 1 lepton channel. p miss T is less sensitive in …
Figure 19
Figure 19. Figure 19: Example SRs for the combined t+DM and t¯t+DM search. Left, the 0 lepton, ≥ 2 b jet SR; centre, the 1 lepton, 1 b jet, ≥ 1 forward jet, high topness SR; right, the 2 lepton different flavour, ≥ 2 b jet SR. 4 Conclusion Many models predict that dark matter could be prod…
Figure 20
Figure 20. Figure 20: Limits on the combined cross section of t [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p013_20.png]

Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.

Reference graph

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