We present LUXCalc, a new utility for calculating likelihoods and deriving WIMP-nucleon coupling limits from the recent results of the LUX direct search dark matter experiment. After a brief review of WIMP-nucleon scattering, we derive LUX limits on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon couplings over a broad range of WIMP masses, under standard assumptions on the relevant astrophysical parameters. We find that, under these and other common assumptions, LUX excludes the entire spin-dependent parameter space consistent with a dark matter interpretation of DAMA's anomalous signal, the first time a single experiment has been able to do so. We also revisit the case of spinindependent couplings, and demonstrate good agreement between our results and the published LUX results. Finally, we derive constraints on the parameters of an effective dark matter theory in which a spin-1 mediator interacts with a fermionic WIMP and Standard Model fermions via axial-vector couplings. A detailed appendix describes the use of LUXCalc with standard codes to place constraints on generic dark matter theories. arXiv:1502.02667v3 [hep-ph] 12 May 2015 2 Notably, G N SI are the G F -like effective four-fermion coupling constants in the case of scalar interactions [16] and are the normalization used in DarkSUSY [17]. MicrOMEGAs uses λ N = 1 2 G N SI [18].

We perform a global fit within the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone dark matter (DM) model emerging from an additional complex scalar singlet with a softly broken global U (1) symmetry. Leading to a momentum-suppressed DM-nucleon cross section at tree level, the model provides a natural explanation for the null results from direct detection experiments. Our global fit combines constraints from perturbative unitarity, DM relic abundance, Higgs invisible decay, electroweak precision observables and latest Higgs searches at colliders. The results are presented in both frequentist and Bayesian statistical frameworks. Furthermore, post-processing our samples, we include the likelihood from gamma-ray observations of Fermi-LAT dwarf spheroidal galaxies and compute the one-loop DM-nucleon cross section. We find two favoured regions characterised by their dominant annihilation channel: the Higgs funnel and annihilation into Higgs pairs. Both are compatible with current Fermi-LAT observations, and furthermore, can fit the slight excess observed in four dwarfs in a mass range between about 30-300 GeV. While the former region is hard to probe experimentally, the latter can partly be tested by current observations of cosmic-ray antiprotons as well as future gamma-ray observations. [15,16]. More commonly, however, particle DM models with a pseudoscalar mediator [17][18][19][20][21][22] leads to a momentum-suppressed DM-nucleon cross section. Thus, this class of models can naturally evade the strong limits from direct detection experiments.A popular example in this regards is the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (pNG) DM. It is realised by adding a complex scalar singlet with a softly broken global U (1) symmetry [23-25] to the Standard Model (SM) particle content. Due to the soft symmetry breaking, the resulting Goldstone becomes massive, i.e., a pNG boson. An additional CP symmetry ensures the stability of the pNG boson, which serves as a viable DM candidate. The Goldstone nature of the DM particle implies that the pNG DM-nucleon cross section is momentum-suppressed at tree-level. 1 Thus, a pNG DM model offers a natural way of evading the strong direct detection limits. A leading-order contribution to the pNG DM-nucleon cross section in the zero-momentum limit appears at the one-loop level [27,28]. For typical DM velocities in our galaxy, v χ ∼ 10 −3 , it can easily dominate over the tree-level contribution. The one-loop cross section can vary by several orders of magnitude in the allowed model parameter space. It has been shown that for parameter points which satisfy the relic density constraint, the one-loop cross section is typically below ∼ 10 −50 cm 2 [27] and thus beyond the expected reach of future direct detection experiments, e.g., LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) [29] and DARWIN [30].More recently, the pNG DM model was confronted against the constraints from perturbative unitarity, DM relic density, Higgs invisible decay, XENON1T, Fermi-LAT dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies [31] and LHC searches at √ s = 13 TeV [25,[32][33][34]. Projected limits from DA...