Dark Contributions to h → μ ⁺ μ ^– in the Presence of a μ-Flavored Vector-Like Lepton

Abstract

A simple extension of the Standard Model (SM) with a $\mu$-flavored vector-like lepton (VLL) doublet and a real singlet scalar can have an interesting implication to the $h \to\mu^+\mu^-$ decay while offering the simplest possible explanation for the Dark Matter (DM) phenomenology. Assuming the real singlet scalar to be a viable DM candidate, it has been shown that the muon Yukawa coupling can have a negative contribution at the one-loop order if the $2^{\rm nd}$ generation SM leptons are allowed to couple with the VLL doublet. The stringent direct detection bounds corresponding to a real singlet scalar DM can easily be relaxed if the SM quark sector was augmented with a dimension-6 operator at some New Physics (NP) scale $\Lambda_{\rm NP}$. Thus, this model presents a significant phenomenological study where the muon Yukawa coupling can be corrected within a real singlet scalar DM framework. The considered parameter space can be tested/constrained through the high luminosity run of the LHC (HL-LHC) and future direct detection experiments.