Decoding Short Baseline Anomalies with Dark Matter Scattering

Aparajitha Karthikeyan

Sub-GeV experimental anomalies offer a promising pathway to new physics beyond the Standard Model. In this talk, I present new explanations for the MiniBooNE electron-like and MicroBooNE single-photon excesses based on interactions of light dark matter. These scenarios feature photon production from 2-to-3 scattering processes with nuclei or nucleons, mediated by light particles. We identify regions of parameter space that simultaneously account for both excesses through dark matter scattering, while remaining consistent with existing constraints. I will also present new anomaly-free, UV-complete axial gauge boson models that lead to novel phenomenology and enable these 2-to-3 mechanisms.