Light dark sector via thermal decays of Dark Matter: the case of a 17 MeV particle coupled to electrons

Abstract

Recent experimental observations, most notably those reported by the ATOMKI and Positron Annihilation into Dark Matter Experiment (PADME) collaborations, have hinted anomalies that may indicate the presence of a new resonance with a mass around $17\text{MeV}$, potentially interacting with both nucleons and electrons. Since 2020, ATOMKI has observed this resonance in nuclear transitions from excited to ground states in ${}^8\mathrm{Be}$, ${}^4\mathrm{He}$, and ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$. More recently, in 2025, PADME, operating at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, has also hinted a similar excess, in this case in the $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ final-state events originating from positron annihilation on fixed-target atomic electrons of Carbonium. This concordance strengthens the case for a common underlying origin, potentially involving a new boson, conventionally referred to as $X_{17}$. Despite these intriguing developments, the global experimental landscape remains highly dynamic, particularly in light of recent MEG~II constraints, and a definitive confirmation or exclusion of the $X_{17}$ hypothesis is still lacking. Within this evolving and exciting context, this thesis investigates whether a hypothetical $17\text{MeV}$ particle, coupled to electrons as suggested by the PADME observations, could function as a mediator between the Standard Model and previously unexplored hidden sectors. Such a mediator could, in principle, offer a novel pathway toward addressing one of the principal outstanding inconsistencies of the Standard Model: the nature and origin of dark matter.

Comments: 81 pages. Master's thesis defended on January 26 at Sapienza University of Rome, under the supervision of Drs. Ludovico Vittorio and Giacomo Landini. Acknowledgements are also extended to Dr Claudio Toni for his valuable support on X17 subject