Light scalars can be natural if they are not elementary particles, rather composite states emerging from a strongly-coupled sector. I will show that the Higgs and the dark matter could be the lightest states of such a sector. Indeed, they are the pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons of composite models based on the coset $O(6)/O(5)$. Their low-energy interactions are determined by symmetry considerations. I will identify the region of parameters where composite scalar dark matter has the required relic density, satisfying at the same time the constraints from Higgs searches at the LHC, as well as dark matter searches. Compositeness can enhance the dark matter scattering rates and lead to an excellent discovery prospect for the near future.

Université Montpellier