# Can a Higgs boson decay into dark matter?

I've a couple of questions around the title, all closely related.

Assuming dark matter is composed of particles outside of the standard model, is it possible that a Higgs could decay into some dark matter particle?

If true, when running experiments related to Higgs production, do the detection mechanisms (physical/mathematical models/etc) in the LHC have the accuracy to detect the shortfall in detected(vs expected) standard model decay products, if the dark matter decay occurred?

Which finally leads me to ask, if true, has any reasonable discrepancy been noticed that deviates from the models?

• I fail to see a connection between the second question (LHC) and the first (Higgs)? There are zillions of different detection mechanisms, types of decay channels, with and without Higgs and with and without dark matter...?!
– rfl
Aug 31 at 15:29
• @rfl - So, from my very limited and naive understanding this is how i'd imagine it. We cant detect the Higgs directly, only evidence of it via the decay products? Now that we know the Higgs exists, and we can create them, when the experiment is running, is there an expected rate of higgs production / rate of detection of those decays? Aug 31 at 15:41
• @rfl - All that being said, rereading my question, I appreciate your point, and I've updated accordingly. I hope its makes more sense now. Aug 31 at 15:55
• Aug 31 at 16:03
• Check out this review arxiv.org/abs/1903.03616
– OON
Aug 31 at 16:40

This paper from the CMS collaboration is a nice example to illustrate these points. Their Figure 1 shows some example Feynman diagrams where the Higgs ("H") decays into invisible particles (invisible in CMS, labeled $$\chi$$) that might be dark matter: