Abstract
Minimal electroweak dark matter models are compelling answers to the particle nature of dark matter. These models, motivated by the "WIMP miracle", remain viable under current experimental constraints and will require next generation experiments to detect through the typical elastic scattering process. However, the recent Lux-Zeplin (LZ) publication of a nuclear-recoil candidate at 248 keV has opened a new avenue of exploration. Due to the lack of corresponding low-energy scattering, the event invites an interpretation in terms of inelastic scattering. In this talk, we detail how inelastic interactions can arise in well-motivated and minimal dark matter models, leading to a natural explanation of LZ's observation. We then show that the LZ event directly leads to predictions of the associated elastic scattering and indirect detection signals. Finally, we discuss constraints on this interpretation in light of observations of high-energy neutrinos from the sun.
