Universal Extra Dimensions and the Graviton Portal to Dark Matter

The Universal Extra Dimension (UED) paradigm is particularly attractive as it not only includes a natural candidate for the Dark Matter particle but also addresses several issues related to particle physics. Non-observations at the Large Hadron Collider, though, has brought the paradigm into severe tension. However, a particular 5-dimensional UED model emerges from a six-dimensional space-time with nested warping. The $AdS_6$ bulk protects both the Higgs mass as well as the UED scale without invoking unnatural parameter values. The graviton excitations in the sixth direction open up new (co-)annihilation channels for the Dark Matter particle, thereby allowing for phenomenological consistency, otherwise denied to the minimal UED scenario. The model leads to unique signatures in both satellite-based experiments as well as the LHC.