Despicable Dark Relics: generated by gravity with unconstrained masses
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
2019-04-24 v3 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Abstract
We demonstrate the existence of a generic, efficient and purely gravitational channel producing a significant abundance of dark relics during reheating after the end of inflation. The mechanism is present for any inert scalar with the non-minimal curvature coupling and the relic production is efficient for natural values . The observed dark matter abundance can be reached for a broad range of relic masses extending from to , depending on the scale of inflation and the dark sector couplings. Frustratingly, such relics escape direct, indirect and collider searches since no non-gravitational couplings to visible matter are needed.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1808.08236,
title = {Despicable Dark Relics: generated by gravity with unconstrained masses},
author = {Malcolm Fairbairn and Kimmo Kainulainen and Tommi Markkanen and Sami Nurmi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1808.08236},
year = {2019}
}
Comments
24 pages, 8 figures, published in JCAP