Related papers: Inflaton dark matter from incomplete decay
We propose a holographic description of cosmic preheating at strong coupling. In this scenario the energy transfer between the inflaton and matter field is mimicked by a model of holographic superconductor. An exponential amplification of…
At the end of inflation, the inflaton field decays into an initially nonthermal population of relativistic particles which eventually thermalize. We consider the production of dark matter from this relativistic plasma, focusing on the…
It is typically assumed that during reheating the inflaton decays with a constant decay width. However, this is not guaranteed and can have a strong impact on the dark matter (DM) genesis. In the context of the ultraviolet (UV) freeze-in…
We propose a simple model where a {\it gauge invariant inflaton} is responsible for cosmic inflation and generates the seed for structure formation, while its relic {\it thermal} abundance explains the missing matter of the universe in the…
We calculate the dissipation rate of a coherently oscillating scalar field in a thermal environment using nonequilibrium quantum field theory and apply it to the reheating stage after cosmic inflation. It is shown that the rate is…
A concise summary of out-of-equilibrium dark matter production during post-inflationary reheating is presented. We show that the dark matter relic abundance is in general sensitive to the thermalization rate of the inflaton decay products,…
We study in detail a scenario in which the inflaton scalar field couples to both a visible sector (VS) and a hidden sector (HS). The VS is assumed to contain the Standard Model (SM), while the HS contains a dark matter (DM) candidate. We…
We propose a scenario where superheavy dark matter (DM) can be produced via symmetry restoration first-order phase transition during inflation triggered by the evolution of the inflaton field. The phase transition happens in a spectator…
We consider the inflation model of a singlet scalar field (sigma field) with both quadratic and linear non-minimal couplings where unitarity is ensured up to the Planck scale. We assume that a $Z_2$ symmetry for the sigma field is respected…
We consider the non-equilibrium evolution of the inflaton field coupled to both lighter scalars and fermions. The dissipational dynamics of this field is studied and found to be quite different than that believed in inflationary models. In…
The aim of this paper is to determine an exact definition of the reheat temperature for a generic perturbative decay of the inflaton. In order to estimate the reheat temperature, there are two important conditions one needs to satisfy: (a)…
According to the inflationary theory of cosmology, most elementary particles in the current universe were created during a period of reheating after inflation. In this work we self-consistently couple the Einstein-inflaton equations to a…
It has recently been shown that if the dark matter is in thermal equilibrium with a sector that is highly decoupled from the Standard Model, it can freeze-out with an acceptable relic abundance, even if the dark matter is as heavy as ~1-100…
In the presence of self-interactions, the post-inflationary evolution of the inflaton field is driven into the non-linear regime by the resonant growth of its fluctuations. The once spatially homogeneous coherent inflaton is converted into…
We compare dark matter production from the thermal bath in the early universe with its direct production through the decay of the inflaton. We show that even if dark matter does not possess a direct coupling with the inflaton, Standard…
The previously proposed modification of the standard (flat) inflationary $\Lambda CDM$ model in which the inflaton field(s) and ``dark energy" are replaced by the vacum in expanding Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker Universe is studied.…
We unify inflation and dark matter via a single scalar field phi. One of the main difficulties for this unification is that between inflation and dark matter one needs a successful reheating process and a long lasting period of radiation.…
There might be a light scalar field during inflation which is not responsible for the accelerating inflationary expansion. Then, its quantum fluctuation is stretched during inflation. This scalar field could be a curvaton, if it decays at a…
We show, within the single-field inflationary paradigm, that a linear non-minimal interaction $\xi\,M_P\,\phi\,R$ between the inflaton field $\phi$ and the Ricci scalar $R$ can result in successful inflation that concludes with an efficient…
It has been shown that hybrid inflation may end with the formation of non-topological solitons of inflaton field. As a first step towards a fully realistic picture of the post-inflation era and reheating in supersymmetric hybrid inflation…