Related papers: Phases of Cannibal Dark Matter
We consider a modification to the standard cosmological history consisting of introducing a new species $\phi$ whose energy density red-shifts with the scale factor $a$ like $\rho_\phi \propto a^{-(4+n)}$. For $n>0$, such a red-shift is…
The semi-annihilation reaction takes the schematic form psi_i psi_j -> psi_k phi, where psi_i are stable dark matter particles and phi is an unstable state. Such reactions are allowed when dark matter is stabilized by a larger symmetry than…
If dark matter is made up of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, the annihilation of these particles in halos results in energy being released, some of which is absorbed by gas, causing partial ionization and heating. Dark matter…
The decay and annihilation cross sections of dark matter particles may depend on the value of a chameleonic scalar field that both evolves cosmologically and takes different values depending on the local matter density. This possibility…
What is the upper limit of the mass of the neutralino dark matter whose thermal relic is consistent with the observation? If the neutralino dark matter and colored sparticles are extremely degenerated in mass, with a mass difference less…
Dark Matter (DM) may be a thermal relic that annihilates into heavier states in the early Universe. This Forbidden DM framework accommodates a wide range of DM masses from keV to weak scales. An exponential hierarchy between the DM mass and…
If, during the early Universe epoch, the dark matter particle thermalizes in a hidden sector which does not thermalize with the Standard Model thermal bath, its relativistic thermal decoupling can easily lead to the observed relic density,…
Inverse decays are an interesting avenue for producing dark matter in the early universe. We study in detail various phases of dark matter parameter space where inverse decays control its abundance, expanding on our work of INDY dark matter…
We propose a new mechanism for thermal dark matter freezeout, termed Co-Decaying Dark Matter. Multi-component dark sectors with degenerate particles and out-of-equilibrium decays can co-decay to obtain the observed relic density. The dark…
In standard cosmology, the growth of structure becomes significant following matter-radiation equality. In non-thermal histories, where an effectively matter-dominated phase occurs due to scalar oscillations prior to Big Bang…
We study the possibility to describe dark matter in a model of the universe with two scale factors and a non-standard Poisson bracket structure characterized by the deformation parameter \kappa. The dark matter evolution is analyzed in the…
We investigate the effects of dark matter annihilation on objects with masses close to the sub-stellar limit, finding that the minimum mass for stable hydrogen burning is larger than the $\sim0.075 M_\odot $ value predicted in the Standard…
In this work we focus on the thermodynamics consistency of a new set of solutions emerging from a cosmology in which dark matter is able to decay into relativistic particles within the dark sector. It is important to stress that the…
Many new physics models include secluded sectors that interact little with the Standard Model and whose internal interactions control the dark matter abundance. If these same interactions are responsible for maintaining kinematic…
Dark matter (DM) as a thermal relic of the primordial plasma is increasingly pressured by direct and indirect searches, while the same production mechanism in a decoupled sector is much less constrained. We extend the standard treatment of…
We carry out a detailed study of the confinement phase transition in a dark sector with a $SU(N)$ gauge group and a single generation of dark heavy quark. We focus on heavy enough quarks such that their abundance freezes out before the…
Thermal freeze-out or freeze-in during a period of early matter domination can give rise to the correct dark matter abundance for $\langle \sigma_{\rm ann} v \rangle_{\rm f} < 3 \times 10^{-26}$ cm$^3$ s$^{-1}$. In the standard scenario, a…
The existence of an early matter-dominated epoch prior to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis may lead to a scenario where the thermal dark matter cools faster than plasma before the radiation-dominated era begins. In the radiation-dominated…
A variety of supergravity and string based models contain hidden sectors which can play a role in particle physics phenomena and in cosmology. In this note we discuss the possibility that the visible sector and the hidden sectors in general…
We propose a new paradigm for the thermal production of dark matter in the early universe, in which dark-matter particles acquire their mass and freeze out spontaneously from the thermal bath after a dark phase transition takes place. The…