Related papers: Adagio for Thermal Relics
If there are large extra dimensions and the fundamental Planck scale is at the TeV scale, then the question arises of whether ultra-high energy cosmic rays might probe them. We study the neutrino-nucleon cross section in these models. The…
In this letter, we consider a class of scenarios in which the dark matter is part of a heavy hidden sector that is thermally decoupled from the Standard Model in the early universe. The dark matter freezes-out by annihilating to a lighter,…
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,…
Thermal relics lighter than an MeV contribute to the energy density of the universe at the time of nucleosynthesis and recombination. Constraints on extra radiation degrees of freedom typically exclude even the simplest of such dark…
A scalar particle with a relic density set by annihilations through a Higgs portal operator is a simple and minimal possibility for dark matter. However, assuming a thermal cosmological history this model is ruled out over most of parameter…
The introduction of extra space dimensions in the theory could be an elegant way tovsolve the hierarchy problem. There could even be one energy scale at which all interactions could unify. The limits coming from our knowledge of the…
As the LHC continues to search for new weakly interacting particles, it is important to remember that the search is strongly motivated by the existence of dark matter. In view of a possible positive signal, it is essential to ask whether…
We propose a mechanism of elementary thermal dark matter with mass up to $10^{14}$ GeV, within a standard cosmological history, whose relic abundance is determined solely by its interactions with the Standard Model, without violating the…
We discuss the relic abundance of asymmetric Dark Matter particles in modified cosmological scenarios where the Hubble rate is changed with respect to the standard cosmological scenario. The modified Hubble rate leaves its imprint on the…
The decoupling of a cold relic, during a decaying-particle-dominated cosmological evolution is analyzed, the relic density is calculated both numerically and semi-analytically and the results are compared with each other. Using plausible…
We present a scenario for GeV-scale thermal dark matter that can only be tested with accelerator experiments. Dark matter is composed of dark pions arising from a confining strong interaction in the dark sector. The thermal relic density is…
We investigate the possibility for cosmic ray experiments to discover non-thermal small black holes with masses in the TeV range. Such black holes would result due to the impact between ultra high energy cosmic rays or neutrinos with nuclei…
If the length scale of possible extra dimensions is large enough, the effective Planck scale is lowered such that microscopic black holes could be produced in collisions of high-energy particles at colliders. These black holes evaporate…
Dark photons in the MeV to GeV mass range are important targets for experimental searches. We consider the case where dark photons $A'$ decay invisibly to hidden dark matter $X$ through $A' \to XX$. For generic masses, proposed accelerator…
We study a nonstandard dark-matter thermal history in which strong self-interactions give rise to collective many-body effects at high number density, as in strongly interacting quantum media. At early times, dark matter occupies a…
The thermal freeze-out mechanism for relic dark matter heavier than $O(10-100 $ TeV$)$ requires cross-sections that violate perturbative unitarity. Yet the existence of dark matter heavier than these scales is certainly plausible from a…
Scalar-tensor theories of gravity provide a consistent framework to accommodate an ultra-light quintessence scalar field. While the equivalence principle is respected by construction, deviations from General Relativity and standard…
We discuss a simple model of thermal relic dark matter whose mass can be much larger than the so-called unitarity limit on the mass of point-like particle dark matter. The model consists of new strong dynamics with one flavor of fermions in…
Light dark matter is a compelling experimental target in light of stringent constraints on heavier WIMPs. However, for a sub-MeV WIMP, the universe is sufficiently well understood at temperatures below 10 MeV that there is no room for it to…
Producing an acceptable thermal relic abundance of dark matter with masses $\gg 10^2$ TeV is a challenge. We propose a novel mechanism where GeV-scale states establish a tiny thermal relic abundance for dark matter, which is later promoted…