Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10773/15983
Title: | Inflaton dark matter from incomplete decay |
Author: | Bastero-Gil, Mar Cerezo, Rafael Rosa, João G. |
Issue Date: | 15-May-2016 |
Publisher: | American Physical Society |
Abstract: | We show that the decay of the inflaton field may be incomplete, while nevertheless successfully reheating the Universe and leaving a stable remnant that accounts for the present dark matter abundance. We note, in particular, that since the mass of the inflaton decay products is field dependent, one can construct models, endowed with an appropriate discrete symmetry, where inflaton decay is kinematically forbidden at late times and only occurs during the initial stages of field oscillations after inflation. We show that this is sufficient to ensure the transition to a radiation-dominated era and that inflaton particles typically thermalize in the process. They eventually decouple and freeze out, yielding a thermal dark matter relic. We discuss possible implementations of this generic mechanism within consistent cosmological and particle physics scenarios, for both single-field and hybrid inflation. |
Peer review: | yes |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10773/15983 |
DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.103531 |
ISSN: | 1550-7998 |
Appears in Collections: | CIDMA - Artigos GGDG - Artigos |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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InflatonDM.pdf | Main article | 629.95 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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