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This theoretical study examines how hidden sector particles, including dark matter candidates, achieve their observed cosmic abundances when the inflaton (the field driving cosmic inflation) deposits varying amounts of energy into these sectors. By introducing an effective Planck mass framework for hidden sector Boltzmann equations, the authors find that freeze-out dark matter and monopoles scale weakly with the branching ratio (B^1/4), potentially causing overclosure problems even with small energy injection, while freeze-in relics scale more steeply (B^5/4) and remain cosmologically negligible at low branching ratios.
Why it matters
These findings provide important constraints for beyond-Standard-Model physics and string theory constructions, helping theorists determine which hidden sector scenarios are cosmologically viable and which would produce too much dark matter to match observations.
Understand the Science
⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Abstract: Hidden sectors are generic in beyond the Standard Model constructions and string compactifications. We consider models featuring hidden sectors that have dark matter candidates. The relic density is set in part by the energy-injecting inflaton branching ratio $B$ to the sector. We develop a general framework to determine the dependence on $B$ for thermalized hidden sectors by defining an effective Planck mass for the Boltzmann equations for the hidden sector degrees of freedom. We apply this framework to several representative examples, including freeze-out/freeze-in WIMPs and multi-component dark matter. We find that the fractional energy density carried by freeze-out relics (in both single and multi-component models) and monopoles produced from second order phase transitions scale as $B^{1/4}$ and thus may lead to an overclosure problem, even with $B ll 1$. On the other hand, the energy density of freeze-in relics scales as $B^{5/4}$ and is thus cosmologically irrelevant for sufficiently small $B$. Finally, we discuss the cumulative implications of a large number of hidden sectors.
Source: Hidden Sector Relic Abundances from an Effective Planck Mass