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This theoretical study examines magnetic monopoles from a dark sector as potential dark matter candidates, specifically analyzing the 't Hooft-Polyakov model across different phase transition scenarios. The researchers calculated the abundance of monopoles that could be produced and found that while monopoles themselves could theoretically match observed dark matter levels, the same dark sector must also produce stable charged vector bosons in much larger quantities. The calculations demonstrate that these accompanying particles would always vastly outnumber the monopoles, making it impossible for dark monopoles to constitute a significant fraction of dark matter under minimal model assumptions.
Why it matters
This work rules out a specific class of dark matter candidates, helping narrow the search for what constitutes the universe's missing mass. The findings guide theoretical physicists away from minimal monopole models and toward alternative dark matter explanations.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
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Abstract: The magnetic monopole of a dark sector has been advocated as an appealing dark matter candidate. We revisit the computation of the monopole abundance $Omega_M$, generated by a thermal phase transition in the minimal ‘t Hooft-Polyakov model. We explore the three regimes where the phase transition is second order, weakly first order, or supercooled, identifying the parameter space regions where $Omega_M$ can match the observed dark matter abundance. However, the dark sector necessarily contains a stable electrically-charged particle, namely a massive vector boson, with a calculable abundance $Omega_{W’}$. We show that, under minimal assumptions, $Omega_{W’}$ is always far larger than $Omega_M$: dark monopoles cannot constitute a sizeable fraction of dark matter.