Higgs boson emerging from the dark

Abstract

We propose a new non-thermal mechanism of dark matter production based on vacuum misalignment. A global $X$-charge asymmetry is generated at high temperatures, under which both the will-be Higgs and the dark matter are charged. At lower energies, the vacuum changes alignment and breaks the $U(1{)}_X$, leading to the emergence of the Higgs and of a fraction of charge asymmetry stored in the stable dark matter relic. This mechanism can be present in a wide variety of models based on vacuum misalignment, and we demonstrate it in a composite Higgs template model, where all the necessary ingredients are naturally present. A light pseudo-scalar $\eta$ is always predicted, with interesting implications for cosmology, future supernova observations and exotic $Z\to \gamma \eta$ decays.

6 pages, 1 figure, 1 table; accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters