Dark Matter from Exponential Growth

Abstract

We propose a novel mechanism for the production of dark matter (DM) from a thermal bath, based on the idea that DM particles $\chi$ can transform heat bath particles $\psi$: $\chi \psi \to \chi \chi$. For a small initial abundance of $\chi$ this leads to an exponential growth of the DM number density, in close analogy to other familiar exponential growth processes in nature. We demonstrate that this mechanism complements freeze-in and freeze-out production in a generic way, opening new parameter space to explain the observed DM abundance, and we discuss observational prospects for such scenarios.

7 pages revtex4-2, 5 figures. Corresponds to version published in PRL (originally proposed as Pandemic Dark Matter, arXiv:2103.16572v1)

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• Secluded WIMP Dark Matter
• Secluded U(1) below the weak scale
• Exciting Dark Matter and the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV signal
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• Freezing-in Cannibal Dark Sectors
• Can our spacetime emerge from anti -- de Sitter space?
• Dark matter production accompanied by gravitational wave signals during cosmological phase transitions
• The Forward Physics Facility at the High-Luminosity LHC