Nuclear, Particle, Astroparticle and Cosmology (NUPAC) Seminars
Non-Thermal Dark Matter Production Mechanisms in the Early Universe
Presented by Jacek Osinski (UNM)
There is currently no observational probe of the era before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), when the universe was less than 1 second old, but Dark Matter (DM) can provide a window on the properties of the universe at this early time. The traditional approach to DM production is the thermal freeze-out of WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), however this relies on an assumption of Radiation Domination throughout the period before BBN and is becoming increasingly constrained by observations. Non-thermal production can take many forms, all of which rely on their own assumptions, but allows for a greater variety in DM parameters not accessible through the standard WIMP scenario. In this talk, I will present a scenario in which the entire observed abundance of DM is produced by the evaporation of Primordial Black Holes in the early universe, provided that the power spectrum of primordial density perturbations is sufficiently enhanced relative to the modes relevant for Cosmic Microwave Background experiments. I will also briefly mention a second, independent, production mechanism involving the decay of two heavy scalar fields, and will close with future work to be done at LANL.
2:00 pm, Tuesday, November 28, 2017
PAIS-2540, PAIS
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