Abstract
We consider the production of dark matter during the process of reheating after inflation. The relic density of dark matter from freeze-in depends on both the energy density and energy distribution of the inflaton scattering or decay products composing the radiation bath. We compare the perturbative and non-perturbative calculations of the energy density in radiation. We also consider the (likely) possibility that the final state scalar products are unstable. Assuming either thermal or non-thermal energy distribution functions, we compare the resulting relic density based on these different approaches. We show that the present-day cold dark matter density can be obtained through freeze-in from preheating for a large range of dark matter masses.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 016 |
Journal | Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics |
Volume | 2022 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab
Keywords
- dark matter theory
- inflation
- physics of the early universe