Dark matter dynamics in the early universe
Name
807231772-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
1.5 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
6a6053121993eccee8f872fab38619f0
Author(s)
Fei, Lin, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Advisor(s)
Jesse Thaler.
Date Issued
2012
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
We study a new form of dark matter interaction which may significantly affect the thermal relic abundance of dark matter. This new interaction takes the form C+D --> C+[phi], where D is the dark matter species present today, [phi] is a standard model species, and C is a very heavy exotic particle. In particular, C was present during the period when freeze-out occurred for dark matter species D, but subsequently decayed into standard model particles. We refer to this process as a catalytic reaction, since C acts as a catalyst for the destruction of D. We further postulate that there is a matter-antimatter asymmetry in C, so that C+C --> D+[phi] is suppressed. We find that the catalytic reaction produces very different dynamics than the standard annihilation reaction. We also find that the catalytic reaction can significantly affect the relic abundance of dark matter even if it has a much smaller cross section than the annihilation reaction. Possible physical origins for this catalytic reaction are discussed.
Description
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 39).
Subjects
Physics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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