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Main Authors: García-Cely, Camilo, Landini, Giacomo, Zapata, Óscar
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.10367
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author García-Cely, Camilo
Landini, Giacomo
Zapata, Óscar
author_facet García-Cely, Camilo
Landini, Giacomo
Zapata, Óscar
contents QCD-like theories in which the dark matter (DM) of the Universe is hypothesized to be a thermal relic in the form of a dark pion has been extensively investigated, with most studies neglecting the CP-violating $θ$-angle associated with the topological vacuum. We point out that a non-vanishing $θ$ could potentially trigger resonant number-changing processes giving rise to the observed relic density in agreement with perturbative unitarity as well as observations of clusters of galaxies. This constitutes a novel production mechanism of MeV DM and an alternative to those relying on the Wess-Zumino-Witten term. Moreover, for specific meson mass spectra, similar resonant scatterings serve as a realization of velocity-dependent self-interacting DM without a light mediator. Explicit benchmark models are presented together with a discussion of possible signals, including gravitational waves from the chiral phase transition associated with the dark pions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_10367
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dark matter in QCD-like theories with a theta vacuum: cosmological and astrophysical implications
García-Cely, Camilo
Landini, Giacomo
Zapata, Óscar
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
QCD-like theories in which the dark matter (DM) of the Universe is hypothesized to be a thermal relic in the form of a dark pion has been extensively investigated, with most studies neglecting the CP-violating $θ$-angle associated with the topological vacuum. We point out that a non-vanishing $θ$ could potentially trigger resonant number-changing processes giving rise to the observed relic density in agreement with perturbative unitarity as well as observations of clusters of galaxies. This constitutes a novel production mechanism of MeV DM and an alternative to those relying on the Wess-Zumino-Witten term. Moreover, for specific meson mass spectra, similar resonant scatterings serve as a realization of velocity-dependent self-interacting DM without a light mediator. Explicit benchmark models are presented together with a discussion of possible signals, including gravitational waves from the chiral phase transition associated with the dark pions.
title Dark matter in QCD-like theories with a theta vacuum: cosmological and astrophysical implications
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.10367