Axion Relic Pockets -- a theory of dark matter
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2024
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| _version_ | 1866929468687253504 |
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| author | Carenza, Pierluca Eby, Joshua Iarygina, Oksana Marsh, M. C. David |
| author_facet | Carenza, Pierluca Eby, Joshua Iarygina, Oksana Marsh, M. C. David |
| contents | We propose a new theory of dark matter based on axion physics and cosmological phase transitions. We show that theories in which a gauge coupling increases through a first-order phase transition naturally result in `axion relic pockets': regions of relic false vacua stabilised by the pressure from a kinematically trapped, hot axion gas. Axion relic pockets provide a viable and highly economical theory of dark matter: the macroscopic properties of the pockets depend only on a single parameter (the phase transition temperature). We describe the formation, evolution and present-day properties of axion relic pockets, and outline how their phenomenology is distinct from existing dark matter paradigms. We briefly discuss how laboratory experiments and astronomical observations can be used to test the theory, and identify gamma-ray observations of magnetised, dark-matter-dense environments as particularly promising. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_01676 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Axion Relic Pockets -- a theory of dark matter Carenza, Pierluca Eby, Joshua Iarygina, Oksana Marsh, M. C. David High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory We propose a new theory of dark matter based on axion physics and cosmological phase transitions. We show that theories in which a gauge coupling increases through a first-order phase transition naturally result in `axion relic pockets': regions of relic false vacua stabilised by the pressure from a kinematically trapped, hot axion gas. Axion relic pockets provide a viable and highly economical theory of dark matter: the macroscopic properties of the pockets depend only on a single parameter (the phase transition temperature). We describe the formation, evolution and present-day properties of axion relic pockets, and outline how their phenomenology is distinct from existing dark matter paradigms. We briefly discuss how laboratory experiments and astronomical observations can be used to test the theory, and identify gamma-ray observations of magnetised, dark-matter-dense environments as particularly promising. |
| title | Axion Relic Pockets -- a theory of dark matter |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.01676 |