Cosmological production of dark matter in the Universe and in the laboratory

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Auteur principal: Parra-López, Álvaro
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Parra-López, Álvaro
author_facet Parra-López, Álvaro
contents This thesis investigates cosmological particle production within Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetimes, both as a dark matter mechanism and through analog simulations using Bose-Einstein condensates. While a full theory of Quantum Gravity remains elusive, studying quantum fields on curved backgrounds provides essential insights into the early Universe. We focus on how dynamical spacetimes, particularly during inflation, generate particles from spectator fields influenced solely by geometry. The work is divided into four parts. Part I establishes the theoretical framework, covering cosmology, inflation, and the principles of analog gravity. Part II analyzes particle production in various inflationary models, showing that scalar and vector fields can account for observed dark matter abundance, especially through tachyonic instabilities. Part III explores BEC experiments, mapping phonons to scalar fields in expanding universes. We demonstrate the reconstruction of expansion histories, reinterpret production as a scattering problem, and propose methods to measure entanglement between produced pairs. Finally, Part IV addresses quantum vacuum ambiguities and the impact of non-adiabatic transitions during the "switch-on" and "switch-off" of expansion. Ultimately, this work highlights the viability of cosmological particle production for dark matter and the power of analog experiments to enhance our understanding of quantum effects in curved spacetimes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_10331
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cosmological production of dark matter in the Universe and in the laboratory
Parra-López, Álvaro
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Quantum Gases
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
This thesis investigates cosmological particle production within Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetimes, both as a dark matter mechanism and through analog simulations using Bose-Einstein condensates. While a full theory of Quantum Gravity remains elusive, studying quantum fields on curved backgrounds provides essential insights into the early Universe. We focus on how dynamical spacetimes, particularly during inflation, generate particles from spectator fields influenced solely by geometry. The work is divided into four parts. Part I establishes the theoretical framework, covering cosmology, inflation, and the principles of analog gravity. Part II analyzes particle production in various inflationary models, showing that scalar and vector fields can account for observed dark matter abundance, especially through tachyonic instabilities. Part III explores BEC experiments, mapping phonons to scalar fields in expanding universes. We demonstrate the reconstruction of expansion histories, reinterpret production as a scattering problem, and propose methods to measure entanglement between produced pairs. Finally, Part IV addresses quantum vacuum ambiguities and the impact of non-adiabatic transitions during the "switch-on" and "switch-off" of expansion. Ultimately, this work highlights the viability of cosmological particle production for dark matter and the power of analog experiments to enhance our understanding of quantum effects in curved spacetimes.
title Cosmological production of dark matter in the Universe and in the laboratory
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Quantum Gases
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.10331