Misalignment & Co.: (pseudo-)scalar and vector dark matter with curvature couplings

Motivated by their potential role as dark matter, we study the cosmological evolution of light scalar and vector fields non-minimally coupled to gravity. Our focus is on a situation where the dominant contribution to the energy density arises from the misalignment mechanism. In addition, we also dis...

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Hauptverfasser: Alonso Álvarez, Gonzalo (VerfasserIn) , Hugle, Thomas (VerfasserIn) , Jaeckel, Joerg (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 13 February 2020
In: Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics
Year: 2020, Heft: 2
ISSN:1475-7516
DOI:10.1088/1475-7516/2020/02/014
Online-Zugang:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2020/02/014
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Verfasserangaben:Gonzalo Alonso-Alvarez, Thomas Hugle, Joerg Jaeckel
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Motivated by their potential role as dark matter, we study the cosmological evolution of light scalar and vector fields non-minimally coupled to gravity. Our focus is on a situation where the dominant contribution to the energy density arises from the misalignment mechanism. In addition, we also discuss the possibility that dark matter is generated in a stochastic scenario or from infationary fluctuations. Even small deviations in the non-minimal couplings from the standard scenarios lead to significant qualitative and quantitative changes. This is due to the curvature-coupling driven superhorizon evolution of the homogeneous field and the non-zero momentum modes during inflation. Both the relic density yield and the large-scale density fluctuations are affected. For the misalignment mechanism, this results in a weakening of the isocurvature constraints and opens up new viable regions of parameter space.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 03.06.2020
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1475-7516
DOI:10.1088/1475-7516/2020/02/014