Search

We study the cogenesis of baryon and dark matter (DM) in an extended reheating period after the end of slow-roll inflation. Within the regime of perturbative reheating, we consider different monomial potential of the inflaton field during reheating era. The inflaton condensate reheats the Universe by decaying into the Standard Model (SM) bath either via fermionic or bosonic decay modes. Assuming the leptogenesis route to baryogenesis in a canonical seesaw framework, we consider the bath to produce such RHNs during the period of reheating when the maximum temperature $T_{\rm max}$ of the SM bath is well above the reheating temperature $T_{\rm rh}$. The DM, assumed to be a SM gauge singlet field, also gets produced from the bath during the reheating period via UV freeze-in. In addition to obtaining different parameter space for such non-thermal leptogenesis and DM for both bosonic and fermionic reheating modes and the type of monomial potential, we discuss the possibility of probing such scenarios via spectral shape of primordial gravitational waves., Comment: 25 pages, 2 tables and 6 figures

We study the possibility of producing the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) and dark matter (DM) from evaporating primordial black holes (PBH) beyond the semi-classical regime incorporating the impact of memory burden. In the simplest scenario of baryogenesis via vanilla leptogenesis with hierarchical right handed neutrino (RHN), it is possible to generate the observed BAU with memory-burdened PBH being sole contributor to the production of RHN. While it is not possible to achieve cogenesis in this minimal setup due to structure formation constraints on relic allowed DM parameter space, we show the viability of successful cogenesis in the resonant leptogenesis regime. We also show that successful cogenesis can be achieved in a simple baryogenesis model without taking the leptogenesis route. Due to the possibility of generating asymmetry even below the sphaleron decoupling era, the direct baryogenesis route opens up new parameter space of memory-burdened PBH. The two scenarios of successful cogenesis can also be distinguished by observations of stochastic gravitational waves produced from PBH density fluctuations., Comment: 26 pages, 9 captioned figures

Dark matter (DM), in spite of being stable or long-lived on cosmological scales, can decay in the early Universe due to finite-temperature effects. In particular, a first order phase transition (FOPT) in the early Universe can provide a finite window for such decay, guaranteeing DM stability at lower temperatures, consistent with observations. The FOPT can lead to the generation of stochastic gravitational waves (GW) with peak frequencies correlated with DM mass. On the other hand, early DM decay into neutrinos can create a large neutrino asymmetry which can have interesting cosmological consequences in terms of enhanced effective relativistic degrees of freedom $N_{\rm eff}$, providing a solution to the recently observed Helium anomaly among others. Allowing DM decay to occur below sphaleron decoupling temperature, thereby avoiding overproduction of baryon asymmetry, forces the FOPT to occur at sub-electroweak scale. This leaves the stochastic GW within range of experiments like LISA, $\mu$ARES, NANOGrav etc., Comment: 30 pages, 6 captioned figures

We study the discovery prospects of leptophilic dark matter (DM) in future lepton colliders by considering the light neutrinos to be of Dirac type. Adopting an effective field theory (EFT) approach, we write down dimension six operators connecting the standard model (SM) fields, light Dirac neutrinos and DM. Considering DM relic to be generated via the thermal freeze-out, we check the discovery prospects at future lepton colliders via mono-photon plus missing energy searches. The right chiral parts of light Dirac neutrinos get thermalised due to their interactions with the bath as well as leptophilic DM, leading to enhanced effective relativistic degrees of freedom $N_{\rm eff}$ within reach of future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. The interplay of existing bounds from cosmological observations related to DM relic and $N_{\rm eff}$, direct and indirect detection of DM, astrophysics and collider observations leave promising discovery prospects at future electron and muon colliders along with complementary signatures at future CMB experiments., Comment: 31 pages, 16 figures, 5 tables

We propose a new realisation of light Dirac neutrino mass and dark matter (DM) within the framework of a non-Abelian discrete flavour symmetry based on $A_4$ group. In addition to $A_4$, we also consider a $Z_2$ and an unbroken global lepton number symmetry $U(1)_L$ to keep unwanted terms away while guaranteeing the Dirac nature of light neutrinos. The field content, their transformations and flavon vacuum alignments are chosen in such a way that the type-I Dirac seesaw generates only one light Dirac neutrino mass while the other two masses arise from scotogenic contributions at one-loop. This leads to the Dirac scoto-seesaw framework, a generalisation of the widely studied scoto-seesaw model to Dirac neutrinos. The symmetry breaking of $A_4$ leaves a remnant $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetry responsible for stabilising DM. Dirac nature of light neutrinos introduces additional relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ within reach of cosmic microwave background experiments., Comment: version 2: Added references, corrected typos and improved discussions; 36 pages, 11 captioned figures

We study the possibility of testing a dark matter (DM) scenario embedded in a global lepton number symmetry $U(1)_L$ via gravitational waves (GW) and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. The spontaneous breaking of $U(1)_L$ symmetry generates the seesaw scale as well as DM mass dynamically. The (pseudo) Nambu-Goldstone boson, known as majoron, acquires non-zero mass due to soft symmetry breaking terms of quadratic type in the scalar potential, which eventually breaks $U(1)_L$ to its $Z_2$ subgroup. The spontaneous symmetry breaking, which effectively breaks $Z_2$, leads to the formation of domain walls (DW), posing a threat to successful cosmology, if allowed to dominate. As gravity does not respect any global symmetries, we consider higher dimensional operators suppressed by the scale of quantum gravity (QG) namely, $\Lambda_{\rm QG}$ which introduces the required bias leading to DW annihilation and emission of stochastic gravitational waves (GW) observable at near future experiments. The same operators also lead to decay of DM bringing interesting indirect detection aspects. While DM is produced non-thermally via scalar portal interactions, light majoron can give rise to additional $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ within reach of future CMB experiments., Comment: 36 pages, 9 captioned figures, Matches version accepted in PRD

Amaterasu, the second most energetic ($244$ EeV) cosmic ray particle has been recently detected by the Telescope Array (TA) surface detector. The origin of the TA Amaterasu event is puzzling, as its arrival direction points back to a void in the local Universe, lacking conventional astrophysical ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic ray (CR) sources. Hence, we explore the possibility if this TA Amaterasu event could have originated from the decay of superheavy dark matter (SHDM) in the Milky Way. Such an origin also opens up multi-messenger detection channels in both UHE gamma-rays and UHE neutrinos. In this present work, using the TA Amaterasu event and the multi-messenger limits/sensitivities from various UHE telescopes, we place stringent constraints on the lifetime and mass of the SHDM. We find that the non-detection of the corresponding gamma-rays at the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and the TA is in severe tension with the SHDM parameter space required to explain the TA Amaterasu event. Additionally, we extend the multi-messenger analysis to the future UHE gamma-ray and UHE neutrino telescopes such as PAO upgrade, GRAND 200k and IceCube-Gen2. We find that the bounds from the future neutrino telescopes will be able to compete with the present UHECR bounds. However, compared to the existing UHE gamma-ray bounds, the future PAO upgrade and the GRAND 200k gamma-ray detectors will improve the bounds on SHDM lifetime by at least one order of magnitude., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Light dark matter (DM) with mass around the GeV scale faces weaker bounds from direct detection experiments. If DM couples strongly to a light mediator, it is possible to have observable direct detection rate. However, this also leads to a thermally under-abundant DM relic due to efficient annihilation into light mediators. We propose a novel scenario where a first-order phase transition (FOPT) occurring at MeV scale can restore GeV scale DM relic by changing the mediator mass sharply at the nucleation temperature. The MeV scale FOPT predicts stochastic gravitational waves with nano-Hz frequencies within reach of pulsar timing array (PTA) based experiments like NANOGrav. In addition to enhancing direct detection rate, the light mediator can also give rise to the required DM self-interactions necessary to solve the small scale structure issues of cold dark matter. The existence of light scalar mediator and its mixing with the Higgs keep the scenario verifiable at different particle physics experiments., Comment: 23 pages, 9 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in JCAP

We study the possibility of generating dark matter (DM) and baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) simultaneously in an asymmetric DM framework, which also alleviates the small-scale structure issues of cold DM. While the thermal relic of such self-interacting DM remains under-abundant due to efficient annihilation into light mediators, a nonzero asymmetry in the dark sector can lead to the survival of the required DM in the Universe. The existence of a light mediator leads to the required self-interactions of DM at small scales while keeping DM properties similar to cold DM at large scales. It also ensures that the symmetric DM component annihilates away, leaving the asymmetric part in the spirit of cogenesis. The particle physics implementation is done in canonical seesaw models of light neutrino mass, connecting it to the origin of DM and BAU. In particular, we consider type-I and type-III seesaw origin of neutrino mass for simplicity and minimality of the field content. We show that the desired self-interactions and relic of DM together with BAU while satisfying relevant constraints lead to strict limits on DM mass $\mathcal{O}({\rm GeV}) \lesssim M_{\rm DM} \lesssim460 $ GeV. In spite of being a high-scale seesaw, the models remain verifiable in different experiments, including direct and indirect DM searches as well as colliders., Comment: 20 pages, 18 captioned figures, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

With entropy injection, an early matter-dominated epoch (EMD) impels the axion decay constant $f_a$ towards larger values to produce correct axion dark matter (DM) abundance, thereby unfolding the low-mass axion ($m_a\lesssim 10^{-5}$ eV) parameter space to be searched for in axion experiments. We implement this proposition in a scenario where $f_a$ and the leptogenesis scale in a seesaw mechanism are equivalent. We show, that if instead, the EMD is provided by evaporating ultralight primordial black holes (PBH), the scenario becomes strikingly testable with gravitational waves (GW) background alongside the axion searches. In particular, while being consistent with correct axion DM abundance, the scale $f_a\gtrsim 10^{12}$ GeV, corresponding to the unflavored regime of leptogenesis with hierarchical right-handed neutrinos, can be probed with GW and axion experiments, which is otherwise not testable at neutrino or collider experiments. Additionally, axions produced from PBH evaporation can give rise to dark radiation within reach of future cosmic microwave background experiments., Comment: 32 pages, 10 captioned figures, Matches version accepted in PRD

We study the possibility of generating dark matter (DM) purely from ultra-light primordial black hole (PBH) evaporation with the latter being produced from a first order phase transition (FOPT) in the early Universe. If such ultra-light PBH leads to an early matter domination, it can give rise to a doubly peaked gravitational wave (GW) spectrum in Hz-kHz ballpark with the low frequency peak generated from PBH density fluctuations being within near future experimental sensitivity. In the sub-dominant PBH regime, the FOPT generated GW spectrum comes within sensitivity due to absence of entropy dilution. In both the regimes, PBH mass from a few kg can be probed by GW experiments like BBO, ET, CE, UDECIGO etc. while DM mass gets restricted to the superheavy ballpark in the PBH dominance case. Apart from distinct DM mass ranges in the two scenarios, GW observations can differentiate by measuring their distinct spectral shapes., Comment: 31 pages, 6 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We propose a minimal scenario for light thermal dark matter (DM) in sub-GeV to GeV ballpark by incorporating a scalar singlet DM in a type-I seesaw scenario extended by an additional Higgs doublet $\phi_2$. The latter permits efficient annihilation of light scalar DM into leptonic final states including right-handed neutrinos (RHN). While DM annihilation into charged lepton final states is kept either suppressed or in a kinematically forbidden ballpark to avoid cosmic microwave background (CMB) bounds, the RHN, active neutrino final states remain safe from such bounds even if they are allowed kinematically. We discuss the interplay of forbidden and non-forbidden channels in generating light thermal DM relic while incorporating constraints from cosmology as well as laboratory experiments. The model can also explain the anomalous magnetic moment of muon, W-mass anomaly and saturate experimental bounds on charged lepton flavour violation and DM direct detection while offering tantalising detection prospects of the lightest RHN, the mass of which is kept in the same ballpark as DM., Comment: 39 pages, 18 figures

We propose a gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ version of the light Dirac neutrino portal dark matter. The $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry provides a UV completion by naturally accommodating three right handed neutrinos from anomaly cancellation requirements which, in combination with the left handed neutrinos, form the sub-eV Dirac neutrinos after electroweak symmetry breaking. The particle content and the gauge charges are chosen in such a way that light neutrinos remain purely Dirac and dark matter, a gauge singlet Dirac fermion, remain stable. We consider both thermal and non-thermal production possibilities of dark matter and correlate the corresponding parameter space with the one within reach of future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments sensitive to enhanced relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$. The interplay of dark matter, CMB, structure formation and other terrestrial constraints keep the scenario very predictive leading the $U(1)_{B-L}$ parameter space into tight corners., Comment: 34 pages, 12 captioned figures, Matches version accepted in PRD

We study a scotogenic extension of the minimal gauged $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$ model, including three right-handed singlet fermions and a scalar doublet all odd under an in-built $Z_2$ symmetry to explain the anomalous magnetic moments of the muon, CDF-II W-mass anomaly, and the 95 GeV excess reported by the CMS collaboration. While the minimal model can successfully explain the muon $(g-2)$ and CDF-II W-mass anomalies, the required diphoton signal strength for the 95 GeV scalar, together with that of the SM Higgs, can not be obtained in the minimal model. The same can, however, be explained by incorporating one additional scalar doublet whose only role is to contribute radiatively to diphoton decay modes of the light, neutral scalars. Due to the scotogenic extension, the model remains consistent with the observed properties of light neutrinos and dark matter in the Universe., Comment: 14 pages, 8 captioned figures, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study the possibility of generating light Dirac neutrino mass via scotogenic mechanism where singlet-doublet fermion dark matter (DM) plays non-trivial role in generating one-loop neutrino mass, anomalous magnetic moment of muon $(g-2)_\mu$ as well as additional relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta{N_{\rm eff}}$ within reach of cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. We show that the Dirac nature of neutrinos can bring interesting correlations within the parameter space satisfying the $\left(g-2\right)_\mu$ anomaly and DM relic density and the effective relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta{N_{\rm eff}}$. While we stick to thermal singlet doublet DM with promising detection prospects, both thermal and non-thermal origin of $\Delta{N_{\rm eff}}$ have been explored. In addition to detection prospects at DM, $(g-2)$ and other particle physics experiments, the model remains verifiable at future CMB experiments like CMB-S4, SPT-3G., Comment: 30 pages, 14 captioned figures, Version accepted for publication in JHEP

In this work, we explore the intriguing possibility of connecting self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) with the recently observed exceptionally bright and long-duration Gamma Ray Burst (GRB221009A). The proposed minimal scenario involves a light scalar mediator, simultaneously enabling dark matter (DM) self-interaction and explaining the observed very high energy (VHE) photons from GRB221009A reported by LHAASO's data. The scalar's mixing with the standard model (SM) Higgs boson allows for its production at the GRB site, which will then propagate escaping attenuation by the extra-galactic background light (EBL). These scalars, if highly boosted, have the potential to explain LHAASO's data. Moreover, the same mixing also facilitates DM-nucleon or DM-electron scatterings at terrestrial detectors, linking SIDM phenomenology to the GRB221009A events. This manuscript presents the parameter space meeting all constraints and offers an exciting opportunity to explore SIDM in future direct search experiments using insights from the GRB observation., Comment: 8 pages, 6 captioned figures, this version is accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

Motivated by the recent release of new results from five different pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments claiming to have found compelling evidence for primordial gravitational waves (GW) at nano-Hz frequencies, we consider the prospects of generating such a signal from inflationary blue-tilted tensor power spectrum in a specific dark matter (DM) scenario dubbed as $\textit{Miracle-less WIMP}$. While $\textit{Miracle-less WIMP}$, due to insufficient interaction rate with the Standard Model (SM) bath gets thermally overproduced, inflationary blue-tilted gravitational waves (BGW) in compliance with PTA data, conflict cosmological observations if reheat temperature after inflation is sufficiently high. Both these issues are circumvented with late entropy dilution, bringing DM abundance within observational limits and creating a doubly-peaked feature in the BGW spectrum consistent with cosmological observations. The blue-tilted tail of the low-frequency peak can fit NANOGrav 15 yr data, while other parts of the spectrum are within reach of present and future GW experiments., Comment: 10 pages, 5 captioned figures, matches version accepted in JCAP

Motivated by the recent release of new results from five different pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments claiming to have found compelling evidence for primordial gravitational waves (GW) at nano-Hz frequencies, we study the consequences for two popular beyond the Standard Model (SM) frameworks, where such nano-Hz GW can arise due to annihilating domain walls (DW). Minimal framework of Dirac leptogenesis, as well as left-right symmetric model (LRSM) can lead to formation of DW due to spontaneous breaking of $Z_2$ symmetry. Considering the NANOGrav 15 yr data, we show that the scale of Dirac leptogenesis should be above $10^7$ GeV for conservative choices of Dirac Yukawa couplings with fine-tuning at the level of the SM. The scale of {\it minimal} LRSM is found to be more constrained $M_{\rm LR} \sim 10^6$ GeV in order to fit the NANOGrav 15 yr data. On the other hand, the {\it non-minimal} LRSM can be compatible with the NANOGrav data for $10^2 \, {\rm TeV} \lesssim M_{\rm LR} \lesssim 10^3$ TeV but with the corresponding $B-L$ breaking scale violating collider bounds., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, version accepted in JCAP

We propose a novel framework where baryon asymmetry of the universe can arise due to forbidden decay of dark matter (DM) enabled by finite-temperature effects in the vicinity of a first order phase transition (FOPT). In order to implement this novel cogenesis mechanism, we consider the extension of the standard model by one scalar doublet $\eta$, three right handed neutrinos (RHN), all odd under an unbroken $Z_2$ symmetry, popularly referred to as the scotogenic model of radiative neutrino mass. While the lightest RHN $N_1$ is the DM candidate and stable at zero temperature, there arises a temperature window prior to the nucleation temperature of the FOPT assisted by $\eta$, where $N_1$ can decay into $\eta$ and leptons generating a non-zero lepton asymmetry which gets converted into baryon asymmetry subsequently by sphalerons. The requirement of successful cogenesis together with a first order electroweak phase transition not only keep the mass spectrum of new particles in sub-TeV ballpark within reach of collider experiments but also leads to observable stochastic gravitational wave spectrum which can be discovered in planned experiments like LISA., Comment: 6+3 pages, 2 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D (Letter)

We propose a minimal setup that realises dynamical inflection point inflation, and, using the same field content, generates neutrino masses, a baryon asymmetry of the universe, and dark matter. A dark $SU(2)_D$ gauge sector with a dark scalar doublet playing the role of inflaton is considered along with several doublet and singlet fermions sufficient to realise multiple inflection points in the inflaton potential. The singlet fermions couple to SM leptons and generate neutrino masses via the inverse seesaw mechanism. Those fermions also decay asymmetrically and out of equilibrium, generating a baryon asymmetry via leptogenesis. Some of the fermion doublets are dark matter, and they are produced via inflaton decay and freeze-in annihilation of the same fermions that generate the lepton asymmetry. Reheating, leptogenesis, and dark matter are all at the TeV scale., Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, Published version

We study the possibility of detecting dark radiation (DR) produced by a combination of interactions with the thermal bath and ultra-light primordial black hole (PBH) evaporation in the early universe. We show that the detection prospects via cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements of the effective relativistic degrees of freedom ${\rm \Delta N_{eff}}$ get enhanced in some part of the parameter space compared to the purely non-thermal case where DR is produced solely from PBH. On the other hand, for certain part of the parameter space, DR which initially decouples from the bath followed by its production from PBH evaporation, can re-enter the thermal bath leading to much tighter constraints on the PBH parameter space. We also discuss the complementary detection prospects via observation of stochastic gravitational wave (GW) sourced by PBH density perturbations. The complementary probes offered by CMB and GW observations keep the detection prospects of such light degrees of freedom very promising in spite of limited discovery prospects at particle physics experiments., Comment: 34 pages, 11 captioned figures, Matches version accepted in PRD

We propose a novel framework where baryon asymmetry can arise due to forbidden decay of dark matter (DM) enabled by finite temperature effects in the early universe. In order to implement it in a realistic setup, we consider the DM to be a singlet Dirac fermion which acquires a dark asymmetry from a scalar field $\Phi$ via Affleck-Dine mechanism. Due to finite-temperature effects, DM can decay in the early universe into leptons and a second Higgs doublet thereby transferring a part of the dark asymmetry into lepton asymmetry with the latter getting converted into baryon asymmetry subsequently via electroweak sphalerons. DM becomes stable below a critical temperature leading to a stable relic. While the scalar field $\Phi$ can play the role of inflaton with specific predictions for inflationary parameters, the setup also remains verifiable via astrophysical as well as laboratory based observations., Comment: 8 pages, 6 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study the effect of an ultra-light primordial black hole (PBH) dominated phase on the gravitational wave (GW) spectrum generated by a cosmic string (CS) network formed as a result of a high-scale $U(1)$ symmetry breaking. A PBH-dominated phase leads to tilts in the spectrum via entropy dilution and generates a new GW spectrum from PBH density fluctuations, detectable at ongoing and planned near-future GW detectors. The combined spectrum has a unique shape with a plateau, a sharp tilted peak over the plateau, and a characteristic fall-off, which can be distinguished from the one generated in the combination of CS and any other matter domination or new exotic physics. We discuss how ongoing and planned future experiments can probe such a unique spectrum for different values of $U(1)$ breaking scale and PBH parameters such as initial mass and energy fraction., Comment: 22 pages, 4 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study the possibility of constraining a scenario with high scale first order phase transition (FOPT) responsible for the cogenesis of baryon and dark matter using gravitational wave (GW) (non)-observations. While the FOPT at high scale is responsible for generating baryon asymmetry through leptogenesis and dark matter via the \textit{mass-gain} mechanism, the resulting GW spectrum falls within the ongoing LIGO-VIRGO experimental sensitivity. The dark matter is preferred to be in the non-thermal ballpark with sub-GeV masses and the criteria of successful dark matter relic rules out a large portion of the parameter space consistent with high scale FOPT and successful leptogenesis. Some part of the parameter space allowed from dark matter and leptogenesis criteria also gives rise to a large signal-to-noise ratio at ongoing experiments and hence can be disfavoured in a conservative way from the non-observation of such stochastic GW background. Future data from ongoing and planned experiments will offer a complementary and indirect probe of the remaining parameter space which is typically outside the reach of any direct experimental probe., Comment: 24 pages, 6 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

The dark sector is postulated to be invariant under an $SU(2)$ gauge symmetry, spontaneously broken by a Higgs quadruplet to a conserved residual $Z_3 \times Z_2$ symmetry. The resulting dark matter phenomenology is studied., Comment: 17 pages, 5 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

We propose a mechanism for cogenesis of baryon and dark matter (DM) in the universe via the Affleck-Dine (AD) route. An AD field which breaks the lepton number symmetry, leads to the generation of lepton asymmetry by virtue of its cosmic evolution, which then gets transferred into lepton and dark sectors. While the lepton asymmetry gets converted into baryon asymmetry via sphalerons, the dark sector asymmetry leads to the final DM abundance with the symmetric part being annihilated away due to resonantly enhanced annihilation, which we choose to be provided by a gauged $B-L$ portal. Stringent constraints from DM direct detection forces DM and $B-L$ gauge boson masses to be light, in the few GeV ballpark. While a large portion of the model parameter space is already ruled out, the remaining parameter space is within sensitivity of laboratory as well as cosmology based experiments. The AD field also plays the role of inflaton with the required dynamics by virtue of its non-minimal coupling to gravity, consistent with observations., Comment: Version 3: 18 pages, 3 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in JHEP

We propose a new way of probing non-thermal origin of baryon asymmetry of universe (BAU) and dark matter (DM) from evaporating primordial black holes (PBH) via stochastic gravitational waves (GW) emitted due to PBH density fluctuations. We adopt a baryogenesis setup where CP violating out-of-equilibrium decays of a coloured scalar, produced non-thermally at late epochs from PBH evaporation, lead to the generation of BAU. The same PBH evaporation is also responsible for non-thermal origin of superheavy DM. Unlike the case of baryogenesis {\it via leptogeneis} that necessarily corners the PBH mass to $\sim\mathcal{O}(1)$ g, here we can have PBH mass as large as $\sim\mathcal{O}(10^7)$ g due to the possibility of producing BAU directly below sphaleron decoupling temperature. Due to the larger allowed PBH mass we can also have observable GW with mHz-kHz frequencies originating from PBH density fluctuations keeping the model constrained and verifiable at ongoing as well as near future GW experiments like LIGO, BBO, DECIGO, CE, ET etc. Due to the presence of new coloured particles and baryon number violation, the model also has complementary detection prospects at laboratory experiments., Comment: 33 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, Version accepted for PRD

The Standard Model, extended with three right-handed (RH) neutrinos, is the simplest model that can explain light neutrino masses, the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, and dark matter (DM). Models in which RH neutrinos are light are generally easier to test in experiments. In this work, we show that, even if the RH neutrinos are super-heavy ($M_{i=1,2,3}>10^9$ GeV) -- close to the Grand Unification scale -- the model can be tested thanks to its distinct features on the stochastic Gravitational Wave (GW) background. We consider an early Universe filled with ultralight primordial black holes (PBH) that produce a super-heavy RH neutrino DM via Hawking radiation. The other pair of RH neutrinos generates the baryon asymmetry via thermal leptogenesis, much before the PBHs evaporate. GW interferometers can test this novel spectrum of masses thanks to the GWs induced by the PBH density fluctuations. In a more refined version, wherein a $U(1)$ gauge symmetry breaking dynamically generates the seesaw scale, the PBHs also cause observable spectral distortions on the GWs from the $U(1)$-breaking cosmic strings. Thence, a low-frequency GW feature related to DM genesis and detectable with a pulsar-timing array must correspond to a mid- or high-frequency GW signature related to baryogenesis at interferometer scales., Comment: 16 pages (one column), 5 figures, footnote-3 extended. Matches the JHEP version

Light dark matter (DM) in the GeV ballpark faces weaker constraint from direct detection experiments. If such DM also has sufficient self-interactions due to a light mediator, it can alleviate the small-scale problems of the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm while being consistent with the latter at large scales, as suggested by astrophysical observations. However, generating correct thermal relic for such light DM is challenging. While GeV scale CDM typically leads to thermal overproduction due to the absence of sufficient annihilation channels, self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) typically has under-abundant thermal relic due to its large annihilation rates into mediator particles. In this letter, we propose a minimal realisation of GeV scale SIDM with correct thermal relic, where one of the three singlet fermions, responsible for seesaw origin of light neutrino masses, assists in generating correct SIDM relic density via freeze-out. The setup thereby encompasses astrophysical as well as cosmological aspects of light DM while simultaneously providing a solution to the origin of light neutrino mass. Due to such connection to several frontiers, there exist exciting discovery prospects in terms of direct and indirect search of DM, laboratory and cosmology based dark photon signatures and effective light neutrino mass., Comment: 7 pages, 4 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D (Letter)

We study the possibility of probing the radiative Dirac seesaw model with dark sector particles going inside the loop, popularly referred to as the Dirac scotogenic model via measurements of effective relativistic degrees of freedom ${\rm \Delta{N_{eff}}}$ at cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. The loop suppression and additional free parameters involved in neutrino mass generation allow large ($\sim\mathcal{O}(1))$ coupling of light Dirac neutrinos with the dark sector particles. Such large Yukawa coupling not only dictates the relic abundance of heavy fermion singlet dark matter but also can lead to the thermalisation of the right chiral part of Dirac neutrinos, generating additional relativistic degrees of freedom ${\rm \Delta{N_{eff}}}$. We find that the parameter space consistent with dark matter phenomenology and neutrino mass bounds can also be probed at future cosmic microwave background experiments like CMB-S4 via precision measurements of ${\rm \Delta{N_{eff}}}$. The same parameter space, while leading to loop-suppressed direct detection cross-section of dark matter outside future sensitivities, can also have other interesting and complementary observational prospects via charged lepton flavour violation and collider signatures., Comment: 31 pages, 15 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in EPJC

We study the possibility of generating baryon asymmetry of the universe from dark matter (DM) annihilations during non-standard cosmological epochs. Considering the DM to be of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) type, the generation of baryon asymmetry via leptogenesis route is studied where WIMP DM annihilation produces a non-zero lepton asymmetry. Adopting a minimal particle physics model to realise this along with non-zero light neutrino masses, we consider three different types of non-standard cosmic history namely, (i) fast expanding universe, (ii) early matter domination and (iii) scalar-tensor theory of gravity. By solving the appropriate Boltzmann equations incorporating such non-standard history, we find that the allowed parameter space consistent with DM relic and observed baryon asymmetry gets enlarged with the possibility of lower DM mass in some scenarios. While such lighter DM can face further scrutiny at direct search experiments, the non-standard epochs offer complementary probes on their own., Comment: 50 pages, 21 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in JCAP

We propose a scenario where a high scale seesaw origin of light neutrino mass and gravitational dark matter (DM) in MeV-TeV ballpark originating from primordial black hole (PBH) evaporation can be simultaneously probed by future observations of stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background with multiple tilts or spectral breaks. A high scale breaking of an Abelian gauge symmetry ensures the dynamical origin of the seesaw scale while also leading to the formation of cosmic strings responsible for generating stochastic GW background. The requirement of a correct DM relic in this ballpark necessitates the inclusion of a diluter as PBH typically leads to DM overproduction. This leads to a second early matter dominated epoch after PBH evaporation due to the long-lived diluter. These two early matter dominated epochs, crucially connected to the DM relic, lead to multiple spectral breaks in the otherwise scale-invariant GW spectrum formed by cosmic strings. We find interesting correlations between DM mass and turning point frequencies of GW spectrum which are within reach of several near future experiments like LISA, BBO, ET, CE, etc., Comment: 37 pages, 6 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Nucl. Phys. B

We study a scenario where both dark matter and heavy right handed neutrino (RHN) responsible for leptogenesis acquire masses by crossing the relativistic bubble walls formed as a result of a TeV scale supercooled first order phase transition (FOPT). While this leads to a large out-of-equilibrium abundance of right handed neutrino inside the bubble sufficient to produce the required lepton asymmetry, the dark matter being lighter can still remain in equilibrium with its relic being set by subsequent thermal freeze-out. A classical conformal symmetry ensures the origin of mass via FOPT induced by a singlet scalar while also ensuring supercooling leading to enhanced gravitational wave amplitude within the sensitivity of the LISA experiment. A minimal scenario with three RHN, one inert scalar doublet and one singlet scalar as additional fields beyond the standard model is sufficient to realize this possibility which also favours inert RHN dark matter over inert scalar doublet., Comment: 32 pages, 8 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in JHEP

We study a class of leptogenesis scenarios with decay or scattering being the source of lepton asymmetry, which can not only give rise to the observed baryon asymmetry in the universe but also can leave behind a large remnant neutrino asymmetry. Such large neutrino asymmetry can not only be probed at future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments but is also motivating due to its possible role in solving the recently reported anomalies in $^4{\rm He}$ measurements. Additionally, such large neutrino asymmetry also offers the possibility of cogenesis if dark matter is in the form of a sterile neutrino resonantly produced in the early universe via Shi-Fuller mechanism. Considering $1 \rightarrow 2, 1 \rightarrow 3$ as well as $2 \rightarrow 2$ processes to be responsible for generating the asymmetries, we show that only TeV scale leptogenesis preferably of $1 \rightarrow N \, (N \geq 3)$ type can generate the required lepton asymmetry around sphaleron temperature while also generating a large neutrino asymmetry $\sim \mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$ by the epoch of the big bang nucleosynthesis. While such low scale leptogenesis can have tantalising detection prospects at laboratory experiments, the indication of a large neutrino asymmetry provides a complementary indirect signature., Comment: 11 pages, 6 captioned figures, matches version published in Phys. Rev. D

We study the possibility of probing the scale of left-right symmetry breaking in the context of left-right symmetric models (LRSM). In LRSM, the right handed fermions transform as doublets under a newly introduced $SU(2)_R$ gauge symmetry. This, along with a discrete parity symmetry $\mathcal{P}$ ensuring identical gauge couplings of left and right sectors make the model left-right symmetric, providing a dynamical origin of parity violation in electroweak interactions via spontaneous symmetry breaking. The spontaneous breaking of $\mathcal{P}$ leads to the formation of domain walls in the early universe. These walls, if made unstable by introducing an explicit parity breaking term, generate gravitational waves (GW) with a spectrum characterized by the wall tension or the spontaneous $\mathcal{P}$ breaking scale, and the explicit $\mathcal{P}$ breaking term. Considering explicit $\mathcal{P}$ breaking terms to originate from Planck suppressed operators provides one-to-one correspondence between the scale of left-right symmetry and sensitivities of near future GW experiments. This is not only complementary to collider and low energy probes of TeV scale LRSM but also to GW generated from first order phase transition in LRSM with different spectral shape, peak frequencies as well as symmetry breaking scales., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We propose a novel way of probing high scale Dirac leptogenesis, a viable alternative to canonical leptogenesis scenario where the total lepton number is conserved, keeping light standard model (SM) neutrinos purely Dirac. The simplest possible seesaw mechanism for generating light Dirac neutrinos involve heavy singlet Dirac fermions and a singlet scalar. In addition to unbroken global lepton number, a discrete $Z_2$ symmetry is imposed to forbid direct coupling between right and left chiral parts of light Dirac neutrino. Generating light Dirac neutrino mass requires the singlet scalar to acquire a vacuum expectation value (VEV) that also breaks the $Z_2$ symmetry, leading to formation of domain walls in the early universe. These walls, if made unstable by introducing a soft $Z_2$ breaking term, generate gravitational waves (GW) with a spectrum characterized by the wall tension or the singlet VEV, and the soft symmetry breaking scale. The scale of leptogenesis depends upon the $Z_2$-breaking singlet VEV which is also responsible for the tension of the domain wall, affecting the amplitude of GW produced from the collapsing walls. We find that most of the near future GW observatories will be able to probe Dirac leptogenesis scale all the way upto $10^{11}$ GeV., Comment: 7 pages, 4 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We propose a scenario where dark matter (DM) can be generated non-thermally due to the presence of a light Dirac neutrino portal between the standard model (SM) and dark sector particles. The SM is minimally extended by three right handed neutrinos ($\nu_R$), a Dirac fermion DM candidate ($\psi$) and a complex scalar ($\phi$), transforming non-trivially under an unbroken $\mathbb{Z}_4$ symmetry while being singlets under the SM gauge group. While DM and $\nu_R$ couplings are considered to be tiny in order to be in the non-thermal or freeze-in regime, $\phi$ can be produced either thermally or non-thermally depending upon the strength of its Higgs portal coupling. We consider both these possibilities and find out the resulting DM abundance via freeze-in mechanism to constrain the model parameters in the light of Planck 2018 data. Since the interactions producing DM also produces relativistic $\nu_R$, we check the enhanced contribution to the effective relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta {\rm N}_{\rm eff}$ in view of existing bounds as well as future sensitivities. We also check the stringent constraints on free-streaming length of such freeze-in DM from structure formation requirements. Such constraints can rule out DM mass all the way up to $\mathcal{O}(100 \, {\rm keV})$ keeping the $\Delta {\rm N}_{\rm eff} \leq \mathcal{O}(10^{-3})$, out of reach from near future experiments. Possible extensions of this minimal model can lead to observable $\Delta {\rm N}_{\rm eff}$ which can be probed at next generation experiments., Comment: 48 pages, 10 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

Dark matter is postulated to transform under the non-Abelian $SU(2)_D$ gauge symmetry. Its connection to Dirac neutrino masses is explored., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures

We propose a scenario where dark matter (DM) with a wide mass range from a few keV to PeV can be produced solely from evaporating primordial black holes (PBH), while being consistent with the required free streaming length for structure formation. If DM does not have any other interactions apart from gravity and the universe has a PBH dominated phase at early epoch, then PBH evaporation typically leads to overproduction of DM in this mass range. By incorporating this gravitational DM within a Type-I seesaw scenario with three right handed neutrinos (RHN), we bring the abundance of PBH generated DM within observed limits by late entropy injection due to decay of one of the RHNs, acting as the diluter. The diluter, due to its feeble coupling with the bath particles, gets produced primarily from the PBH evaporation thereby leading to the second stage of early matter domination after the end of PBH dominated era. The other two RHNs contribute to the origin of light neutrino mass and also lead to the observed baryon asymmetry via leptogenesis with contributions from both thermally and PBH generated RHNs. The criteria of DM relic and baryon asymmetry can be satisfied simultaneously if DM mass gets restricted to a ballpark in the MeV-GeV regime with the requirement of resonant leptogenesis for heavier DM mass in order to survive the large entropy dilution at late epochs., Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in JCAP

Motivated by the recently reported anomaly in W boson mass by the CDF collaboration with $7\sigma$ statistical significance, we consider a singlet-doublet (SD) Majorana fermion dark matter (DM) model where the required correction to W boson mass arises from radiative corrections induced by SD fermions. While a single generation of SD fermions, odd under an unbroken $Z_2$ symmetry, can not explain the W boson mass anomaly while being consistent with DM phenomenology, two generations of SD fermions can do so with the heavier generation playing the dominant role in W-mass correction and lighter generation playing the role in DM phenomenology. Additionally, such multiple generations of SD fermions can also generate light neutrino masses radiatively if a $Z_2$-odd singlet scalar is included., Comment: Version 3: 8 pages, 5 captioned figures; matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

We propose a type II seesaw model for light Dirac neutrinos to provide an explanation for the recently reported anomaly in W boson mass by the CDF collaboration with $7\sigma$ statistical significance. In the minimal model, the required enhancement in W boson mass is obtained at tree level due to the vacuum expectation value of a real scalar triplet, which also plays a role in generating light Dirac neutrino mass. Depending upon the couplings and masses of newly introduced particles, we can have thermally or non-thermally generated relativistic degrees of freedom $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ in the form of right handed neutrinos which can be observed at future cosmology experiments. Extending the model to a radiative Dirac seesaw scenario can also accommodate dark matter and lepton anomalous magnetic moment., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

We propose a novel probe of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter (DM) candidates of a wide mass range which fall short of the required annihilation rates to satisfy correct thermal relic abundance, dubbed as \textit{Miracle-less WIMP}. If the DM interactions are mediated by an Abelian gauge boson like B-L, its annihilation rates typically remain smaller than the WIMP ballpark for very high scale B-L symmetry breaking, leading to overproduction. The thermally overproduced relic is brought within observed limits via late entropy dilution from one of the three right handed neutrinos (RHN) present for keeping the model anomaly free and generating light neutrino masses. Such late entropy injection leads to peculiar spectral shapes of gravitational waves (GW) generated by cosmic strings, formed as a result of B-L symmetry breaking. We find interesting correlation between DM mass and turning frequency of the GW spectrum with the latter being within reach of future experiments. The two other RHNs play major role in generating light neutrino masses and baryon asymmetry of the universe via leptogenesis. Successful leptogenesis with Miracle-less WIMP together restrict the turning frequencies to lie within the sensitivity limits of near future GW experiments., Comment: 7 pages, 4 captioned figures, published in Phys. Rev. D (Letter)