Freeze-in sterile neutrino dark matter in a feebly gauged B − L model

Abstract We consider the gauged U(1) B−L model and examine the situation where the sterile neutrino is a dark matter candidate produced by the freeze-in mechanism. In our model, the dark matter N is mainly produced by the decay of a U(1) B−L breaking scalar boson ϕ. We point out that the on-shell pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Osamu Seto, Takashi Shimomura, Yoshiki Uchida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2025)147
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Summary:Abstract We consider the gauged U(1) B−L model and examine the situation where the sterile neutrino is a dark matter candidate produced by the freeze-in mechanism. In our model, the dark matter N is mainly produced by the decay of a U(1) B−L breaking scalar boson ϕ. We point out that the on-shell production of ϕ through annihilation of the U(1) B−L gauge boson Z ′ plays an important role. We find that the single production of Z ′ from the gluon bath in the early Universe can become the main production modes for Z ′ in some parameter regions. To prevent N from being overproduced, we show that the U(1) B−L gauge coupling constant g B−L must be as small as 10−16–10−10. We also consider the case where the decay of ϕ into N is kinematically forbidden. In this case, N is generated by the scattering of Z ′ and the g B−L takes values of 10−10–10−6, which can be explored in collider experiments like FASER and SHiP.
ISSN:1029-8479