Non-thermal dark matter, high energy cosmic rays and late-decaying particles from inflationary quantum fluctuations

McDonald, John (2001) Non-thermal dark matter, high energy cosmic rays and late-decaying particles from inflationary quantum fluctuations. Physics Letters B, 511 (1). pp. 1-10. ISSN 0370-2693

Abstract

It has been suggested that the origin of cosmic rays above the GZK limit might be explained by the decay of particles, X, with mass of the order of 1012 GeV. Generation of heavy particles from inflationary quantum fluctuations is a prime candidate for the origin of the decaying X particles. It has also been suggested that the problem of non-singular galactic halos might be explained if dark matter originates non-thermally from the decay of particles, Y, such that there is a free-streaming length of the order of 0.1 Mpc. Here we explore the possibility that quantum fluctuations might account for the Y particles as well as the X particles. For the case of non-thermal WIMP dark matter with unsuppressed weak interactions we find that there is a general problem with deuterium photo-dissociation, disfavouring WIMP dark matter candidates. For the case of more general dark matter particles, which may have little or no interaction with conventional matter, we discuss the conditions under which X and Y scalars or fermions can account for non-thermal dark matter and cosmic rays. For the case where X and Y scalars are simultaneously produced, we show that galactic halos are likely to have a dynamically significant component of X scalar cold dark matter in addition to the dominant non-thermal dark matter component.