Dark matter dynamics in the early universe
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2012.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72934 |
| _version_ | 1826205832130330624 |
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| author | Fei, Lin, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| author2 | Jesse Thaler. |
| author_facet | Jesse Thaler. Fei, Lin, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| author_sort | Fei, Lin, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2012. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:19:48Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/72934 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:19:48Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/729342019-04-10T08:06:44Z Dark matter dynamics in the early universe Fei, Lin, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jesse Thaler. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Physics. Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2012. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39). We study a new form of dark matter interaction which may significantly affect the thermal relic abundance of dark matter. This new interaction takes the form C+D --> C+[phi], where D is the dark matter species present today, [phi] is a standard model species, and C is a very heavy exotic particle. In particular, C was present during the period when freeze-out occurred for dark matter species D, but subsequently decayed into standard model particles. We refer to this process as a catalytic reaction, since C acts as a catalyst for the destruction of D. We further postulate that there is a matter-antimatter asymmetry in C, so that C+C --> D+[phi] is suppressed. We find that the catalytic reaction produces very different dynamics than the standard annihilation reaction. We also find that the catalytic reaction can significantly affect the relic abundance of dark matter even if it has a much smaller cross section than the annihilation reaction. Possible physical origins for this catalytic reaction are discussed. by Fei Lin. S.B. 2012-09-13T19:36:42Z 2012-09-13T19:36:42Z 2012 2012 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72934 807231772 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 39 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Physics. Fei, Lin, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| title | Dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| title_full | Dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| title_fullStr | Dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| title_short | Dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| title_sort | dark matter dynamics in the early universe |
| topic | Physics. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72934 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT feilinsbmassachusettsinstituteoftechnology darkmatterdynamicsintheearlyuniverse |