Speaker
Torsten Bringmann
(University of Oslo)
Description
We recently proposed a novel thermal production mechanism for dark matter based on the idea that dark matter particles $\chi$ can transform (`infect') heat bath particles $\psi$: $\chi \psi \rightarrow \chi \chi$. For a small initial abundance of $\chi$ this induces an exponential growth in the dark matter number density, closely resembling the epidemic curves of a spreading pathogen after an initial outbreak. In this talk, I will explain the main idea behind pandemic dark matter, focussing on the observation that it is indeed a rather natural extension to the more commonly studied freeze-in and freeze-out production mechanisms of dark matter.
Primary author
Torsten Bringmann
(University of Oslo)
