Non-Perturbative Modulus Decay and Multi-Component Dark Matter

Abstract

Non-thermal cosmological histories rest on the assumption that scalars displaced during inflation undergo coherent oscillations, dominate the energy density of the universe before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, and decay perturbatively through gravitationally suppressed interactions. In addition, usually a single dark matter component is assumed. This early matter-dominated era is the basis for the usual predictions of non-thermal WIMP production, axion dark matter, entropy generation, and dark radiation. This paper examines whether this picture is dynamically robust against non-perturbative decay of the modulus condensate. In this work, we study non-perturbative particle production from oscillating moduli using the effective field theory appropriate to $G_2$ compactifications. We find that non-perturbative production of Wino-like fermions is strongly suppressed in the relevant parameter regime. In contrast, a modulus-dependent axion kinetic term admits narrow instability bands with growth rates that can exceed the Hubble rate. A linear Floquet analysis alone, however, cannot determine whether these bands significantly deplete the modulus condensate, since cosmic expansion, backreaction, rescattering, and higher-order operators in the effective theory can become important. As a result, the conventional modulus-dominated cosmology remains robust against Wino and gauge-field preheating, while the axion channel provides a potentially important modification that requires nonlinear study. If sufficiently efficient, axion production can alter the division of dark matter between Winos and axions and enhance the dark-radiation abundance.