arXiv subjects

Amitayus Banik

Publications and source records attributed to Amitayus Banik.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Consistent Thermal Resummation and Phase Transitions with 2PI Methods

We apply the two-particle irreducible (2PI) formalism as a framework for a consistent thermal resummation in studies of cosmological phase transitions. Considering a model with two mixing real scalar fields, we work within the Hartree approximation and renormalize the 2PI effective action, while introducing a connection to physical parameters. This yields the Hartree-resummed finite-temperature effective potential, which is valid for all temperatures and avoids the limitations of conventional methods based on the high-temperature approximation. With this potential, we study one- and two-step transitions within the model, and compare our results with those obtained using resummation schemes widely employed in the literature. Finally, we evaluate the gravitational wave spectrum generated from first-order phase transitions, demonstrating the impact of the choice of resummation scheme on the predicted spectrum.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Boson Stars Hosting Black Holes

We study a self-gravitating ultralight dark matter condensate (a boson star) hosting a central black hole, in the nonrelativistic limit, which we refer to as a boson star black hole (BS-BH) system. We numerically solve the equations of hydrostatic equilibrium, consistently incorporating the gravitational potential of the black hole, to obtain all possible configurations of this BS-BH system for different boson star masses, interaction types, and black hole masses. We also propose an analytic expression for the density profile and compare it with the numerical results, finding good agreement for attractive interactions and for a finite range of mass ratios between the black hole and boson star. Finally, considering the inspiral of this BS-BH system with a second, smaller black hole, we study the dephasing of gravitational waves due to the presence of the dark matter environment. A Fisher matrix analysis reveals the regions of parameter space of the dark matter mass and self-coupling that future gravitational wave observatories such as LISA can probe.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Primordial Gravitational Waves from Phase Transitions during Reheating

We study primordial gravitational waves (GWs) generated from first-order phase transitions (PTs) during cosmic reheating. Using a minimal particle physics model, and a general parametrization of the inflaton energy density and the evolution of the Standard Model temperature, we explore the conditions under which PTs occur and determine the corresponding PT parameters (the PT temperature, duration and strength), which depend on the evolution of the background during reheating. We find that, in certain cosmological scenarios, PTs can be delayed and prolonged compared to the standard post-inflationary evolution. Incorporating these PT parameters, we compute the resulting GW spectrum generated from the various processes occurring during a first-order PT. We find that, in comparison to the standard cosmological history, the GW amplitude and peak frequency can be modified by several orders of magnitude due to the cosmological evolution during reheating. In particular, the GW spectra could be within the reach of next-generation GW observatories.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Echoes of Self-Interacting Dark Matter from Binary Black Hole Mergers

Dark matter (DM) environments around black holes (BHs) can influence their mergers through dynamical friction, causing gravitational wave (GW) dephasing during the inspiral phase. While this effect is well studied for collisionless dark matter (CDM), it remains unexplored for self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) due to the typically low DM density in SIDM halo cores. In this work, by considering BH mergers within SIDM spikes, which can arise from models with a massive force mediator, we show that the GWs emitted are dephased in a distinct manner. To incorporate the feedback of the BH orbital motion that can significantly modify the DM profiles, we use $N$-body simulations to analyze GW dephasing in binary BH inspirals within CDM and SIDM spikes. By tracking the binary's motion in different DM environments, we show that the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) can observe GW dephasing arising from SIDM spikes in particular scenarios. Our results indicate that these observations offer a possibility of distinguishing between binary-BH inspirals in different DM environments.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

The Sound of Dark Sectors in Pulsar Timing Arrays

A phase transition in the dark sector (DS) presents a promising explanation for the stochastic gravitational wave (GW) signals detected in recent observations by Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs). Instead of focusing solely on fitting data with phenomenological parameters, we systematically delineate simple, underlying dark sector (DS) models at the microscopic, Lagrangian level and uncover the conditions required to yield the GW spectrum observed by PTAs. We also illustrate the possibilities of the DS cosmology, which may include a dark matter candidate with a $\mathcal{O}$(MeV) mass.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Non-thermal WIMP Production from Higher Order Moduli Decay

In a non-standard cosmological scenario, heavy, long-lived particles, which we call moduli, dominate the energy density prior to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) may be produced non-thermally from moduli decays. The final relic abundance then depends on additional parameters such as the branching ratio of moduli to WIMPs and the modulus mass. This is of interest for WIMP candidates, such as a bino-like neutralino, where thermal production in standard cosmology leads to an overdensity. Previous works have shown that the correct dark matter (DM) relic density can then still be obtained if the moduli, with mass less than $10^{7}$ GeV, decay to WIMPs with a branching ratio of less than $10^{-4}$. This upper bound could easily be violated once higher order corrections, involving final states with more than two particles, are included. We compute the branching ratios of three- and four-body decays of a modulus into final states involving two DM particles for general couplings. We then apply these expressions to sparticle production within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with neutralino DM. We find that this upper bound on the branching ratio can be satisfied in simplified models through an appropriate choice of as yet undetermined couplings. However, in the MSSM, it requires sparticle masses to be very close to half the modulus mass, in contrast to the idea of weak-scale supersymmetry.

hep-ph↗