arXiv subjects

Jean Kimus

Publications and source records attributed to Jean Kimus.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Asymmetric Reheating of Dark QED

We study in detail a scenario in which the inflaton scalar field couples to both a visible sector (VS) and a hidden sector (HS). The VS is assumed to contain the Standard Model (SM), while the HS contains a dark matter (DM) candidate. We are in particular interested in a scenario in which the inflaton decays dominantly into the HS degrees of freedom. The DM candidate is taken to be a dark Dirac fermion $\chi$, coupled to a massive dark photon $\gamma'$, a popular model for a HS also known as Dark QED. The inflaton decays into particles of both sectors generate an initial asymmetry between the SM and HS fermion abundances, which we model as being proportional to the ratio of effective Yukawa couplings, $y$ and $y'$. We pay particular attention to the process of thermalisation of the HS, with temperature $T'$, as a function of $y'$ and $\alpha'$, the HS fine structure constant. We investigate the several possible ways of producing the observed DM relic abundance, and their interplay with the reheating of the HS and the transfer of energy between the HS and the VS. Key results, beyond the systematic character of our analysis, include: a new mechanism for DM production, which occurs when DM particles annihilate while still being produced by the inflaton decay; a study of the temperature ratio $\xi = T'/T$ and its relation with the initial energy asymmetry between the HS and VS, as parameterized by $\xi_i = \sqrt{y'/y}$; a reassessment of the domain of viable DM candidates, taking into account the constraints set by unitarity and the thermalisation of the HS, accounting for the LPM effect; and, in cases where the HS does not reach thermal equilibrium, an analysis of how non-thermal DM production fits within the domain of thermal DM candidates.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

On new physics off the Z peak in $H \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^- \gamma$

Motivated by a small but intriguing excess observed in the decay mode $ H\rightarrow \ell^+\ell^- \gamma$ reported by both the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, we explore the possibility that new physics contributes directly to the effective $ H \ell \overline{\ell} \gamma $ coupling rather than modifying the $ Z $ peak. Concretely, we consider a dimension-8 operator that could arise from new particles via box diagrams. Such non-resonant contribution may provide an alternative origin for current or future excesses. We examine how experimental cuts may distinguish between possible modifications of the $ Z $ peak and non-resonant contributions. The currently measured excess requires that the new physics scale is relatively low $( \Lambda_R \sim v $). However, we show that it may remain within current experimental bounds. In particular, we illustrate this using a simplified model, motivated by the dark matter problem, and discuss its other experimental constraints.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Light from darkness: history of a hot dark sector

We study a scenario in which the expansion of the Early Universe is driven by a hot hidden sector (HS) with an initial temperature $T'$ that is significantly higher than that of the visible sector (VS), $T' \gg T$. The latter is assumed to be made of Standard Model (SM) particles and our main focus is on the possibility that dark matter (DM) is part of the dominant HS and that its abundance is set by secluded freeze-out. In particular, we study the subsequent evolution and fate of the DM companion particle after freeze-out all the way toward reheating of the VS. To make this scenario more concrete, we work within dark QED, a framework in which the DM is a Dirac fermion and its companion, a massive dark photon; coupling between the SM and HS is through kinetic mixing. We provide a detailed and comprehensive numerical and analytical analysis of the different regimes of reheating of the VS. Extending and complementing the work of Coy et al on the``Domain of thermal dark matter candidates", we use our results to explore the viable parameter space of both the DM matter particle and its companion, here the dark photon. We show that current and future fixed target experiments can probe scenarios along which the expansion was driven by relativistic DM photons, a scenario dubbed relativistic reheating. We also set new bounds on the maximal temperature ratio $T'/T$ and argue for an extension of the domain toward very large DM masses, $m_{\rm dm} \sim 10^{11}$ GeV. These are possible assuming that DM annihilation is bounded by unitarity and that reheating of the VS occurs just before big bang nucleosynthesis. We also discuss some possible implications for (and constraints on) baryogenesis, including simple leptogenesis mechanisms, and how they may set additional constraints on the domain of DM candidates.

hep-ph↗