title: Codecaying Dark Matter.
abstract: We propose a new mechanism for thermal dark matter freeze-out, called codecaying dark matter. Multicomponent dark sectors with degenerate particles and out-of-equilibrium decays can codecay to obtain the observed relic density. The dark matter density is exponentially depleted through the decay of nearly degenerate particles rather than from Boltzmann suppression. The relic abundance is set by the dark matter annihilation cross section, which is predicted to be boosted, and the decay rate of the dark sector particles. The mechanism is viable in a broad range of dark matter parameter space, with a robust prediction of an enhanced indirect detection signal. Finally, we present a simple model that realizes codecaying dark matter.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Elementary Particle Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff Asaf
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dror
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Elementary Particle Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuflik
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Elementary Particle Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Wee Hao
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ng