Exchange driven freeze out of dark matter

Abstract

We introduce a novel mechanism where processes that preserve the number density of the dark sector set the relic density of a thermal particulate dark matter. In a relatively degenerate multipartite dark sector, if there is a considerable time lapse between the freeze out of various species, then a process like exchange between dark sector constituents can play the pivotal role of driving freeze out and setting dark matter relic density. As a proof of principle, we present simple scalar models with viable dark matter in the GeV scale to demonstrate this phenomenon.