Gauge U(1)B−L dark matter above the e−e+ threshold

Abstract

The new gauge boson introduced in the minimal extension of the standard model (SM) by gauging the U(1)B−L symmetry plays the role of dark matter when the U(1)B−L gauge coupling is highly suppressed. This dark matter, named the Féeton dark matter is known to be efficiently created in the early Universe by inflationary fluctuations with minimal gravity coupling, hence the framework, the gauged U(1)B−L extended SM+inflation, solves the four major problems of the SM; neutrino masses/mixings, dark matter, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, and the initial condition of the Universe (inflation). We comprehensively study the phenomenology of the dark matter when it is heavier than the e−e+ threshold, namely twice the electron mass, considering the threshold effect on the dark matter decay into e−e+. The viable parameter region is found only in the threshold region, while the branching fraction of the decay into e−e+ (i.e., the e−e+ signal) never vanishes even at the threshold due to the effect. As a result, the pure U(1)B−L extension without the kinetic mixing between the U(1)B−L and hypercharge gauge bosons have already been excluded by the present observation of the 511 keV photon from the galactic center. So, the Féeton dark matter requires a nonzero kinetic mixing to be a viable dark matter candidate and will be efficiently explored by future MeV-gamma ray telescopes thanks to the nonvanishing decay process into e−e+. Published by the American Physical Society 2025