Primordial heavy elements in composite dark matter models

TL;DR

This paper proposes that composite dark matter made of stable charged leptons and quarks can catalyze nuclear transformations during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, leading to primordial heavy elements, challenging traditional dark matter models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel composite dark matter model involving heavy charged particles and explains its implications for primordial element formation.

Findings

Existence of stable charged leptons and quarks as dark matter candidates.

Composite atoms can catalyze nuclear transformations during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.

Predicted primordial heavy elements are consistent with observations and suggest new search avenues.

Abstract

A widely accepted viewpoint is to consider candidates for cosmological dark matter as neutral and weakly interacting particles, as well as to consider only light elements in the pregalactic chemical composition. It is shown that stable charged leptons and quarks can exist and, hidden in elusive atoms, play the role of dark matter. The inevitable consequence of realistic scenarios with such composite atom-like dark matter is existence of significant or even dominant fraction of "atoms", binding heavy -2 charged particles and He-4 nuclei. Being alpha-particles with shielded electric charge, such atoms catalyse a new path of nuclear transformations in the period of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, which result in primordial heavy elements. The arguments are given, why such scenario escapes immediate contradiction with observations and challenges search for heavy stable charged particles in cosmic rays and at accelerators.