Experimental signatures of non-standard pre-BBN cosmologies

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-standard pre-BBN cosmologies influence dark matter properties, proposing that studying these effects can reveal the Universe's evolution before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that dark matter properties can serve as probes for the early Universe's conditions prior to BBN, a period lacking direct observational data.

Findings

Pre-BBN cosmologies significantly alter dark matter relic densities.

Dark matter particle properties can indicate different pre-BBN expansion histories.

Potential observational signatures could distinguish between cosmological models.

Abstract

If detected, dark matter particles such as WIMPs and sterile neutrinos will be the earliest relics we can study, the first coming from before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, an epoch from which we have no data so far. Here we discuss how different pre-BBN cosmological models affect the properties of these particles, and how these properties could thus allow to determine the evolution of the Universe before BBN.