Warm Inflation, Neutrinos and Dark matter: a minimal extension of the Standard Model

TL;DR

This paper presents a minimal extension of the Standard Model that incorporates warm inflation, neutrino masses, and dark matter, with testable predictions and a unified framework addressing multiple cosmological and particle physics issues.

Contribution

It introduces a simple model with right-handed neutrinos, scalars, and a U(1) symmetry that realizes warm inflation and explains dark matter and neutrino masses.

Findings

Warm inflation achieved within the model.

Neutrino masses below 0.1 eV consistent with observations.

Dark matter candidate emerges from the inflaton remnant.

Abstract

We show that warm inflation can be realized within a minimal extension of the Standard Model with three right-handed neutrinos, three complex scalars and a gauged lepton/B-L U(1) symmetry. This simple model can address all the shortcomings of the Standard Model that are not related to fine-tuning, within general relativity, with distinctive experimental signatures that can be probed in the near future. The inflaton field emerges from the collective breaking of the U(1) symmetry, and interacts with two of the right-handed neutrinos, sustaining a high-temperature radiation bath during inflation. The discrete interchange symmetry of the model protects the scalar potential against large thermal corrections and leads to a stable inflaton remnant at late times which can account for dark matter. Consistency of the model and agreement with Cosmic Microwave Background observations naturally yield light neutrino masses below 0.1 eV, while thermal leptogenesis occurs naturally after a smooth exit from inflation into the radiation era.