Linking Leptogenesis and Asymmetric Dark Matter: A Testable Framework for Neutrino Mass and the Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry

TL;DR

This paper proposes a minimal extension of leptogenesis that links neutrino masses, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and dark matter, with testable predictions for direct detection experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework connecting leptogenesis, neutrino mass, and asymmetric dark matter, including low-scale leptogenesis and experimental testability.

Findings

Two regimes: wash-in and co-genesis, for asymmetry transfer and generation.

Predicts spin-independent dark matter cross sections testable in current experiments.

Establishes a hierarchical coupling regime enabling TeV-scale leptogenesis.

Abstract

We investigate a minimal extension of the Leptogenesis framework that simultaneously explains the observed baryon asymmetry and dark matter (DM) abundance through the decay of a heavy Majorana neutrino. In this scenario, CP violation arises from complex Yukawa couplings, enabling the generation of asymmetries in both the Standard Model (SM) and DM sectors. We explore two regimes: (i) wash-in, where an initial dark asymmetry is transferred to SM leptons by $2 \leftrightarrow 2$ scattering processes; and (ii) co-genesis, featuring a hierarchical coupling structure that allows enhanced CP violation while supporting a low-scale seesaw mechanism at order $\mathcal{O}(2)$ TeV. This setup not only links light neutrino masses to the Majorana mass term but also suggests that lepton-number violation may occur at experimentally accessible energy scales. In the co-genesis scenario, we show spin-independent cross sections for DM heavier than 10 GeV that can be tested in current direct detection experiments and motivate the exploration of cross sections inside the neutrino fog for lighter DM masses, establishing asymmetric leptogenesis as a predictive benchmark framework for direct-detection experiments and identifying a new hierarchical-coupling regime enabling TeV-scale leptogenesis.