Pangenesis in a Baryon-Symmetric Universe: Dark and Visible Matter via the Affleck-Dine Mechanism

TL;DR

This work introduces pangenesis, a framework in which a generalized baryon number is conserved and partitions the baryon asymmetries of the visible and dark sectors via the Affleck-Dine mechanism. A flat-direction condensate carrying $X$-charge is generated out of equilibrium and CP violation, with $D_{_{B-L}}=0$ and $D_X\neq0$, and its subsequent decay distributes equal shares of the asymmetry to both sectors through $\eta((B-L)_1)=\eta(B_2)=\eta(X)/2$. The authors present a concrete SUSY model with SM-singlet fields and connector interactions that realize this mechanism, coupling the visible sector to MSSM and the dark sector through renormalizable and higher-dimensional operators. Phenomenologically, the scenario predicts a DM mass around $\sim 5$ GeV, potential $Z'_{B-L}$ signatures at colliders, and enhanced direct-detection prospects via both $B-L$ and dark-sector gauge interactions, including possible kinetic mixing with a dark $U(1)'$. These features yield testable implications for direct detection experiments and collider searches, offering a cohesive link between the baryon asymmetry and dark matter.

Abstract

The similarity of the visible and dark matter abundances indicates that they may originate via the same mechanism. If both the dark and the visible matter are charged under a generalized baryon number which remains always conserved, then the asymmetry of the visible sector may be compensated by an asymmetry in the dark sector. We show how the separation of baryonic and antibaryonic charge can originate in the vacuum, via the Affleck-Dine mechanism, due to the breaking of a symmetry orthogonal to the baryon number. Symmetry restoration in the current epoch guarantees the individual stability of the two sectors.