arXiv · 2605.05947
Kaon Portal to Freeze-in Dark Matter
Abstract
We investigate freeze-in production of light dark matter through the quark flavor-changing operator $(\bar{s}γ_μd)(\barχγ^μχ)$ in a low-reheating cosmology. For reheating temperatures below the QCD crossover, kaon decays and scatterings generate the dark matter abundance through $K\toπχ\barχ$ and $Kπ\toχ\barχ$. The same interaction induces the rare kaon decays $K^+\toπ^+χ\barχ$ and $K_L\toπ^0χ\barχ$. This links the freeze-in relic abundance to searches at NA62, KOTO, and KOTO II. We find that lower reheating temperatures require larger couplings to compensate for the Boltzmann-suppressed kaon abundance, making kaon-driven freeze-in dark matter testable at rare kaon decay experiments.
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Motoi Endo, Takumu Yamanaka. 2026-05-07. Kaon Portal to Freeze-in Dark Matter. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.05947
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