WIMP-FIMP option and neutrino masses via a novel anomaly-free $$B-L$$ symmetry

Abstract We study an alternative $$U(1)_{B-L}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>U</mml:mi> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> model with singlet chiral fermions which can act as WIMP and FIMP type DM, which is anomaly-free by constructions in contrast to the well studied $$B-L$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> extension where three right handed neutrinos are needed for gauge anomaly cancellation. Fermion dark matter masses are generated after the $$U(1)_{B-L}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>U</mml:mi> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> is broken spontaneously, so the Yukawa couplings for WIMP and FIMP components can be distinguished by the hierarchical values of the vacuum expectation values of the singlet scalar fields. Moreover, the $$U(1)_{B-L}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>U</mml:mi> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> gauge boson receives a TeV-scale mass for a tiny extra gauge coupling, so it goes out of equilibrium from the rest of the model content in the early Universe. Both the $$U(1)_{B-L}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>U</mml:mi> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> gauge boson and FIMP component are produced from the decays of the bath particles, and the former can decay into FIMP DM and/or WIMP DM before BBN. The WIMP component can reside in the resonance region of the Higgs bosons or dominantly annihilate into a pair of singlet-like scalars. Thus, there is a flexibility to choose a small mixing between the visible and dark sectors, thereby evading all the current direct and indirect detection bounds. Furthermore, we show that WIMP and FIMP components can coexist in suitable fractions, depending on the choice of model parameters, allowing for additional protection for WIMP DM against various experimental bounds. Finally, we identify the dimension-6 and dimension-7 operators for Majorana neutrino masses in our model, being consistent with the $$U(1)_{B-L}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>U</mml:mi> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> gauge symmetry, and provide a possibility of extending the model with additional singlet fermions for neutrino masses.