Axion-assisted resonance oscillation rescues the Dodelson–Widrow mechanism

Abstract

Abstract The $$\textrm{keV}$$ keV scale sterile neutrino was a qualified candidate for dark matter particles in the Dodelson-Widrow mechanism. But the mixing angle, needed to provide enough amount of dark matter, is in contradiction with the astrophysical observations. To alleviate such tension, we introduce an effective interaction, i.e. $$g_a (\phi /\Lambda )\partial _{\mu }a \overline{\nu _\alpha }\gamma ^{\mu } \gamma _5 \nu _\alpha $$ g a ( ϕ / Λ ) ∂ μ a ν α ¯ γ μ γ 5 ν α , among Standard Model neutrino $$\nu _\alpha $$ ν α , axion a, and singlet $$\phi $$ ϕ . The axial-vector interaction form is determined by the axion shift symmetry, and the singlet $$\phi $$ ϕ with dynamically varied vacuum expectation value is introduced to reinforce the axial-vector coupling strength and evade the stringent neutrino oscillation constraints. The effective potential generated by the new interaction could cancel the SM counterpart, resulting in an enhanced converting probability between SM neutrino and sterile neutrino. Hence, the production rate of sterile neutrinos can be substantially enlarged with smaller mixing compared to the DW mechanism.