We propose a new nonthermal mechanism of dark matter production based on vacuum misalignment. A global $X$-charge asymmetry is generated at high temperatures, under which both the will-be Higgs boson and the dark matter are charged. At lower energies, the vacuum changes alignment and breaks the $\mathrm{U}(1{)}_X$, leading to the emergence of the Higgs bosonand of a fraction of charge asymmetry stored in the stable dark matter relic. This mechanism can be present in a wide variety of models based on vacuum misalignment, and we demonstrate it in a composite Higgs template model, where all the necessary ingredients are naturally present. A light pseudo-scalar $\eta$ is always predicted, with interesting implications for cosmology, future supernova observations and exotic $Z\to \gamma \eta$ decays.

• Received 8 December 2019
• Revised 9 April 2020
• Accepted 15 June 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.021801

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP³.

Published by the American Physical Society