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Freeze-in production of scalaron dark matter in f(R) gravity

Basabendu Barman*, Ashmita Das†, Rakesh Kumar SivaKumar‡, and Rudra Pratap Udgata§

  • Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Sciences, SRM University AP, Amaravati 522240, India

  • *Contact author: basabendu.b@srmap.edu.in
  • †Contact author: ashmita.d@srmap.edu.in
  • ‡Contact author: rakesh_sivakumar@srmap.edu.in
  • §Contact author: rudrapratap_udgata@srmap.edu.in
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 015030 – Published 21 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1bmw-qg88

Abstract

We demonstrate that the scalaron, a scalar degree of freedom, emerging from the f(R) theory of gravity, can account for the observed dark matter (DM) abundance if its mass is around the MeV scale, to ensure its cosmological stability. Focusing on two well-known f(R) gravity models, we systematically show that if scalaron production proceeds via the freeze-in mechanism, the right relic abundance is satisfied over a very narrow window of reheating temperature 1014≲Trh≲1016  GeV. We delineate the viable parameter space of the f(R) models consistent with the observed DM abundance, and highlight relevant experimental constraints from searches targeting DM decay signatures.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 015030– Published 21 January, 2026
  • Received 17 July 2025
  • Accepted 5 January 2026
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