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Freeze-in production of non-Abelian millicharged vector dark matter

Van Que Tran1,2,* and Tzu-Chiang Yuan3,†

  • *Contact author: vqtran@phys.ncts.ntu.edu.tw
  • †Contact author: tcyuan@phys.sinica.edu.tw
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 015041 – Published 27 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/4plq-2xx5

Abstract

We present the first predictive realization, to our knowledge, of vector freeze-in dark matter from a hidden non-Abelian SU(2) gauge sector spontaneously broken by a Higgs triplet to a residual U(1) symmetry with a massless dark photon mediator. A massive dark vector particle-antiparticle pair acquires small millicharges through a dimension-4 kinetic-mixing term with an induced coefficient ε, generated by an effective dimension-5 operator involved the Higgs triplet. The dark sector interactions are governed by the hidden gauge coupling gD, providing a weak connection to the Standard Model to realize the freeze-in dark matter production mechanism. Solving the two-temperature Boltzmann evolution including plasmon decay, we find a wide region of parameter space consistent with the observed relic abundance while satisfying astrophysical and cosmological constraints. This minimal framework connects non-Abelian vector dynamics with long-range dark forces and may be probed by upcoming sub-GeV dark matter direct-detection experiments.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 015041– Published 27 July, 2026
  • Received 2 September 2025
  • Revised 17 November 2025
  • Accepted 10 July 2026
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