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  • Open Access

Lepton parity dark matter and naturally unstable domain walls

Ernest Ma1, Partha Kumar Paul2,*, and Narendra Sahu2,†

  • *Contact author: ph22resch11012@iith.ac.in
  • †Contact author: nsahu@phy.iith.ac.in

Phys. Rev. D 112, 095020 – Published 14 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tj6t-dyqn

Abstract

We propose a simple and predictive setup that connects neutrino masses, dark matter (DM), and gravitational waves. A minimal lepton parity DM scenario is considered where the residual symmetry (−1)L from the type I seesaw acts as the dark parity D=(−1)L+2j, ensuring DM stability without imposing any new symmetry. A singlet Majorana fermion S with even lepton parity serves as the DM candidate, interacting via a real scalar σ which is also even lepton parity. The scalar potential possesses an accidental Z2 symmetry, whose spontaneous breaking gives rise to unstable domain walls in the presence of explicit Z2-breaking terms allowed by the lepton parity. The subsequent domain wall annihilation generates a stochastic gravitational wave background potentially observable at different gravitational wave experiments.

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