Gravitational production of superheavy dark matter and associated cosmological signatures

Abstract

We study the gravitational production of super-Hubble-mass dark matter in the very early universe. We first review the simplest scenario where dark matter is produced mainly during slow roll inflation. Then we move on to consider the cases where dark matter is produced during the transition period between inflation and the subsequent cosmological evolution. The limits of smooth and sudden transitions are studied, respectively. The relic abundances and the cosmological collider signals are calculated.