Higgs Boson Emerging from the Dark

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 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 η is always predicted, with interesting implications for cosmology, future supernova observations and exotic Z→γη decays.