Irreversible Thermodynamic Description of Dark Matter and Radiation Creation during Inflationary Reheating

We investigate matter creation processes during the reheating period of the early Universe, by using the thermodynamic of open systems. The Universe is assumed to consist of the inflationary scalar field, which, through its decay, generates relativistic matter and pressureless dark matter. The inflationary scalar field transfers its energy to the newly created matter particles, with the field energy decreasing to near zero. The equations governing the irreversible matter creation are obtained by combining the thermodynamics description of the matter creation and the gravitational field equations. The role of the different inflationary scalar field potentials is analyzed by using analytical and numerical methods. The values of the energy densities of relativistic matter and dark matter reach their maximum when the Universe is reheated up to the reheating temperature, which is obtained as a function of the scalar field decay width, the scalar field particle mass, and the cosmological parameters. Particle production leads to the acceleration of the Universe during the reheating phase, with the deceleration parameter showing complex dynamics. Once the energy density of the scalar field becomes negligible with respect to the matter densities, the expansion of the Universe decelerates, and inflation has a graceful exit.