Inflaton freeze-out

We study the possibility that, after inflation,the inflaton reaches thermal equilibrium with the Standard Model thermal bath and eventually freezes out in the nonrelativistic regime. When the inflaton decay is the sole source of (nonthermal) dark matter, its relic density is automatically suppressed. We delineate parameter space leading to the correct dark matter abundance. The model allows for a significant Higgs-inflaton coupling which may lead to invisible Higgs decay into inflaton pairs at the LHC.