Dark and visible matter in a baryon-symmetric universe via the Affleck-Dine mechanism

The similarity of the visible and dark matter abundances indicates that they may originate via the same mechanism. If both the dark and visible matter are charged under a generalized baryon number, then the asymmetry of the visible sector may be compensated by an asymmetry in the dark sector. We show how the separation of the baryonic and the -antibaryonic charge can originate in the vacuum, via the Affleck-Dine mechanism, due to the breaking of a symmetry orthogonal to the baryon number. Symmetry restoration in the current epoch guarantees the individual stability of the two sectors.