Dark Matter as Incomplete Skyrmion Crystallisation from the QCD Phase Transition

We propose that dark matter consists of non-topological chiral field configurations that failed to crystallise into stable baryons (skyrmions) during the QCD phase transition at T ≈ 155 MeV. Angular momentum provides gyroscopic stabilisation against unwinding over cosmological timescales. Five quantitative estimates using standard QCD inputs and no free parameters yield: (1) a dark-to-baryonic matter ratio Ω_DM/Ω_b ≈ 5–6, consistent with the observed 5.36; (2) Hubble-time stability for angular momentum L ≥ 3ℏ; (3) a self-interaction cross-section σ/m ≈ 0.1 cm²/g in the SIDM window resolving the cusp–core problem; (4) cold dark matter classification with negligible free-streaming; and (5) direct detection cross-sections suppressed to ~10⁻³⁴ cm² by four independent topological mechanisms, consistent with all current null results. The model requires no new physics beyond the Standard Model Skyrme sector.