1998 Volume 97 Issue 4 Pages D114-D117
The dilaton field in string theories (if exists) is expected to have a mass of the order of the gravitino mass m_<3/2> which is in a range of 10^<-2>keV-1GeV in gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models. If it is the case, the cosmic energy density of coherent dilaton oscillation easily exceeds the critical density of the present universe. We show that even if this problem is solved by a late-time entropy production (thermal inflation) a stringent constraint on the energy density of the dilaton oscillation is derived from experimental upperbounds on the cosmic X(γ)-ray backgrounds. This excludes an interesting mass region, 200keV≲m_<3/2>≲1GeV, in gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models.