The Rhythm of Black Holes from the Early Universe ⚡ экспресс
Numerical simulations of massless scalar-field collapse in a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe reveal that discrete self-similarity persists in primordial black hole formation, even down to parameter deviations of |p-p_c| ~ 10^{-8}. The critical regime exhibits log-periodic oscillations in the mass scaling relation, with a more pronounced peak-trough asymmetry than the asymptotically flat case. For two families of initial data (Gaussian and piecewise rational curvature profiles), critical exponents and DSS periods agree broadly within uncertainties. The presence of DSS implies log-periodic modulations in the primordial black hole mass spectrum, potentially affecting abundance estimates and the spectrum of induced gravitational waves.
Drops from a leaky faucet beat a clear rhythm. A similar rhythm, only on the scale of the universe, has been found by astrophysicists: the formation of primordial black holes — tiny objects born in the first moments after the Big Bang — also proceeds not chaotically, but in a strictly measured way. The mass of such a hole grows not smoothly, but in jumps, as if repeating the same pattern over and over, but each time on a smaller scale.
Previously, this "rhythmicity" was known only for an idealized, non-expanding universe. New modeling on the expanding universe — which is what our universe was like in the beginning — has confirmed that the stepped rhythm persists. This is critically important because primordial black holes are considered one of the main candidates for dark matter — the invisible framework holding galaxies together.
Because of the rhythmicity, future detectors of gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime — will be able to pick up not random noise, but an ordered "melody" played by merging holes. And here's an unexpected twist: these holes could be so small that, flying through Earth, they wouldn't touch a single atom, even though each one weighs as much as a mountain.
🎯 Primordial black holes, if they exist, can be the size of an atom but weigh as much as a mountain.