Tiny black holes as dark matter ⚡ экспресс
The formation of asteroid-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) as a dark matter candidate is investigated in supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model. The presence of heavy particles predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) leads to a transient softening of the universe’s equation of state during their non-relativistic transition, which enhances PBH production. The effective equation of state is computed for various realizations of the MSSM mass spectrum, parameterized by three characteristic scales. Assuming a broad and nearly scale-invariant primordial curvature spectrum, PBH mass functions are derived. For superparticle masses above ~10⁵ GeV, the mass function is significantly enhanced in the asteroid-mass window, allowing PBHs to account for the full dark matter density without conflicting with observational constraints. In the Standard Model, similar configurations are ruled out. For lighter supersymmetric spectra, production shifts to masses above ~10²² g, which are severely constrained by microlensing searches, reducing the permissible contribution to dark matter.
After the Big Bang, the Universe resembled a tightly inflated balloon: pressure prevented matter from clumping together. But hypothetical superheavy particles — sort of ‘heavyweights’ of the microcosm — momentarily made the balloon less stiff. Matter easily clumped, giving birth to black holes with masses from a billion to a billion billion tons. The size of an atomic nucleus, they emit no light, yet their collective gravity governs the motion of stars and galaxies. Calculations show: if such holes make up all dark matter, everything matches observations. The usual model gives too few holes and has been rejected. An unexpected twist: these same tiny ones could have become the seeds of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.
🎯 An asteroid-mass black hole is microscopic: passing through Earth, it would leave only a thin tunnel and cause weak tremors. The chance of such an event is extremely small.