Constraining the primordial black hole abundance through Big-Bang nucleosynthesis

Abstract

We investigate the scenario in which primordial black holes (PBHs) with masses Mpbh < 10^9 g undergo Hawking evaporation, around the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch. The evaporation process modifies the Universe's expansion rate and the baryon-to-photon ratio, leading to an alteration of the primordial abundance of light nuclei. We present numerical solutions for the set of equations describing this physics, considering different values of PBH masses and abundances at their formation, showing how their evaporation impacts the abundances of light nuclei, obtained by incorporating the non-standard Hubble rate and baryon-to-photon ratio into the BBN code PArthENoPE. The results are then used to place upper bounds for the PBH relative abundance at formation in the range 10^8 g < Mpbh < 10^9 g, providing the strongest constraints existing to-date in this mass range.

Published in Phys. Rev. D, March 2025

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• Primordial Black Holes Evaporating before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Revisiting PBH accretion, evaporation and their cosmological consequences
• Neutrino Emission and Plasma Heating from Primordial Black Holes: An Improved Approach to $N_{\mathrm{eff}}$ Constraints
• Microscopic primordial black holes as macroscopic dark matter from large extra dimensions