The Sensitivity of Future Gamma-Ray Telescopes to Primordial Black Holes

Journal Article · Mon Apr 11 04:00:00 EDT 2022 · TBD

OSTI ID:1867625

Keith, Celeste ^[1]; Hooper, Dan ^[2]; Linden, Tim ^[3]; Liu, Rayne ^[1]

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1. Chicago U., KICP; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.
2. Chicago U., KICP; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Fermilab
3. Stockholm U., OKC; Stockholm U.

The strongest existing constraints on primordial black holes with masses in the range of $$m_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{15}-10^{17} \, {\rm g}$$ have been derived from measurements of the local cosmic-ray electron-positron flux by Voyager 1, and MeV-scale gamma-ray observations of the Inner Galaxy by COMPTEL and INTEGRAL. In this paper, we evaluate the sensitivity of future MeV-scale gamma-ray telescopes such as e-ASTROGAM or AMEGO to Hawking radiation. We show that such an instrument would be able to provide the strongest constraints on black holes in the mass range of $$m_{\rm BH} \sim (0.6-20) \times 10^{16} \, {\rm g}$$, typically exceeding current constraints by approximately two orders of magnitude. In scenarios in which the observed 511 keV excess is the result of Hawking radiation, we find that e-ASTROGAM or AMEGO would not only be able to detect the Hawking radiation from the Inner Galaxy, but could precisely measure the abundance and mass distribution of the black holes responsible for this signal.

• Research Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-07CH11359
• OSTI ID: 1867625
• Report Number(s): FERMILAB-PUB-22-251-T; arXiv:2204.05337; oai:inspirehep.net:2066006
• Journal Information: TBD, Journal Name: TBD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS