Superexponential primordial black hole production via delayed vacuum decay

Journal Article · 15 May 2025 · Physical Review. D.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.111.103524 · OSTI ID:2566916

Wu, Yanda ; Profumo, Stefano

If a cosmological first-order phase transition occurs sufficiently slowly, delayed vacuum decay may lead to the formation of primordial black holes. Here we consider a simple model as a case study of how the abundance of the produced black holes depends on the model’s input parameters. We demonstrate, using both numerical and analytical arguments and methods, that the black hole abundance is controlled by a double, “super”-exponential dependence on the three-dimensional Euclidean action over temperature at its minimal value. We show that a modified expansion rate during the phase transition, such as one driven by an additional energy density component, leads to a weaker dependence on the underlying model parameters, but maintains the same superexponential structure. We argue that our findings generalize to any framework of black hole production via delayed vacuum decay. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0010107
• OSTI ID: 2566916
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D., Journal Name: Physical Review. D. Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 111; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 2470-0010
• Publisher: American Physical SocietyCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English