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NANOGrav Data Hints at Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter

V. De Luca, G. Franciolini, and A. Riotto
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 041303 – Published 28 January 2021
Physics logo See Research News: Cosmic Ringtones in Pulsar Data?

Abstract

The NANOGrav Collaboration has recently published strong evidence for a stochastic common-spectrum process that may be interpreted as a stochastic gravitational wave background. We show that such a signal can be explained by second-order gravitational waves produced during the formation of primordial black holes from the collapse of sizeable scalar perturbations generated during inflation. This possibility has two predictions: (i) the primordial black holes may comprise the totality of the dark matter with the dominant contribution to their mass function falling in the range (1015÷1011)M and (ii) the gravitational wave stochastic background will be seen as well by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna experiment.

  • Figure
  • Received 18 September 2020
  • Accepted 23 November 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.041303

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Research News

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Cosmic Ringtones in Pulsar Data?

Published 28 January 2021

A pulsar survey has detected a potential signal from low-frequency gravitational waves, which theorists are eager to explain.

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Authors & Affiliations

V. De Luca1,*, G. Franciolini1,†, and A. Riotto1,2,‡

  • 1Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics (CAP), Université de Genève, 24 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
  • 2INFN, Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185, Roma, Italy

  • *Valerio.DeLuca@unige.ch
  • Gabriele.Franciolini@unige.ch
  • Antonio.Riotto@unige.ch

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Issue

Vol. 126, Iss. 4 — 29 January 2021

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