Astronomers have long searched for a mysterious type of black hole, known as primordial black holes, that could hold the key to understanding the nature of dark matter. This article explores the latest research on the possibility of finding these tiny, elusive celestial objects within our own solar system.
The Cosmic Conundrum
There are three principal types of black holes: stellar-mass, intermediate and supermassive. There is a fourth type missing from the roster, called primordial black holes, which we do not know if it exists.
Known as primordial black holes, these extreme objects are predicted to have originated from perturbations in the hot, dense universe not destined for stars. Primordial black holes could be small unlike their larger cousins, with event horizons smaller than an apple or of a grain of sand. These facts make them near impossible to spot, but still a compelling possible answer to the dark matter mystery.
Hunting for Cosmic Specks
According to theory, if primordial black holes exist, there could be tens of thousands in our solar system alone—making up a “halo” around the Milky Way. The gravitational tug of these small black holes could disrupt the orbits of planets, asteroids or comets and might be detected using existing instruments.
One recent study seeking to explore this notion was published here on the arXiv preprint server. To determine how much an effect primodial black holes would have on the orbits of solar system bodies, the scientists looked at computer simulations. Even with a decade’s worth of observations, they concluded that the impact of these small black holes would be so minuscule that it would remain below our current capabilities to measure.
While seemingly underwhelming, this result actually refutes some of the earlier studies that had written off primordial black holes as a dark matter answer. Although this most recent study indicates that our solar system may be unable to find such objects, it does not exclude them as a possible solution to the dark matter mystery.
Conclusion
Astronomers continue seeking to find primordial black holes wherever they can and by any means possible, he added. Even if our current abilities don’t stretch that far, the search for them within our solar system is alive and well according to the latest research. Indeed, given our continual development of a map to the universe and its dark-matter properties, it would be remiss not to continue entertaining theories of primordial black holes.
