Did we just see a black hole explode? Physicists think so-and it could explain (almost) everything
Phys.org • • general
Key Points:
- In 2023, a neutrino with energy far exceeding known cosmic sources was detected, prompting physicists at UMass Amherst to propose it originated from the explosion of a "quasi-extremal primordial black hole" (PBH) emitting Hawking radiation.
- Primordial black holes, theorized to form shortly after the Big Bang, differ from stellar black holes by potentially being much lighter and hotter, causing them to evaporate and eventually explode, releasing a spectrum of subatomic particles.
- The UMass Amherst team’s dark-charge PBH model, involving a hypothesized heavy "dark electron," explains the unique neutrino event and resolves discrepancies between different neutrino observatories like KM3NeT and IceCube.
- This model not
