When: Wednesday, November 27, 2024, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMWhere: G.O. Jones 610
Primordial black holes (PBHs), often referred to as relics from the Big Bang, are a hypothetical form of black hole which may have formed very early in the history of the Universe. They are a viable dark matter candidate, and it has been argued that their existence could solve numerous open problems in cosmology, such as the early formation of supermassive black holes. There are many constraints on their abundance, but also several hints pointing to their existence. Perhaps most notably, it has been claimed that the gravitational waves (GWs) observed by LIGO originate from merging PBHs, and that the GW background hinted at by the IPTA could be suggestive of an abundance of PBHs.
In this talk, I will provide an overview of PBHs and their formation, followed by a reflection on the trajectory of my research in this field. I will discuss the evidence both supporting and challenging the existence of PBHs, with a particular emphasis on their associated gravitational wave signatures. Finally, I will present key findings from our recent paper [arXiv:2410.01876], which showcases the results of a pioneering simulation exploring early structure formation and binary formation in a PBH dark matter scenario.