Electromagnetic Signatures From Primordial Black Holes in the Solar System

Abstract

Primordial black holes (PBHs) in the asteroid-mass range, with typical masses $10^{17}\,{\rm g}\lesssim M \lesssim 10^{23}\,{\rm g}$, have drawn significant recent attention as a viable dark matter candidate. The peak frequencies of photons emitted via Hawking radiation from asteroid-mass PBHs range from infrared to $γ$-ray bands. We calculate expected local transit rates for extended PBH mass distributions which could comprise all the dark matter. We evaluate prospects for detecting Hawking-radiated photons from local PBH transits through the inner Solar System and from PBH explosions in the far outer edges of the Solar System. We consider several existing and proposed ground-based and space-based instruments sensitive to photons from the radio band to ultrahigh energy $γ$-rays. We find that proposed instruments, such as the AMEGO-X satellite, could reliably detect PBH transits within ${\cal O} (0.1 \, {\rm AU})$ of the Earth, while the HAWC and LHAASO observatories are both sensitive to PBH explosions out to ${\cal O}(0.1 \, {\rm pc})$ and ${\cal O}(0.5 \, {\rm pc})$ respectively. We conclude by specifically considering potential companion electromagnetic signatures in the case of a PBH explosion about $10^3\,{\rm AU}$ from Earth, which has been suggested as a potential source for the $\sim 220 \, {\rm PeV}$ ultrahigh-energy KM3-230213A neutrino event observed by the KM3NeT collaboration in 2023. Whereas we find that the recent KM3NeT event would not have yielded detectable electromagnetic signals -- due to its location on the sky, proposed distance from Earth, and the offline status of the HAWC observatory at that time -- we demonstrate that future PBH explosions at comparable distances could yield measurable electromagnetic signals at Earth, depending on alignment of the PBH burst with detector fields of view.