1. GW190521 Mass Gap Event and the Primordial Black Hole Scenario
- Author
-
De Luca, V., Desjacques, V., Franciolini, G., Pani, P., and Riotto, A.
- Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,FOS: Physical sciences ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Primordial black hole ,General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) ,Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics ,01 natural sciences ,General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology ,High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) ,Binary black hole ,0103 physical sciences ,Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,010306 general physics ,Reionization ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,Physics ,black holes ,LIGO ,black holes, gravitational waves ,Black hole ,Supernova ,High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,gravitational waves ,Event (particle physics) ,Mass gap ,Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
The LIGO/Virgo Collaboration has recently observed GW190521, the first binary black hole merger with at least the primary component mass in the mass gap predicted by the pair-instability supernova theory. This observation disfavors the standard stellar-origin formation scenario for the heavier black hole, motivating alternative hypotheses. We show that GW190521 cannot be explained within the Primordial Black Hole (PBH) scenario if PBHs do not accrete during their cosmological evolution, since this would require an abundance which is already in tension with current constraints. On the other hand, GW190521 may have a primordial origin if PBHs accrete efficiently before the reionization epoch., 7 pages, 4 figures. v2: matching version published in PRL
- Published
- 2021