Prospects for the observation of Primordial Black Hole evaporation with the Southern Wide field of view Gamma-ray Observatory

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) are remnants of objects formed in the early Universe. Their lifetime is an increasing function of their mass, so PBHs in the right mass range can end their lives in an evaporation event that is potentially detectable by our instruments now. This evaporation may result in a gamma-ray flash that can be detected by the current generation of Very-High-Energy gamma-ray detectors. The Southern Wide field of view Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) will be part of the next generation of these instruments. It will be able to establish limits on PBH evaporations for integration windows between 0.5 and 5 s, in a radius of 0.25 pc around the Earth, being sensitive to a rate of the order of similar to 50 pc(-3) yr(-1), more than one order of magnitude more constraining than the currently established best limits.

Automated summary

Research suggests that Primordial Black Holes may evaporate in a potentially detectable gamma-ray flash, which can be picked up by current gamma-ray detectors. The Southern Wide field of view Gamma-ray Observatory will be part of the next generation of detectors, aiming to establish stricter limits on PBH evaporation around Earth.