Snowmass2021 Cosmic Frontier White Paper: Primordial black hole dark matter

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) are a viable candidate to comprise some or all of the dark matter and provide a unique window into the high-energy physics of the early universe. This white paper discusses the scientific motivation, current status, and future reach of observational searches for PBHs. Future observational facilities supported by DOE, NSF, and NASA will provide unprecedented sensitivity to PBHs. However, devoted analysis pipelines and theoretical modeling are required to fully leverage these novel data. The search for PBHs constitutes a low-cost, high-reward science case with significant impact on the high energy physics community. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) are considered a potential constituent of dark matter and offer an opportunity to study the early universe's high-energy physics. This article discusses the scientific motivation, current status, and future prospects of observational searches for PBHs. Future observational facilities funded by DOE, NSF, and NASA will provide unprecedented sensitivity to PBHs, but specialized analysis pipelines and theoretical modeling are necessary to fully exploit the new data. The search for PBHs represents a low-cost, high-reward scientific endeavor with significant impact on the high-energy physics community.