Scientists have been thinking about it for more than 50 years. The concept of the explosion of a black hole was first proposed by Stephen Hawking in 1974. Although black holes are reputed to absorb everything that is too close, too close, Hawking calculated that they should also broadcast particles.
This phenomenon, known as “Hawking Radiation”, would reduce the mass of black holes over time, until it is completely evaporate. This radiation is too weak to detect it, but In his last rales he would intensify until he became an explosion similar to a supernova, and this outbreak would be detectable.
The reality is that this process is very slow, so the death of black holes occurs every thousand years and more time depending on its size. But There could be another much smaller black hole class, with shorter lives. And give us the possibility of seeing them.
That is precisely what a new study published in Physical Review Letters proposes. In it, the authors conclude that there is a 90 % chance that, in the next decade, Astronomers detect an explosion in the deep space that confirms several long -standing theories about black holes and that releases a complete collection of all existing, known particles. And, even more interesting, unknown.
Basically, the authors propose that These explosions mark the death of the tiny black holes that remained of the origin of the universe.
For a long time it was believed that these events were incredibly rare, with potentially observable explosions that occurred approximately every 100,000 years. However, The new analysis suggests that they are much more common, with a potentially visible explosion that occurs every 10 years on average.
And, when they occur, our current technology should be able to detect them. Find one It would be a great advance for astrophysics for several reasons: He would confirm for the first time the existence of this type of black hole and identify the mechanism by which all black holes die.
Even more exciting, an explosion of this type would release all the types of existing fundamental particles. This includes all those we know, such as boring electrons and neutrons, but also our “known unknowns”: what we suspect that exists but that we have not yet found, such as dark matter. But The most interesting would be the “unknown unknowns”: the particles with which we don’t even dream.
“We would also obtain a definitive record of each particle that makes up everything in the universe -explains Joaquim Iguaz Juan, leader of the study, in a statement -. I would completely revolutionize physics and help us rewrite the history of the universe. ”
It is believed that primary black holes (PBH) have Masses similar to those of asteroids, instead of those of the sun. It is hypothesized that they formed in the first moments after the Big Bang, hence the name of “primordial”.
“The lighter a black hole, the hottest it should be and more particles will emit -adds Andrea Thamm, co -author of the study -as The PBH evaporate, they become lighter and lighter And, therefore, hotter, emitting even more radiation in an uncontrolled process to the explosion. ”
According to the physics of the standard model, the age and mass of the PBH, they suggest that most should have evaporated. However, The Iguaz Juan team simulated what would happen with some adjustments plausible to the model.
This model includes a hypothetical and heavier version of an electron, which researchers call “dark electron”. This could provide the PBHs with a form of electric charge, of which known black holes lack. The study discovered that These changes would temporarily stop their hawking radiation And they would delay the visit of the “cosmic grim” that would curtail the black hole on duty, which means that, after all, we could have lost the show.
“Our study shows that, if a primary black hole SE forms with a small dark electric chargethe model predicts that it should be temporarily stabilized before finally exploiting, ”says Michael Baker, co -author of the study.
The team calculates that, if its models are correct, one of these explosions should occur with the naked eye from our current gamma observatories approximately every 10 years. Observe a confirming the existence of primary black holeswould provide the first direct evidence of the Hawking radiation and provide us with a wide range of fundamental particles that the universe offers.