Paper Proposes Fifth-Dimension Black Holes Explain 2023 KM3NeT Neutrino
Published in Physical Review D, the study says quantum gravity rules lead inevitably to five-dimensional primordial black holes.
A new paper published in Physical Review D argues that five-dimensional primordial black holes formed from collapsing cosmic strings could explain the powerful 2023 KM3NeT neutrino signal, according to Scientific American.
The study states that the rules of quantum gravity inevitably lead to five-dimensional primordial black holes. The researchers say this dark dimension scenario would naturally explain the absence of an associated high-energy photon in the 2023 neutrino signal.
Their calculations suggest the evaporation rate of such black holes would be comparable to the age of the universe.
In 2023, the KM3NeT neutrino detector picked up an impossibly powerful signal, tens of thousands of times more energetic than anything produced by humanity's best particle accelerators. Since then, scientists have tried to pinpoint its source, considering explanations such as blazars and exploding primordial black holes leaking dark electrons.
Harvard physicist Cumrun Vafa previously explained to Gizmodo that the dark dimension is a hypothetical extra dimension in string theory.
Quick answers
What does the new Physical Review D paper propose?
It argues that five-dimensional primordial black holes formed from collapsing cosmic strings could explain the powerful 2023 KM3NeT neutrino signal.
Why was no high-energy photon detected with the 2023 KM3NeT signal?
The researchers say the dark dimension scenario would naturally explain the absence of an associated high-energy photon.
What did the calculations find about the black holes' evaporation rate?
The team's calculations suggest the evaporation rate would be comparable to the age of the universe.