Gravitational wave hints black hole remnants as dark matter

Abstract

The end state of Hawking evaporation of a black hole is uncertain. Some candidate quantum gravity theories, such as loop quantum gravity and asymptotic safe gravity, hint towards Planck sized remnants. If so, the Universe might be filled with remnants of tiny primordial black holes, which formed with mass $M<10^9\,{\rm g}$. A unique scenario is the case of $M\sim 5\times10^5\,{\rm g}$, where tiny primordial black holes reheat the universe by Hawking evaporation and their remnants dominate the dark matter. Here, we point out that this scenario leads to a cosmological gravitational wave signal at frequencies $\sim 100{\rm Hz}$. Finding such a particular gravitational wave signature with, e.g. the Einstein Telescope, would suggest black hole remnants as dark matter.