Search for Small-Mass Black Hole Dark Matter with Space-Based Gravitational Wave Detectors
Abstract
The high sensitivity of upcoming space-based gravitational wave detectors suggests the possibility that if halo dark matter were composed of primordial black holes (PBHs) with mass between 1016 g and 1020 g, the gravitational interaction with detector test masses will lead to a detectable pulse-like signal during the fly-by. For an improved version of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna with a reduced acceleration noise at the low-end of its frequency spectrum, we find an event rate, with signal-to-noise ratios greater than 5, of a few per decade involving black holes of mass 1017 g. The detection rate improves significantly for second generation space based interferometers that are currently envisioned, though these events must be distinguished from those involving perturbations due to near-Earth asteroids. While the presence of primordial black holes below a mass of 1016 g is now constrained based on the radiation released during their evaporation, the gravitational wave detectors will extend the study of PBHs to a several orders of magnitude higher masses.
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