Constraining Primordial Black Holes with Dwarf Galaxy Heating

Abstract

Black holes formed in the early universe, prior to the formation of stars, can exist as dark matter and also contribute to the black hole merger events observed in gravitational waves. We set a new limit on the abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs) by considering interactions of PBHs with the interstellar medium, which result in the heating of gas. We examine generic heating mechanisms, including emission from the accretion disk, dynamical friction, and disk outflows. Using the data from the Leo T dwarf galaxy, we set a new cosmology-independent limit on the abundance of PBHs in the mass range $\mathcal{O}(1)M_{\odot }-10^7{M}_{\odot }$, relevant for the recently detected gravitational wave signals from intermediate-mass BHs.

Comments: 7 pages, 1 figure; published in Astrophysical Journal Letters