Reviving primordial black hole formation in slow first-order phase transitions

Abstract

Large curvature perturbations generated during slow first-order phase transitions are a promising source of primordial black holes. However, recent analyses suggested that the mechanism is ruled out once the density contrast and the formation threshold are evaluated in the same gauge. In this work, we show that this mechanism remains viable: after a supercooled transition, reheating can be sufficiently slow that the Universe enters an early matter-dominated era, during which even small overdensities grow and collapse into primordial black holes.

Comments: 6 pages + 2 figures + references + appendix; v2: discussion on PBH spins revised, numerical fits updated, refs updated